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!

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!

2020 BEST DEVELOPMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

CONTACT: Julia McGuire, Best Development Award Coordinator, 515-988-1828awards@1000friendsofiowa.org

Dec. 31, 2020 (Des Moines, Iowa) – 1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces ten recipients of its Best Development Awards for 2020 in eight categories. These recipients were chosen because they implemented the efficient use of resources to develop sustainable communities and provide a high quality of life.

“We have development heroes across the state who deserve recognition,” according to Julia McGuire, Program Coordinator. The 2020 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, recipient and project, city):

  *   In the specially created Best of Show category, Steeple Square in Dubuque, for the historical restoration of a former church and school campus to serve its neighborhood through affordable housing, childcare, greenspace, and community rental space.

  *   In the Renovated Civic category, the Mason City Arena in Mason City, for converting a vacant shopping mall space into an ice skating arena to fit the recreational needs of the community with many positive trickle-down effects.

  *   In the Renovated Commercial category, the Highpoint Event Center in Clarence, for its green building practices and community involvement to restore a dilapidated building into a needed event center.

  *   In the Innovative Leadership – Large Community category, the Iowa Flood Center for its successful efforts to address flooding and water quality challenges with its Iowa Watershed Approach across the state.

  *   In the Innovative Leadership – Small Community category, Main Street Jewell for its Vendors’ Village in Jewell, which supplied new retail storefronts through creative problem solving.

  *   In the Renewable Energy category, Southeastern Community College in Burlington, for adding solar rooftop and carport canopies to reduce its carbon footprint.

  *   In the Renovated Residential category, Newbury Living’s The Brenton in Davenport for sustainably repurposing a bank building into apartments.

  *   In the Stormwater Management – Private category, the Sippy Family for its Farm Flood Mitigation project near Oxford, which showcases natural infrastructure as a way to reduce floods and lessen negative impacts downstream for the good of everyone.

  *   In the Stormwater Management – Public category, the City of Clive for its Walnut Creek Hills Stormwater Wetland in Clive with its flood storage, enhanced water quality and wildlife habitat, and positive downstream effects.

  *   In the Urban Placemaking and Greenspace category, the Des Moines Heritage Trust for its Des Moines Heritage Center in Des Moines which incorporated conservation, vision, and impact into the restoration of an aging train depot.

Additional details about each winning project and their respective categories are forthcoming at the 1000 Friends of Iowa website, 1000friendsofiowa.org.

“Iowa has many great development projects, and by celebrating them and their future-minded leaders working behind the scenes, we hope to advocate for and see an increase in the use of sustainable practices,” stated Kari Carney, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Iowa. “All of the nominations bring hope and encouragement to their communities.”

This year, a new Best of Show category was created to recognize the outstanding results of Steeple Square’s comprehensive and thoughtful work in Dubuque’s oldest neighborhood. A virtual Awards Ceremony will be held Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, at noon. State legislative leaders have been invited to speak. The ceremony will be open to the public and followed by time for media questions.

The Best Development Award winners are selected from a pool of nominations each year by an independent group of jurors. This year’s jurors were Pat Boddy, retired Senior Partner and Sustainability Director at RDG Planning & Design; Megan Down, Project Manager for Impact 7G; Jeff Geerts, Special Projects Manager at the Iowa Economic Development Authority; Jeff Hanson, Community Development Operations Manager of the City of Sioux City, and Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture and Director for the Center for Building Energy Research at Iowa State University.

The Best Development Award Program recognizes projects in up to 12 different categories as a way for 1000 Friends of Iowa to express the fact that smart land use and sustainable communities are more than constructed buildings. All of the award recipients help advance sustainability across our state by considering site design, outdoor and indoor environmental impact, community and public use, and long-term benefits.

Founded in 1998, 1000 Friends of Iowa is the only organization in the state focused solely on promoting responsible land use in community, state, and federal development decisions. Its mission is to unite Iowans in efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, revitalize neighborhoods, towns and cities, and improve quality of life for future generations.

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2017 Best Development Award Winners

1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces eleven recipients as its Best Development Award winners of 2017. Five independent jurors from across the state selected projects that implement the efficient use of our resources to develop sustainable communities that provide a high quality of life.

The 2017 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, winner, project, city, link). For more information about each project, click the link.

  • In the Innovative Leadership category, the City of Clive for the Walnut Creek and Clive Greenbelt initiatives in Clive <link>
  • In the Mixed Use category, Blackbird Investments for the Wilkins Building in Des Moines <link>
  • In the New Residential category, KCL Engineering for the Parkside Residential Development in Charles City <link>
  • In the Placemaking/Greenspace category, the City of Glidden for the Albert Kruger, Sr. Shelter in Glidden <link>
  • In the Renewable Energy category, St. John the Apostle Catholic Church and Red Lion Renewables for the Solar Array in Norwalk <link>
  • In the Renovated Civic category, the City of Sioux City for the Sioux City Promenade in Sioux City <link>
  • In the Renovated Commercial category, SingleSpeed Brewing Co. for the Wonder Bread Building in Waterloo <link>
  • Renovated Residential category, Downtown Leases and Lofts for the Kibbey Building in Marshalltown <link>
  • In the Stormwater Management category, City of Denison for the 14th Street Parking Lot in Denison <link>
  • In the Transportation/Complete Streets category, the City of Muscatine for the Kent Stein Park to Deep Lakes Park Trail in Muscatine <link>
  • In a special Jurors’ Choice category, the City of Dubuque for its long-term, big-vision cross-cutting activities. <link>

The press and public are invited to celebrate these “development heroes” at an Award Ceremony, to be held at the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, at 11:45 a.m.

Take Action to Proct Topsoil

Protecting topsoil is one of 1000 Friends of Iowa’s highest priorities. In 2015, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Commission gutted the requirement to maintain at least 4 inches of topsoil on residential construction sites. Because topsoil is so crucial for flood mitigation, carbon sequestering, filtering out pollutants to keep our water clean and for growing the pants and food we depend on;  we are turning to local communities to take action to protect our topsoil.

To help communities and Iowa residents take action to adopt topsoil restoration and protection ordinances, 1000 Friends of Iowa has created a handy toolkit with how to’s, talking points and sample ordinances that we like. Get our toolkit here.

Take action! — Communities within the Greater Des Moines Metro Area have been talking about adopting a region-wide topsoil ordinance for a couple of years, but have been dragging their heels. The time to act is now!

Please do two things:

  1. Write a letter to the editor to the Des Moines Register calling on metro cities to adopt the topsoil ordinance. Submit your letters here.
  2. Contact your council members and mayor. Go to you cities home page and click on city council for contact information.

2017-2018 Topsoil ordinances

Congratulations to both the cities of Clive and Cedar Rapids for being the most recent communities to adopt topsoil restoration ordinances!

In 2017, we will reach out to additional communities around the state to adopt similar ordinances. Our soil is too precious not to.

Click here to download the toolkit

Click here to to see the Topsoil Restoration Guide from King County, WA

Click here to view the preliminary ordinance for the city of Clive

Let us know if you take this ordinance to your community by emailing us at kfoi@1000friendsofiowa.org 

Why it matters:

* Topsoil retention is very important to urban landscapes — growing plants need healthy soil. New homeowners with no topsoil left in place are often faced with very expensive soil remediation to even begin to establish healthy lawns, trees, and gardens. The savings to the building and construction industry (numbers that keep changing and are unsubstantiated) comes at a great cost to the homeowner and to the watershed.

* Rain events quickly wash fertilizers, also called nutrients, off lots that have been stripped of topsoil. This pollutes our rivers, lakes, and streams. Furthermore, it is costly for the landowner who must spend extra money for repeat fertilizer applications. Keeping soil in place contributes to natural storm water management solutions and helps build healthy, green, and more sustainable neighborhoods for future generations.

Stay updated on our topsoil protection actions at www.1000friendsofiowa.org.

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!

1000 FRIENDS OF IOWA ANNOUNCES 2021 BEST DEVELOPMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS

Celebrating Iowa’s ‘development heroes’ and recognizing smart growth principles across the state

1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces eight recipients of its Best Development Awards for 2021 in seven categories. These recipients were chosen because they implemented the efficient use of resources to develop sustainable communities and provide a high quality of life.

“Having a wide variety of spectacular work across the state is heartwarming,” according to Julia McGuire, Program Coordinator. The 2021 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, recipient and project, city):

  • In the specially created Best of Show category, the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center at Drake University in Des Moines, for its comprehensive incorporation of smart building and development practices in one of  the city’s oldest neighborhoods.
  • In the Renovated Commercial category, the Bellevue Button Factory in Bellevue, for converting a vacant factory into a usable space that fills community needs with many positive trickle-down effects.
  • In the Innovative Leadership category, Dupaco for the Voices Building in Dubuque, for converting a vacant manufacturing building into an operations center that revitalizes the Historic Millwork District.
  • In the Renewable Energy – Private category, Kemin Industries for the multiple solar arrays at its Global Headquarters in Des Moines, which are replicable throughout the company’s other sites
  • In the Renewable Energy – Civic category, Clenera and CIPCO for the utility-sized Wapello Solar Field in Louisa County, which can power 45,000 homes
  • In the Renovated Residential category, Mitchell Maskrey Mill in Maquoketa for sustainably repurposing a blighted flour mill into needed housing which continues the momentum in a revitalized downtown area
  • In the Transportation / Complete Streets category, the City of Windsor Heights for its University Ave Reconstruction in Windsor Heights which incorporated multiple modes of transportation, stormwater management, and placemaking.

Additional details about each winning project and their respective categories are forthcoming at the 1000 Friends of Iowa website, 1000friendsofiowa.org.

“By celebrating Iowa’s many great development projects, and the future-minded leaders working behind the scenes, we hope to see an increase in the use of sustainable practices,” stated Kari Carney, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Iowa. “All of the nominations have brought positive energy to their communities.”

An Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, at noon. State legislative leaders will be invited to speak. The ceremony will be open to the public and followed by time for media questions.

The Best Development Award winners are selected from a pool of nominations each year by an independent group of jurors. This year’s jurors were Megan Down, Project Manager for Impact 7G; Jim Engle, Director of Iowa Downtown Resource Center; Jeff Hanson, Community Development Operations Manager of the City of Sioux City; Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture and Director for the Center for Building Energy Research at Iowa State University and Bethany Wilcoxon, Senior Adviser for McClure Engineering.

The Best Development Award Program recognizes projects in up to 12 different categories as a way for 1000 Friends of Iowa to express the fact that smart land use and sustainable communities are more than constructed buildings. All of the award recipients help advance sustainability across our state by considering site design, outdoor and indoor environmental impact, community and public use, and long-term benefits.

Founded in 1998, 1000 Friends of Iowa is the only organization in the state focused solely on promoting responsible land use in community, state, and federal development decisions. Its mission is to unite Iowans in efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, revitalize neighborhoods, towns and cities, and improve quality of life for future generations.

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For more information about the Best Development Award Program, please contact Julia McGuire at 515-988-1828 or email awards@1000friendsofiowa.org.

MEDIA ADVISORY

Des Moines, Iowa – 1000 Friends of Iowa is pleased to present the 2020 Best Development Awards to ten Iowa ‘development heroes’ in eight categories. The Best Development Awards Program showcases work that thoughtfully considers the connections between building, land, natural resources, 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 2020 development heroes come from the following cities: Burlington, Clarence, Clive, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jewell, Mason City, and Oxford. Additionally, the Iowa Flood Center will be recognized for its projects that occurred in Coralville, Dubuque, and Storm Lake.

Details and photos of the winning projects have been compiled at: https://1000friendsofiowa.org/2020-best-development-award-recipients/

What: 2020 Best Development Awards Ceremony

When: January 29, 2021 at 12 noon

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__RDnhvATTAS-fs5AefKUrQ

Media opportunities: Screenshots are welcomed. Short question and answer session begins after the awards ceremony, approximately 12:50 p.m. with the Best Development Award winners, as well as 1000 Friends of Iowa Executive Director, Kari Carney, and expert jurors: Megan Downs, project manager at Impact7G; Jeff Geerts, Iowa Economic Development Authority; and Ulrike Passe at Iowa State University.

Contact: Julia McGuire, Awards Coordinator, (515) 988-1828 – text

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1000 Friends of Iowa, founded in 1998, is a statewide nonprofit organization focused on land use education. Its mission is to unite Iowans in efforts to protect farmland and natural areas, revitalize neighborhoods, towns and cities, and improve quality of life for future generations. Additional details about each winning project and 1000 Friends of Iowa’s smart growth priorities can be found at www.1000FriendsofIowa.org.

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)

People United for Responsible Land Use