Lots of good things going on lately in Jasper County with the Hometown Pride program. A $10,000 grant from our friends at Prairie Meadows will help Prairie City procure a new ambulance. A $5,000 grant from the Casey’s Foundation will assist Sully in completing their Central Park bandstand stage. The Baxter Hometown Pride Committee has become a fundraising machine, with walks, runs, bike rides and spaghetti dinners benefitting a host of projects. These include the Chichaqua Valley Trailhead caboose (shout out to Prairie Meadows for helping us with that one as well) Geise Park, Children’s Park and the Wellness Center.
Sen. Chaz Allen is helping our Hometown Pride group get a Housing Market Study completed for all Hometown Pride towns in Jasper County. Housing is a priority for everyone, and a housing market study will help us increase new housing starts and get on the radar of the Des Moines housing market. Lot’s of people who work in Des Moines would prefer to live in a small community and have their kids go to a smaller school district. Why not Jasper County? Let’s grow our residential tax base and help our school districts grow. As my Colfax Hometown Pride committee has pointed out, you can commute with the sun at your back.
Special kudos to the Jasper Community Foundation for their great support of the Hometown Pride program. Its $5,000 grant to support Hometown Pride will reduce everyone’s cost to participate in the program. A number of community projects generated by Hometown Pride committees were also funded that will really make a difference in the lives of residents. No better example than the $5,000 grant to support the bouldering course in Newton’s Aurora Park.
I have to confess I didn’t know too much about the sport of bouldering before Newton Parks Administrator Nathan Unsworth brought the idea to our Hometown Pride group and we agreed to proceed with a grant application. What a great sport that combines physical exercise with social activity. Reaching the top of the 10 to 15 feet high boulders is called “the problem.” Determining the route to take is “the solution.” There are different solutions depending on who you are. The lithe 90 pound yoga instructor will not have the same solution as the 240 pound construction worker. If part way up you fall off onto the cushioned surface, no big deal — that’s part of the fun. Let’s look for another solution.
Fabulous news that Kellogg and Mingo will be joining the Hometown Pride program starting in October. We look forward to getting our committees formed and working with Mayor Frymoyer and Mayor Bartels and the good folks in those two towns.
What’s going on in Newton? In Newton our Hometown Pride group is focusing on some high priority projects that we hope to bring to completion, but we need the help of interested community volunteers. We have formed subcommittees to look at individual projects in detail, including:
Downtown murals: You may have seen our team from the University of Iowa Art and Art History program doing their field assessment of Newton's murals this summer. These community treasures are in need of some TLC to ensure they continue to be community assets for the next 20 years, and we are awaiting the final report from the UI team. Once we get that report our Hometown Pride subcommittee will determine a course maintenance and restoration.
Wayfinding signs: The city is off to a great start with the wayfinding signs throughout the community, but we need to get the project completed. There are signs that need to be put up at certain locations, and panels that need to be added to existing signs.
Interchange 164 art work: The 164 Interchange on I-80 (Highway 14) needs something to make it more distinctive. Something to call out Newton and make motorists on I-80 realize this is Newton. Should it be a giant 40' tall washing machine? A colorful art work along the railing of the Highway 14 bridge? A brilliant light sculpture that appears out of nowhere at night?
30 Acre Park: Many Newton residents don't even know where this very cool place is — it's in southeast Newton between S. 13th Avenue East and I-80. Currently undeveloped, we have a plan for developing it into a natural area park with parking and restrooms, hiking and off road biking trails, snowboarding and archery.
First Avenue West railroad overpass: Getting this very visible entryway feature rehabbed so that it is not such an eyesore has been needed for years. There are some factors complicating getting it done, but we are trying to work through those and make progress. No one said it had to be easy.
Do any of these subcommittees sound interesting to you? We would love to have you join us! You don’t even have to attend our monthly Hometown Pride meetings; you can just focus on the project subcommittee you are interested in. Just drop an email to our chairperson Bruce Showalter at bshow8900@gmail.com or secretary Natalie Umstead at natalieu@newtongov.org.