Allow me to introduce myself. I graduated from Manning High School, moved away for college and then spent 40 years in the corporate world with IBM. I spent 30 of those years in Austin Texas. Yes, I am a Longhorn fan….which is tough right now given our football record. I moved back to Manning in 2008 and have been the Main Street Manning (MSM) Board President since January 2011. The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to work with MSM Executive Director Colleen Nelson, Mayor Harvey Dales, City Administrator Dawn Rohe, City of Manning staff, Manning City Council and a great team of MSM volunteers. In addition, we have a great relationship with the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, Region XII led by Rick Hunsaker and the Carroll Area Development Corporation led by Shannon Landauer. Ok – enough for the introductions!
Carroll County is blessed with many great citizens and communities. I hope to provide insight into one of those communities. Manning has a generations-long history of civic engagement by community members. That sense of volunteerism continues in today’s hectic world. While world turmoil permeates our daily lives, Manning volunteers energetically work to improve quality of life in our little section of the earth we occupy.
Current projects being planned and/or worked are hiking/biking trails throughout town; development of Trestle Park - an “adult-activity oriented” park at the north end of Main Street; development of a hotel near the Hausbarn-Heritage Park; streetscaping on Main Street; public relations campaign being developed in partnership with a Drake University senior level class; installation of signs and awnings in partnership with Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa State University, Startup Business Bootcamp for Women in partnership with Drake University’s Entrepreneurship Center, façade improvements in the downtown business district, additional upper-story apartments, partnership with an AmeriCorps liaison to improve the health of community members, construction of the Dollar General store and the 36 unit Char-Mac Assisted Living Center; and others that my frail memory isn’t recalling at the moment… More information on these exciting projects and new 2016 projects to be provided in future columns.
Why do we say “Manning It’s Refreshing”? I invite you to check out the Main Street Manning Facebook page for some of the reasons – including our recent and very successful Family Feud event.