Community Matters, v.7, #4ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development 1

Community MattersVolume 7, Issue 4

2014

a Quarterly Publication for Iowa Leaders from Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

Page 4 2014 CDS annual conference in Dubuque opens new doors

Page 5 Extension helps ICRA create county recorder certification

Page 6 ISU design students work with three southwest Iowa towns

Page 8 CED studies Latinos’ awareness of energy-efficiency programs

Page 9 Extension CED and IARC recognized nationally for partnership

P. 10–11 Extension CED adds four positions

In This Issue

Lauren Iversen, ISU senior, and Tara Bounds ISU graduate student, add plants to the site. Photo by Bob Elbert.

By Teddi Barron Communications Specialist, University News Service

Last summer, while Julie Stevens’ students built outdoor classrooms as part of the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women’s $68 million modernization and expansion, they noticed a daily occurrence that inspired their project for this year.

“During shift changes, the correctional officers stood in the parking lot next to their cars, talking to each other about their shifts,” said Stevens, assistant professor of landscape architecture. “They’d stand there for 45 minutes just to decompress and chat—so they wouldn’t have to take the day’s stressors home with them.”

So, this summer, Stevens and nine landscape architecture students designed and built an outdoor decompression area specifically for correctional officers and staff. It’s adjacent to the new ICIW administration building, which opened last fall as part of the massive construction project’s first phase. Work continued on phase two this summer.

Working as paid interns, the students got a design-build experience like no other.

“I wanted to see a project from a design on our computers through the built project,” said Lauren Iversen, a senior from Waukee. “This was a great way to do that in a short amount of time. And you wouldn’t find another internship that includes working with the demographic of offenders. It’s an experience hardly anyone else will have.”

Restorative spacesInitially, prison employees weren’t convinced they’d benefit from a restorative outdoor environment, Stevens said.

“I think they felt like working in a prison will always be stressful. So we’ve been talking to them about how it’s important for everybody to have a positive work environment that includes restorative spaces,” she said.

“It’s difficult for them to get away from their jobs even for a few minutes,” said Branden Pentico, a senior from Perry. “We want to give employees an area with the amenities that people need to really relax on breaks, during lunch, or before and after work.”

Even a place to leanEventually, the employees came around and even gave the design students their wish list. Warden Patti Wachtendorf wanted a magnolia tree and memorial garden in honor of past employees. Correctional officers and staff wanted a space that could accommodate several dozen people for occasional staff barbecues, as well as small-group team meetings. And they all requested a variety of sitting and leaning options that offered shade, privacy, and wind protection.

The students listened. Working together, they created a landscape design that checked off all items. The memorial garden in front of the administrative building will include a water feature to honor a past warden and a magnolia to reflect one demolished on the old campus. A tree-lined path will lead from the staff entrance sidewalk to the hardscape decompression patio and windbreak on the north side of the building.

ISU Landscape Architecture Students Create Decompression Area for Employees of Correctional Institution for Women

continued on page 3

The three-tiered, 30-by-40 foot patio will feature a variety of small-group and private seating areas, a built-in grill, and a vegetative privacy wall of clematis. And it

Community Matters, v.7, #42 ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

From the Director

Contact InformationIowa State University Extension and OutreachCommunity and Economic Development2321 North Loop Drive, Suite 121Ames, IA 50010-8218515-294-8397Fax 515-294-1354www.extension.iastate.edu/communities

To download additional copies of this newsletter in PDF file format, go to:www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/newsletter/vol7issue4.pdf

To change your mailing information, contact Sandra Oberbroeckling at soberbr@iastate.edu.

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ISU.Extension.CED and Twitter @ISUExtensionCED

Program Builder at your fingertips:

Editorial Board: Tim Borich, Abbie Gaffey, and Sandra Oberbroeckling

Community Matters is published quarterly for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development staff and their clients. Comments, questions, and suggestions regarding the content of this newsletter should be directed to:

Sandra Oberbroeckling, editorISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development2321 North Loop Drive, Suite 121Ames, IA 50010515–294–3721Fax 515–294–1354soberbr@iastate.edu

. . . and justice for allThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities based on race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice or TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 800-795-3272 (voice) or 202-720-6382 (TDD).

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the US Department of Agriculture. Cathann Kress, director, Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.

Dear Friends,

As I sit to write this piece Community Matters, a new academic year is beginning at Iowa State University and campuses across Iowa and the US. Fall on campus is always a time of refreshment. AT the same time, there is rhythm to this place that mimics years past. As with most campuses, ISU is a place of traditions that comingle with the present. Yet, the mission of the university and its Extension, teaching and research continues to focus on the future.

In a typical year, ISU Extension and Outreach touches almost one-third of the state’s population—around 1 million Iowans. Often unseen by these people served around the state, the campus continues to be vitally important to our outreach and community engagement programming. Faculty, staff, and students are a significant resource for our work with communities across the state. Much good work with Iowa’s 954 communities continues, and it is our broader ties to the university that makes this relationship unique.

The Extension Community and Economic Development unit continues to add

university resources to assist Iowans in their community development efforts. Within the last year, we have added the following faculty on part-time Extension appointments:

• Jay Mittal, assistant professor in the Departments of Community and Regional Planning and Business Finance. Jay will be teaching courses in both the College of Business and the College of Design. He will also serve hold a half-time Extension appointment in the area of real estate economics. Jay starts January 1, 2015. The position was funded in part through the ISU President’s office.

• Lisa Bates, lecturer, Department of Interior Design. Starting last year, Lisa holds a part-time Extension appointment focusing upon retail design. She has been working with independent retailers on such topics as signage, lighting, merchandise layout, and color schemes. Lisa has degrees interior design and marketing.

• Jennifer Drinkwater, senior lecturer, Department of Integrated Studio Arts. Jennifer has worked with a number

of communities in the past and currently holds a half-time Extension appointment with a focus on art as a community development strategy. She has also worked with youth and design education.

For communities attempting to assess their ever-changing real estate market, or looking to better the abilities of local merchants to market themselves, or wish to focus upon art as means of improving local quality of life, these new campus-based resources are becoming available. Each represents the continued commitment of Iowa State University to address the issues and opportunities found in Iowa’s communities and their future.

Timothy O. Borich Director, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

Community Matters, v.7, #4ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development 3

will feature an element that has the students and their professor intrigued: leaning walls.

“Officers told us that when they work the night shift, they get tired if they sit down. So they lean. We’re building leaning walls specifically for that purpose. They’re about four feet high so officers can lean and rest without feeling sleepy,” Stevens said.

“The students did a phenomenal job,” said Todd Givens, correctional officer. “They listened to our ideas and wants, worked around restrictions that one would not have on a normal project. They took our suggestions and came up with a design that not only met our expectations and wants, but in my mind, exceeded them.”

Working four 10-hour days a week through July, the students dug out the paths, excavated the patio and laid out their design, which calls for limestone (left over from last year’s construction), and gravel, brick and concrete pavers (which they hope to have donated, along with planting materials). Stevens is thrilled that the mason from Hanson Masonry, Owen, Wisconsin, who did the prison buildings’ brickwork, is returning to teach the students how to build masonry walls. And he’s donating the materials.

Uncommon windbreakThe windbreak posed a design challenge. Many plants typically used in Iowa windbreaks are increasingly susceptible to diseases (green ash and Scotch pine), drought (white pine), or are invasive (honey suckle). So the students specified plants not typically used around here, making the prison grounds “a bit of a test site where we can follow the outcomes of different plants,” Stevens said.

“We tried to bring in plants that are visually interesting and will withstand the wind,”

said Madison Dierks, a senior from Des Moines.

With advice from ISU Extension and Outreach specialists coupled with the students’ research, Dierks said their windbreak design calls for red twig dogwood, hazelnut, Ponderosa pine, white spruce, hackberry, buttonbush and witchhazel. And a grove of aspen that fades into the windbreak will tie into the planting design inside the security fence.

A landscape to care forBounds’ design includes silky aster thimbleweed, alumroot, prairie petunia, as well as sedges, grasses, and a hillside grove of aspen trees. The thin trunks of aspen trees grow tall and the foliage can be kept at a level higher than six feet, a necessity for security and surveillance inside. On the grounds inside the fence, a team of students and offenders planted grass, trees, and native plants around the outdoor classrooms. They followed the planting design created by Tara Bounds, a graduate student from Orion, Illinois, and Stevens’ teaching assistant. After graduating from Drake University, Bounds worked in a native plants greenhouse and has extensive experience in prairie restoration.

In addition to helping the students plant, offenders will maintain the prairie beds and other plantings around the outdoor classrooms, which already are in use.

The offenders not only appreciate their new outdoor environment, but also look forward to maintaining it—even pulling weeds. They are the first to praise the students’ work, with comments like “they did a wonderful job,” “the students have put hard work into that,” “it’s really nice to have room for everybody to sit,” “these guys are awesome,” and “we can’t believe they did this for us.”

“And we enjoy returning the praise for a job well done,” Stevens said. “The women on our crew have worked exceptionally hard and are dedicated to making the project successful.”

Prison from page 1

“I’ve watched the students interact with officers, support staff, counselors, and all the way up to the Director of Corrections,” said Warden Wachtendorf. “I’ve watched them talk and listen to the offenders and work side by side with them. They are always professional, kind, and have found themselves in the teaching role instead of just being a student.”

Making it workStevens is already looking ahead to the coming year. Grad student Bounds is designing a community park for outside the security perimeter that will be tied into local bike trails. And her students next year will design a new kitchen garden and production greenhouse to replace those wiped out by the construction project. Stevens says she and her students won’t be finished until the mother-child garden—her favorite project—is installed.

She’s also writing a couple of book chapters and some journal articles about this unique ongoing learning and service project. And Iowa Department of Corrections Director John Baldwin has asked her to create a design for the new men’s facility in Fort Madison.

“I’ve come to realize that the constraints of the project have actually made for the best opportunities,” Stevens said. “Because I have never limited the students’ ideas. I’ve always said: ‘Identify the problem, research the problem, and create the ideal solution to solve the problem through design. Then let’s talk about how we might actually make it work without compromising the security.’

“This has been such an incredible design challenge. Nobody ever thought we’d get this built, but we did and that part is incredible.”

A bird’s eye perspective of restorative outdoor areas adjacent to the new administrative building. By Tim Buescher.

Tiered classroom. Photo by Bob Elbert.

Community Matters, v.7, #44 ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

By Deborah Tootle Associate Professor and Community Development Specialist, University Extension Community Development Collaborative

They traveled by plane; they traveled by car. They came from very near and they came from very far. They hailed from across the United States and our neighboring countries. They also flew west across the pond from Europe and Africa, as well as east from Australia and Asia.

More than 230 community development scholars and practitioners from across the world descended on Dubuque, Iowa, to attend the Community Development Society’s 2014 Annual Conference July 20–23.

The theme of the conference was renaissance, a topic for which Dubuque provided an exemplary setting to explore. Participants learned about and discussed community renewal and sustainability in a local setting that provided real-life examples of community renaissance. Conference attendees met with and engaged local government representatives, scholars, workers, and residents. Social connections created during the conference have already begun to open new doors for the Dubuque area, Iowa, and the surrounding states.

The University Extension Community Development Collaborative in Dubuque and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community Economic Development, along with the University of Wisconsin–Extension and University of Illinois Extension, hosted the conference.

Highlights included a warm welcome by Mayor Roy Buol, who talked about the precipitous decline of Dubuque in the 1980s and its remarkable recovery. The next

morning, Rick Dickinson, president and CEO of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, set some wheels turning for an effective community development conference by reminding attendees of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and the power of collective good. A reception for international residents and visitors also sparked new conversations about the roles of immigration, diversity, and inclusion in the tristate area.

The conference featured impressive and lively keynoters: Chad Pregracke, president and founder of Living Lands & Waters and the 2013 CNN Hero of the Year; Dell Gines, the senior community development advisor for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; and Martín Carcasson, the founder and director of the Center for Public Dialogue; all of whom stimulated thought provoking discussion and in some cases, new approaches to “wicked problems.”

For four days participants were engaged in hands-on and challenging workshops on topics such as collaborative local governance and public deliberation and community coaching, as well as in topical concurrent sessions organized around a myriad of community issues: sustainability, local economic development, public spaces, community and university relationships,

ethnicity, disaster recovery, and program evaluation.

Moreover, four mobile learning workshops, designed to demonstrate creative and innovative examples of cutting-edge community development efforts, highlighted efforts in local foods and tourism as economic development strategies in the tristate area and adaptive reuse of the old Millwork district and community development in Dubuque. Anne Silvis, assistant dean of Community Economic Development at University of Illinois, expressed thanks to mobile learning workshop organizers for “sharing the history and the potential of a city which is creating a new economy.”

Participants walked away from this conference saying “great,” “fantastic,” “excellent,” “inspirational,” and “insightful.” Many departed already working to incorporate new ideas into community development efforts. Bill Rizzo, local government specialist from University of Wisconsin–Extension, quickly engaged the University Extension Community Development Collaborative and colleagues from surrounding states to “collaborate to build educational capacity around the topics of public engagement and deliberative/collaborative governance.”

The success of the 2014 CDS Conference in Dubuque has, as several of the CDS board members noted, “raised the bar for future conferences.”

Additional conference sponsors included the Dubuque Area Convention and Visitors Bureau; Iowa Community Development, LLC; Clemson University; Purdue University Center for Regional Development; the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs; and the USDA Regional Rural Development Centers.

2014 CDS Annual Conference in Dubuque Opens New Doors

Left: Rick Dickinson of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation opens the conference. Right: Posters are presented with a view of the Mississippi River as a backdrop.

The National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium (left) and the Riverwalk (right) are the results of Dubuque’s community development renaissance.

Community Matters, v.7, #4ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development 5

Extension Helps ICRA Create County Recorder Certification

Row 1 (L–R): Steve Mangan, Karen Ford, Marie Krutzfield, Kelly Spees, Janice Jacobs, Eldon Kruse, Chuck Kruse. Row 2 (L–R): Deb Winke, Sue Vande Kamp, Karen Schwanebeck, Teddy Walker. Row 3 (L–R): Joan McCalmant, Toni Wilkinson, Melissa Bird, Deb Peyton, Nancy Auen, Sue Meyer, Cindy Messersmith. Row 4 (L–R): Travis Case, Megan Clyman, Kristin Colby, Colleen Pearce, Liz Kenison, June Brady, Shari OBannon, Julie Phillips, Judy McCarthy, Arlene Schauf. Row 5 (L–R): Janelle Schneider, Denise Meeves, Peggy Cummings, Deb Kupka, Tena Hinkel, Lorie Thompson, Lisa Smith, Kathy Bennett, Jo Greiner. Row 6 (L–R): Bonnie Whitney, Ann Skaggs, Shirley Goyette, Sandie Smith, Carleen Bruning, Nancy Parrott, Jolynn Goodchild, Marilyn Dopheide, Teresa Bockman. Absent, Denise Allan, Tracy Casady, Deb Roberts, Rita Vargas. (Photo courtesy of the Iowa State Association of Counties.)

By Deb Winke Allamakee County Recorder

The Iowa County Recorders Association (ICRA) recognized the first graduating class of a new Iowa County Recorders Certification program at a ceremony held on Friday, November 15, 2013. The graduation occurred in conjunction with the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) Fall School of Instruction in Des Moines. Forty-seven recorders and three deputy recorders received certificates and pins for completing the program.

Iowa county recorders have seen many changes in recent years. Every county recorder has transitioned from a system of hand-written indexing and archiving paper documents to electronic indexing and digitized images. County recorders also manage a statewide website that allows customers to remotely search for land records and electronically submit documents for recording. Licenses issued on behalf of the Department of Natural Resources were previously hand written, and now fish and game licenses and off-highway vehicle registrations are processed electronically. Soon there will be a statewide electronic death certificate system managed in partnership with the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Iowa county recorders have more duties and they manage more technology than ever before. Most professional occupations require some type of formalized continuing education to stay updated. It was time for ICRA to provide better training that would help county recorders and deputies fulfill their managerial duties and professional responsibilities. In summer 2010, the ICRA Executive Board appointed a task force to do just that. A small committee of recorders reached out for assistance to Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and were introduced to Alan Vandehaar, community development specialist, and Cindy Kendall, extension program specialist for ISU Extension’s Office of State and Local Government Programs. Vandehaar and Kendall had previously worked with the auditors and treasurers affiliates. A proposal to develop a certification program that would lead to “Certified Status” was brought to ICRA and approved in the fall of 2010. A full committee was formed to develop the

mission statement, structure, objectives, and Standing Rules for the program. The first training session was presented in fall 2011.

Participants in the program must complete 30 credit hours of training, including 21 core credits and nine elective credits. The core credits can be obtained by attending seven three-hour classes over three years. The program is open to county recorders and deputy recorders. Classes are held in conjunction with regular affiliate meetings to help reduce travel expenses. The areas covered in the program are leadership and ethics, open meetings and open records, communications, human resources and office management, the Iowa Code and resources, technology applications, local government, and budgets. County recorders and deputy recorders who become certified must complete continuing education classes to retain their certification.

With the collaborate effort of ISU Extension and Outreach, ISAC, and an invested recorders affiliate, the program is off to a great start. The presentation of certificates for the completion of the first program was a testimony to the dedication county recorders and deputy recorders have to providing excellence in public service. On January 1,

2014, a second series of classes was started. To help keep costs down the program has used speakers from other affiliates, such as the Iowa Counties Information Technology Organization, and there have been joint sessions held with other ISAC affiliates. This year there will also be an online class presented by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.

ISAC’s affiliate website has been a helpful resource throughout the planning and implementation of the program. It has been used effectively for sending out registration notices, creating invoices, and managing data about payment and the CEU credits earned by each participant. The e-mail and posting center is used daily for questions and answers, and the survey area has helped gather timely input when needed.

An accomplishment like this doesn’t come easily. It required determination, hard work, and investment from ICRA, and some welcome help from ISU Extension and Outreach and the staff at ASAC. Iowa county recorders are looking forward to the challenges ahead.

This article first appeared in the March 2014 issue of The Iowa County.

2014 CDS Annual Conference in Dubuque Opens New Doors

Community Matters, v.7, #46 ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

continued on page 6

Design students in Lisa Bates’ and Tom Neppl’s studio developed retail concepts to strengthen southwest Iowa’s economy. Photo by Bob Elbert.

By Teddi Barron Communications Specialist, University News Service

Some Iowa State University design students are stepping out of the hypothetical and into the actual in three southwestern Iowa communities.

Working with Clarinda, Red Oak, and Shenandoah, 24 students in the senior-level Retail Scapes studio class have developed design concepts to enhance local retail experiences. And what started as individual community storefronts and streetscapes has evolved into a regional vision with connections and collaborations that can strengthen the area’s economy.

“These three communities didn’t know what they wanted and didn’t know how to start. We’re the starting point. We’re the enabling point,” said interior design lecturer Lisa Bates, who teaches the class with landscape architecture lecturer Tom Neppl.

Bates, who splits her time between the classroom and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development, and Neppl developed the class in conjunction with ISU Extension’s Iowa Retail Initiative. The retail program connects the university with communities to support Iowa’s independent retailers and revitalize rural downtowns.

“With a class, we only have a semester and can only accomplish so much,” Bates said. “Through the IRI, the products at the end of the class can be disseminated. So the ideas, best practices, and precedent studies can serve as tools and templates that another town can adapt.”

Complex and complementary Students in the multidisciplinary class major in architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture. Many have not worked on projects with students from outside their own major, let alone with communities or clients. Most of their studio design

problems have been suppositional, with few constraints that could limit their creativity.

“But real life is complicated and you never know where it’s going to go,” Bates said.

Since January, the students have made three trips to the communities to learn about the strengths, needs and goals of each. They’ve engaged in the design process with task forces made up of chamber of commerce leaders, community volunteers, local retailers, and others who share a stake in the area’s future. And they’ve learned that the housing, retail, education, and recreation in a town or region are intertwined. The quality of one impacts the other, Bates said, and all must be considered together.

“Students are seeing connections for a growing, unified region,” Bates said. “They’re asking, ‘what about this region would attract people from Omaha or Council Bluffs to visit?’”

The students found their answer to that question in each community’s rich history, environmental heritage and fine arts culture. Inspired by the region’s musical tradition, the class proposed an overarching theme for the region, “Harmony in the Heartland.”

“‘Harmony in the Heartland’ is a perfect theme for the entire region,” said Elaine Farwell, executive director of the Clarinda Chamber of Commerce.

Define and design The Omaha architecture firm Alley, Poyner, Macchietto Architecture sees potential in southwest Iowa. They’ve set up shop in Red Oak, with architects Daric O’Neal and Jason Wheeler dividing their time between the two locations. Wheeler is completing a façade improvement project on 32 buildings around the town square. And he’s been an adviser to the students.

“The unique thing about this studio is that the students aren’t really given a specific design problem. They’re told, ‘here’s a community with challenges and opportunities and you can do some sort of design intervention,’” Wheeler said. “So they have to develop their own problem and solve it. That forces students to stretch themselves.”

The students realize they’re having an uncommon studio experience, learning about community dynamics and discovering the potential for their design careers to impact a community. They’re learning how to listen to a client, how to read between the lines and how to determine clients’ needs without the convenience of a checklist of specifics.

And their design concepts are broad in content. From a regional marketing program that features websites, coupons from across communities and a shared calendar of events ... to a downtown dinner theater for Clarinda’s local theater group ... to enhancements that create usable outdoor public space for Red Oak’s main square ... to

ISU Design Students Work With Three Southwest Iowa Towns

“Harmony in the Heartland” theme reflects the region’s arts culture. (Design by Alexis Rokes, senior in interior design.)

Community Matters, v.7, #4ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development 7

SW Iowa from page 5

pop-up retail shops for vacant buildings to food co-ops that create a network for locally grown food.

Bike and shop in Shenandoah Two landscape architecture seniors, David Anderson from Cambridge, Wis., and Katherine Foerster from Mound, Minn., are taking advantage of one of the region’s existing recreational features, the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. Following the former Wabash Railroad corridor, the 63-mile-long trail winds from the outskirts of Council Bluffs southeast to the small town of Blanchard near the Missouri border. It crosses a corner of Shenandoah.

“We want to bring the trail into the community, connect it to the downtown retail area and then to an abandoned mill building,” Anderson said. This will make it easier for cyclists in the region to tap into a popular, weekly 14-mile bike ride from Council Bluffs to Silver City, The Taco Ride.

Anderson and Foerster initially envisioned the mill building as a bike rental/sale/repair shop. As the project developed, they added a park with Frisbee golf and a winter ice rink for seasonal activities. The bike shop idea expanded in scope to include additional sporting goods and skating lessons.

An arts hub for Clarinda Interior design senior Alexis Rokes, Cedar Falls, and Stacy Falesch, architecture senior from Minocqua, Wis., have big plans for renovating the vacant Page County Bank building in Clarinda. They propose converting the historic building into a regional arts center with a gallery, studios for local artists, and workshop space for educational programs. They’re calling the building “It stARTS here.”A vacant lot behind the building would be developed as a sculpture garden. And they’ve even suggested some ideas for community arts projects for all three towns such as murals, sidewalk chalk art, and ice sculptures.

A trio of tailor-made cafes Architecture senior Bobbi Jo Reiff, Farley, teamed with interior design seniors Shelby Gagnon, Plainfield, Ill., and Gretchen Frank, Mt. Prospect, Ill., to create unique cafes for vacant buildings in each community. Each cafe relates thematically to the region’s railroad history and responds to

specific community needs, such as a multigenerational gathering place or evening destinations for couples and families. Reiff’s concept is a gourmet ice cream shop in Clarinda featuring multigenerational board games. For Shenandoah, Gagnon is proposing a cafe-library with an industrial feel. Frank’s idea is a wine tasting/art and music cafe for Red Oak.

A fresh start for the region “They bring a lot of creativity and a fresh eye to the communities,” said Wheeler, their local architect/mentor. “And they’ve developed some creative and innovative ways to bring some retail opportunities and attention to these three communities.”

Wheeler thinks some will be carried forward. “There’s a lot of excitement in the towns about what they’ve developed,” he said.

Shelly Smith, marketing director for the Shenandoah Chamber and Industry Association, likes “the out-of-the-box ideas.”

“Some of their ideas are obviously beyond reality, but they’re ideas that help us see new possibilities. And there are a lot of very practical things that show a new twist on a restaurant, storefront, or activities and services that might happen inside,” Smith said. “We are looking for ideas to help promote our music history with the Everly Brothers and others. The harmony theme for our towns is a good one.”

Clarinda’s Farwell said she’s excited with the potential for the students’ work, and “extremely impressed” with all the projects because they could be implemented in any of the three communities.

“My goal is to meet with regional chambers, collaborate on the theme and hopefully work from there,” Farwell said.

And that’s exactly the outcome hoped for.

“We’re there to help with ideas,” Bates said. “But we can’t go with them to the finish line.”

The Railway Cafe proposed by interior design senior Shelby Gagnon relates to southwest Iowa’s railroad history.

Interior design senior Gretchen Frank proposed a wine tasting cafe for Red Oak.

One of three cafes proposed for the region is a gourmet ice cream shop in Clarinda . (Design by architecture senior Bobbi Jo Reiff.)

Community Matters, v.7, #48 ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

Research Spotlight

CED Studies Latinos’ Awareness of Energy-efficiency ProgramsBy Sandra Oberbroeckling Community Relations Specialist

Most Iowans take the availability of information about energy-efficiency opportunities for granted, because it is easily accessible from a variety of sources. However, for the approximately 160,000 Latinos living in Iowa, programs and rebates that help promote energy efficiency seem out of reach.

This information gap is a major concern to Alliant Energy, which serves a growing number of Latino consumers. Although Latinos make up just over 5% of Iowa’s population, this demographic has increased by 92% since the 2000 census, according to the State Data Center of Iowa.

In an effort to understand how much Iowa Latinos know about its services and resources, Alliant Energy funded a project, “Energy Efficiency Research and Programming for Latinos,” by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach’s Community and Economic Development (CED) program. The research project consisted of a review of existing or prior utility programs that target Latinos, followed by a series of focus groups.

CED associate director Himar Hernández and community development specialists Scott Timm and Jon Wolseth conducted six focus groups in four Iowa communities with Latino populations higher than the state average—Marshalltown (24.1% Latino), Ottumwa (11.3% Latino), Perry (35% Latino), and Storm Lake (36.1% Latino). The focus groups targeted three niche markets of Alliant Energy’s Latino customers: residents, business owners, and landlords/contractors.

The three groups were asked to respond as residents to the same 14 questions. The group of business owners and the group of landlords and contractors were asked additional questions pertinent to their work. Sixty-four people answered the questions for residents; 13 Latino contractors and eight Latino business

The graph shows that Alliant Energy’s outreach initiatives do not reach Latino consumers.

owners attended focus groups.

Most Latinos who participated own their homes and live in older housing stock, with more than 50% living in homes 50 or more years old.

Home ownership qualifies these customers for Alliant Energy energy-efficiency rebates on various equipment, but the majority of them are not aware or do not understand these opportunities. For example, of 70 respondents, six had heard of available rebates and four had heard of appliance recycling. None of the respondents was familiar with the utility’s financing program and free energy audits.

At the same time, 88% of the participants indicated that they would participate in an energy-efficiency program. Following each focus group sessions, the focus group facilitators helped participants enroll in efficiency programs and provided rebate information.

Among the Latino contractors and business owners, all respondents said they would participate in Alliant Energy’s energy-efficiency rebate programs to increase business in the case of contractors, and to save money in the case of business owners. Both groups expressed an interest in workshops and/or information on how to conserve energy. Contractors want data showing operating costs compared to purchase cost in order to make informed decisions.

The focus group results revealed that Alliant Energy’s outreach efforts on energy efficiency—are not reaching the majority of its Latino clients, primarily because of the language barrier and cultural differences (see graph). Latinos do not call Alliant Energy because they are unaware that the utility has access to interpreters to assist with issues

or questions. Customers have difficulty understanding the monthly utility bills and would like to receive their statements in Spanish.

Another significant barrier is the perception that energy-efficiency upgrades are expensive, and homeowners and business owners do not have the capital to make an investment. As a result, they buy less expensive, less-energy efficient appliances.

The research team recommended that Alliant Energy proactively expand its outreach efforts to be more inclusive of its clients who do not speak English. Advertising on Latino radio and television stations and in Latino newspapers and magazines will reach more Latino customers.

Feedback from the focus groups indicates that workshops and classes are the preferred method for disseminating information. Furthermore, the workshops should be conducted at locations where Latinos currently receive support in their community.

The project revealed that, nationwide, little research has been done and few outreach programs on energy efficiency for Latino populations exist. The team has recommended a pilot program to develop energy efficiency related programming and best practices for reaching the growing immigrant population in Iowa with this valuable information.

Community Matters, v.7, #4ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development 9

By Marybeth Foster, IARC Director, ISU Extension Program Coordinator

A valuable partnership between Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Association of Regional Councils (IARC) has led to a national award. ISU Extension Community and Economic Development and IARC has been selected as a 2014 Innovation Award recipient from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO).

IARC and ISU Extension and Outreach entered into a joint position agreement, allowing IARC to continue its rapid growth with a new, full-time executive director and allowing ISU Extension and Outreach to create better connections between the university’s community and regional planning department and ISU Extension and Outreach’s capacity to connect to cities, counties, businesses, and nonprofits.

“IARC is excited to have a quality partnership with Extension,” said Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission director Mike Norris. “We think both

organizations will benefit, and feel it is a sustainable relationship. Ultimately, we hope communities and businesses in Iowa will benefit from the tighter connection of resources and service delivery from Extension and Councils of Governments.”

NADO is a Washington, D.C.-based association that promotes programs and policies that strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies.

The association’s Innovation Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and partnering organizations for improving the economic and community competitiveness of regions and local communities in the United States.

“For 28 years, NADO’s Innovation Awards have recognized regional development organizations for their hard work and commitment to promoting economic development in rural and small metropolitan communities across the country,” said NADO President Peter

Gregory, executive director of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission in Woodstock, VT. “Award recipients have created innovative solutions that build on the unique strengths and challenges of their regions, all while continuing to promote sustainable economic growth not only now, but for many years to come.”

Award winners were showcased during NADO’s 2014 Annual Training Conference, Aug. 23–26 in Denver, Colorado.

To learn more about IARC’s partnership with ISU Extension and Outreach, contact IARC director Marybeth Foster at mbfoster@iastate.edu or 515-450-0556.

Extension CED and IARC Recognized Nationally for Partnership

By Sandra Oberbroeckling Community Relations Specialist

Lime Springs is facing a dilemma: too many jobs and not enough workers. In fact, several businesses in Howard County, especially manufacturing enterprises such as Featherlite and Alum-line, have needed workers for several years. They want to expand and grow but are stifled by the small labor force.

This fall LimeSprings Beef plans to hire approximately 80 workers, some of whom will come from around the area, possibly from Featherlite and Alum-line, exacerbating the labor shortage at those companies. Staffing LimeSprings Beef has been a worry of board president Jess Stevens for a while. “I’m trying to help our general manager, Michael Spinks, figure out where employees are coming from,” said Stevens.

Stevens contacted Himar Hernández, community development specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and assistant director of the ISU Extension Community and Economic Development

Program for help in solving the labor shortage. Hernández specializes in Latino community and business development and works with immigrant populations throughout the state.

Hernández met with Howard County leaders and business owners in April to discuss the option of inviting international workers to fill some of the vacant positions and to revitalize area communities. Hernández lives in Ottumwa, one of the first communities in Iowa to embrace international workers. He has been instrumental in helping other communities find personnel to fill jobs.

At the meeting, Jason Passmore, executive director of Howard County Business and Tourism, addressed the issue of population decline. “We know what census numbers are doing to us. They’re not fun to look at.”

Hernández explained the advantages of inviting international workers to Howard County, other than easing the labor shortage. For instance, most international workers prefer to buy homes rather than rent. They

CED Studies Latinos’ Awareness of Energy-efficiency Programs

want to invest in where they live, generating additional property taxes for the area.

Not all the newcomers will fill manufacturing jobs, but will help stimulate the local economy in other ways. “These newcomers are very entrepreneurial. I can see growth of small business…mom-and-pop stores and restaurants. They generally go to the downtown area,” Hernández said.

While integrating a new population into the community presents some challenges such as language barriers and cultural differences, participants at the meeting agreed that the benefits outweigh potential problems.

The economic development boards and boards of supervisors from Howard and Mitchell Counties invited Hernández back in July to meet with 65 leaders from Howard and Mitchell Counties. He has also contacted the Howard County and Mitchell County Extension Councils. Communities interested in learning about attracting international workers to their area can contact Hernández at 641-799-6681 or himarh@iastate.edu.

Help Wanted: Lime Springs Explores Recruiting International Workers

Community Matters, v.7, #410 ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development

DeBlieck’s love of Ames pulled her back to Iowa. “This is the place I’ve lived the longest as an adult and every time I’ve left I’ve always come back,” she said.

As a design fellow, DeBlieck translates research into maps and reports, and helps partnering communities choose design solutions using a technique known as “graphic facilitation.” One of the aspects she likes most about ISU Extension is how it conducts its business.

“What I really like about Extension is the land-grant mission; the idea that university research is going out into the community and that community knowledge is coming into the university,” she said.

CDL uses design knowledge and research expertise to help local leaders, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies shape vibrant and empowered communities.

Integrating Local Foods Systems into Sustainable Community DesignBy Sandra Oberbroeckling Community Relations Specialist

All living creatures rely on food for survival, but to people food means much more than sustenance. Simply consider how we use food to celebrate—think Thanksgiving turkey, holiday hams, and cake for any number of events.

In short, “food makes people happy and brings people together,” said Susan DeBlieck, design fellow for the Community Design Lab (CDL), a partnership between Iowa State University College of Design and ISU Extension Community and Economic Development. “It’s a nice way to get people talking about environmental and social issues and food and agriculture,” she added.

DeBlieck joined CDL in January 2014. Originally from the Twin Cities, she earned an undergraduate degree in community and regional planning (CRP) from ISU in 2007. As an undergraduate, she worked as a research assistant for ISU’s Institute for Transportation. She also studied abroad in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Bangalore, India.

DeBlieck earned a master of science in sustainable agriculture at ISU in 2009. As a graduate student, she organized workshops for farmers and ISU dining staff, starting Farm to ISU and the Midwest chapter of the Real Food Challenge.

Since completing her education, DeBlieck has cultivated her interest in local food. Following graduate school, she coordinated the Downeast Farm to School program on Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island in Maine. She returned to Ames and started a teen gardening program and worked part-time for the Iowa Farmer’s Union and a vegetable farm.

Next, DeBlieck moved north to work for the University of Minnesota Extension on community food systems and served as the Minnesota lead for the National Farm to School Network. She provided technical assistance to local public health staff working on healthy eating initiatives in 14 counties and facilitated connections among 80 public health and community partners working on policy change and access to healthy foods.

Bringing the Power of Words to Iowa’s Underserved PopulationsBy Sandra Oberbroeckling Community Relations Specialist

When Glennda Bivens says she wants to do something, she does it. For instance, at age 12 she said that she wanted to be a doctor, and currently she is in the process of earning a PhD in higher education from Iowa State University.

Bivens is the most recent addition to ISU Extension and Outreach’s Community and Economic Development (CED) program. As a community development specialist, she will work in both Ames and Des Moines.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Bivens earned an undergraduate degree in Black studies from the University of La Verne in La Verne, California. She went on to complete a Master of Education in higher education administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. It was in Texas that she learned about ISU.

“My mentor told me about Iowa State,” Bivens said. Her mentor, Gwendolyn Robinson, has been a CIO and a CEO of a

bank, as well as the executive director of the Alamo City Black Chamber of Commerce. “She said I should apply to Iowa State because her daughter got a master’s degree [from ISU] and her son-in-law got a PhD [from ISU] in the same program,” she added.

For her dissertation, Bivens is studying the academic experiences of black women in community colleges and ways to increase the rate of completion in whatever course of study they pursue. Along the way she has earned graduate certificates in both social justice and applied research methods in the human sciences.

Bivens has been deeply involved in outreach at ISU. For example, she was a graduate assistant with Science Bound, ISU’s pre-college program aimed at increasing the number of ethnically diverse Iowa students studying in ASTEM (agricultural, scientific, technical, engineering and mathematics) fields. Bivens worked primarily with Black, Latino, and indigenous women.

She has also been an assistant to the vice president for Extension and Outreach. Since

June 2013, Bivens has been a live-in graduate advisor for the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity.

“I have 35 little brothers and counting,” she said.

Bivens was attracted to the community development specialist position because of the opportunity it provides her to empower communities to create sustainable change.

“I spoke with some mentors about the opportunity—specifically not only about the ways that you can impact the community and how you can measure that impact, but also the opportunities for community empowerment, which I think is very much needed no matter where you are, because there are always voices that are silenced,” she said.

Putting her academic experience into practice is appealing to Bivens. “It’s also a good way of bridging research and real life. What good is research if you can’t apply it?

Community Matters, v.7, #4ISU Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development 11

Integrating Local Foods Systems into Sustainable Community Design

GIS Program Manager Educates Communities Through Mapping

CED Specialist/Keokuk Chamber Director Hits the Ground RunningBy Christine Amaya, Undergraduate Student, Greenlee School of Journalism

Shelley Oltmans doesn’t like to keep it simple—she has two undergraduate degrees, earned a double master’s degree, and speaks three languages. So naturally, when a community development specialist position shared by Iowa State University Extension Community and Economic Development, Lee County Extension, and the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce opened, she applied.

The Keokuk position is one of five community development specialist positions shared between ISU Extension CED and local nonprofit organizations, including the City of Fairfield, the West Liberty Economic Area Development (WE-LEAD), Cedar County Economic Development Commission (CCEDCO), and Southwest Iowa Coalition (SWICO). Oltmans was attracted to the possibilities that could result from the partnership.

“A lot of small communities that are struggling in the Midwest don’t have the

resources. [T]his partnership…improves the ability for the chamber to provide services to our members and also to the community...and that’s something I’m utilizing to its fullest,” Oltmans said.

Oltmans grew up on farm in southwest Minnesota near Sherburn, and made her way to Keokuk via Germany, the Netherlands, Ames, and Ghana. As a high school exchange student in Germany in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, she became interested in the complexity of global issues.

While working on bachelor’s degrees in global studies and German studies from the University of Minnesota, she obtained certification in Dutch language proficiency from the University of the Netherlands.

Realizing that she would be able to make a difference more effectively at the grassroots level, Oltmans decided to pursue graduate degrees at ISU in community and regional planning and sustainable agriculture. While at ISU, she traveled to Ghana to compose a thesis on the food retail environment in Ghana’s capital of Accra.

“I want to be a person that works on the ground in communities,” she said. “I chose to pursue an additional degree in sustainable agriculture that would help me assist rural communities and work on food system development in developed and developing countries.”

Since arriving in Keokuk a few months ago, Oltmans has immersed herself in the community. She plans the networking event, “Chamber After Business Hours,” using the socializing opportunity to showcase what products or services the sponsors of the event have to offer to the public. Oltmans hopes to bring a new focus on increasing leadership in the younger population in Keokuk.

“I’m really big about the idea that it’s not so much about me; it’s about assisting this community on [its] trip to become healthier as well as a more satisfied,” she said.

By Christine Amaya, Undergraduate Student, Greenlee School of Journalism

After nearly 30 years at the Iowa Geological and Water Survey (IGWS) in Iowa City, Jim Giglierano moved west to join the Geospatial Technology Program at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach as a GIS (geographic information systems) manager.

Originally from Ohio, Giglierano earned an undergraduate degree in geology at Eastern Kentucky University, and then gradually made his way west, earning a master of science in geology at Purdue University, where he studied at the Lab for Application of Remote Sensing.

From Purdue he went further west to work as a research geologist at IGWS, which is part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. At this time, IGWS was one of a few state agencies using remote sensing and digital processing technologies to obtain natural resource information.

“The survey had a remote sensing program…for about 15 years. It was pretty

well established by the time I got there,” said Giglierano. “They didn’t call it GIS then—it was more remote sensing, but the same principles applied.”

Giglierano worked his way up to GIS supervisor, spent two years as the state geologist, and then became a GIS project manager, a position he held for 10 years. A significant part of the work at IGWS was related to groundwater, water quality, sediment, and runoff, and involved characterizing land cover where crops are grown. His accomplishments as a research geologist include completing the completion of the Johnson County crop residue remote sensing project in 1989 and providing GIS data to the US Army Corps of Engineers during the floods of 1993.

As a GIS project manager, Giglierano obtained funding for a variety of projects, on of which was starting a GIS service bureau to help smaller state and local agencies use GIS. He also worked on updating GNIS (Geographic Names Information System) and National Map

structure databases. Giglierano’s experience also includes an 18-year membership on the Iowa Geographic Information Council, a team of IGIC members who have volunteered to provide GIS services during emergencies.

At ISU, Giglierano will be collaborating with many of the same people with whom he has worked while at IGWS and using the same methods and technology, but on a much broader scale. He will be involved with educating communities in Iowa on how they can use mapping and geospatial data as tools to improve the functioning of certain business and government processes.

“We know there are specific things we can do that should benefit a community, make their tax dollars go further, make their community nicer to live in, and improve their ability to attract new businesses,” he said.

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