All posts by Kari Carney

1000 Friends of Iowa 2024 Annual Meeting

Join us Saturday, November 9th for our 26th annual meeting. It will be held at the Thoreau Center at 3500 Kingman Blvd in Des Moines from 10 am until 4 pm.  You can register right now – only $25 for an individual and $45 for a couple! 

We will kick off the morning with our keynote speaker Abdinasir (Nas) Nourkadi from Move Minnesota. Was will talk about how they organizedto get the state of Minnesota to adopt the new transportation greenhouse gas emissions law, similar to the one in Colorado. Nas will talk about how they got the law passed and how these laws might reduce highway expansion and sprawl while helping us rethink how we get around.

In the afternoon, we will have a panel of speakers doing a deep dive on the new stormwater law in Iowa that undercuts work that 1000 Friends of Iowa has done over the past decade! The panel will tell us about what is in the new law, how cities are impacted, and what we can do to ensure we don’t go backwards on stormwater pollution. You don’t want to miss out!  Register today!

The annual meeting is from 10 am until 4 pm with a delicious catered lunch. Join your friends and join us on November 9. Registration is open now!

Des Moines Community Transportation Academy Applications Open!

1000 Friends of Iowa is introducing the Des Moines Community Transportation Academy coming this fall. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about transportation, now is the time! Apply now to attend!

The Des Moines Community Transportation Academy is a 10 week, once-per-week course open to community members and is free of charge for participants. The Academy aims to help bridge the gap between community advocates and transportation planning entities and provides community members with skills and knowledge to advocate for safe, accessible transportation networks that work for everyone.

Check out the syllabus here!

The class will run Wednesdays from 6-8 pm starting on September 25th with 6 in-person classes and 4 virtual. The in-person classes will be held at the Central Community Center located at 2008 Forest Ave. We will have a range of guest speakers who are experts at the local, regional and national levels to discuss a wide range of transportation topics – from public transit, walking, biking, safety, and even how our transportation system was developed. Participants will also have the opportunity to propose a solution to a local transportation problem. Don’t miss this opportunity, apply today!

Who should attend the academy? If you use the bus, walk, bike, drive or otherwise, use the transportation system in the Des Moines metro area, care about safety and accessibility, or just want to learn more about local transportation – this academy is for you!

Applications are open now through September 24th . Follow the link to apply and we will notify participants of their acceptance. Limited stipends are available to those that need them for attendance.

Anyone is welcome to apply!

Stay tuned for more information about our Eastern Iowa Community Transportation Academy coming soon!

For questions, please contact lauren@1000friendsofiowa.org

New Transportation Advocacy Tool Kit!

If we want to ensure responsible, equitable land use; and we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for transportation, we have to start doing things differently. In November 2021, The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was passed. This was a massive bill directing unprecedented amounts of federal dollars to transportation infrastructure – including increased funding for transit, rails, clean transportation, and even some for eliminating some stretches of highways. But it also increased the amount of money that could go to building more highways. This could offset any gains we make from more transit, etc. However, much of these funds are flexible, meaning states and communities have some wiggle room. But our decision makers need to hear from us if we want to make sure that these dollars are spent wisely and in ways that are better for our communities. In the Fall of 2023, along with our partners, we released a report entitled Flex Your Grants: Leveraging Federal Dollars for Clean Transportation. This report looked at various pots of money that could be used for projects that help reduce our reliance on personal vehicles and gives examples for what some cities and states are doing. The Advocacy Tool Kit is a guide on how to influence transportation decisions in your state and how federal dollars are spent. Check out the Tool Kit Here!

Leveraging Federal Funds for Clean Transportation!

This summer, 1000 Friends of Iowa has worked with our partners in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan to ensure Federal Transportation dollars are being spent on clean transportation options, such as transit, and other multi-modal options. As part of this work we commissioned a report from the Shared Use Mobility Center called “Flex Your Grants! Leveraging federal dollars for clean transportation projects.”

This report explores different pots of funding and how it can be used for something other than more highways. The report also gives examples of how the funds have been used in other states & communities. Check out the report here:

Click to access FlexYourGrants_Final_September2023.pdf

Stay tuned for ways you can get involved with influencing how federal dollars are spent!

Community Conversations

While most of us have been staying at home during Covid-19, we have been working with sustainability teams across central Iowa to do webinars on critical topics and plan for how to move forward equitable climate and sustainability action on the local level. Check out these community conversations Below:

100% Clean Renewable Cities Panel Discussion

Sustainable City Code with Johnathan Rosenbloom

Transportation in the Metro

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories and UNI’s CEEE

Stormwater and Flooding

Climate Action Planning

The Intersection of Urban Food Systems and Climate Change

DSM Urban Forest Master Plan and Climate Change

Climate Action – Leading with an Equity Lens

Getting to Zero Waste

Land use, transportation, sustainability, and climate change – webinars and trainings for Cities, Counties and Planners

1000 Friends of Iowa, along with our partners, have started a series of webinars on key topics of interest and importance to city and county staff and planners across the state.

Please check out our first two webinars and stay tuned for more to come! If you have topics for webinars that you would like to have, just email us at Kari@1000friendsofiowa.org

  1. Webinar 1: Zoning for Solar
  2. Webinar 2: EV Ready Communities
  3. Webinar 3: Comprehensive planning with a Climate and Sustainability lens (Coming in February 2022).
  4. Webinar 4: Transportation Planning to Reduce VMTs (Coming in April 2022)

Hiring for Temporary Sponsorship Fundraising Position.

1000 Friends of Iowa is seeking an independent contractor for at least a two to three month contract to coordinate our Best Development Awards Sponsorship Program.

Our Best Development Awards is a 19-year old awards program that recognizes smart growth and sustainable development in Iowa.

A successful candidate must have strong communication skills, be organized, detail oriented and able to work independently. Candidate should have experience with fundraising, prospecting, and direct donor asks; and should be proficient with social media, email, and familiar with Google drive.

Scoop of Work includes, but is not limited to:

Coordinate and implement all tasks related to the 1000 Friends of Iowa Sponsorship program. Tasks include, but are not limited to:

  • Updating and revising sponsorship materials and create other promotional materials
  • Updating and adding to prospect list
  • Coordinating the mailing of sponsorship ask letters and emails
  • Conduct follow up calls to make the ask for sponsorships
  • Coordinate fulfillment of “benefits” for sponsors
  • Create sponsorship acknowledgement materials
  • Communicate KFOI mission, values and Best Development Awards program goals.

This position could be extended for the right candidate to do ongoing and reoccuring sponsorship & fundraising work

Anyone interested in this position should submit a resume and cover letter to kari@1000friendsofiowa.org or call 515-288-5364 for more information. More information about the Best Development Awards can be found at www.1000friendsofiowa.org.

Celebrate smart development

1000 Friends of Iowa is pleased to celebrate the winners of the 2017 Best Development Awards. The Awards Program showcases projects that exemplify the connections between building, land, and natural resource development and quality of life. With a mission focused on responsible land use, 1000 Friends of Iowa promotes smart growth planning principles that help achieve socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable communities. The public is invited to recognize our award recipients with us.

The projects recognized in this year’s awards are located in the following cities: Charles City, Clive, Denison, Des Moines, Dubuque, Glidden, Marshalltown, Muscatine, Norwalk, Sioux City, Waterloo. Find details on the award-winning projects at https://1000friendsofiowa.org/2017-best-development-award-winners/

What:                             2017 Best Development Awards Ceremony

When:                            January 16, 2018, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Where:                           Iowa State Capitol Building, 1st Floor Rotunda

2017 Best Development Award Nominations

Edited Nov. 29, 2017: Thank you for your interest! Nominations closed on Nov 17, 2017. Please join us for the Awards Ceremony.

Everyone is welcome to attend our Awards Ceremony to celebrate our winners — Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018. A light lunch will be served at the beautiful Capitol Rotunda beforehand.

Want to do more to help? Volunteer to set up and tear down by sending email to awards@1000friendsofiowa.org