IEDA’s presentation on and for Maquoketa

The Iowa Economic Development Authority held a meeting Wednesday Aug. 20th, at Innovate 120 for the city of Maquoketa. The meeting went over many different topics about ways to improve both the downtown section of Maquoketa and the city overall.

The Iowa Economic Development members spent 2-3 days in Maquoketa, walking, driving, and exploring the downtown scene and the surrounding areas. They made note and took pictures of aspects in the city they think could be improved and expanded on. They also took data from the area, interviewed city leaders, chamber members and business owners. A key point they focused on was that the Maquoketa Caves State Park has over 300-thousand visitors a year, from all over the world. The IEDA suggested ways that the city can help funnel the people from the park into Maquoketa.

In their report the IEDA said that in Iowa, a vacant or underused building will cost a city around a quarter of a million dollars in lost revenue. This led into the main themes they spoke about in their presentation: maintaining, renovating, placemaking, activating downtown, supporting business, branding, marketing, and communication.

The presentation was thorough, detailed, and very informative. This was not their full report however, as they will be working on and releasing an even more detailed summary in the next four to six weeks.