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!
Category Archives: Articles of Interest
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
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories and UNI’s CEEE
The Intersection of Urban Food Systems and Climate Change
DSM Urban Forest Master Plan and Climate Change
Climate Action – Leading with an Equity Lens
2018 Best Development Award Winners and Ceremony
CONTACT: Julia McGuire, Best Development Award Coordinator, 515-988-1828, awards@1000friendsofiowa.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1000 FRIENDS OF IOWA ANNOUNCES 2018 BEST DEVELOPMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS
Celebrating Iowa’s ‘development heroes’ and recognizing smart growth principles across the state
Dec. 11, 2018 (Des Moines, Iowa) – 1000 Friends of Iowa proudly announces eight recipients of its Best Development Award for 2018. These recipients were chosen because they implement the efficient use of resources to develop sustainable communities and provide a high quality of life.
“These are our state’s ‘development heroes,’” according to Julia McGuire, Program Coordinator. The 2018 Best Development Award winners are listed below (category, recipient, project, city):
- In the Innovative Leadership category, the City of Storm Lake for building a sustainable community through food, youth service and education, flood control, and stormwater management in Storm Lake
- In the Placemaking/Greenspace category, Primary Health Care’s East Side Clinic for its Healing Garden in Des Moines
- In the Renewable Energy category, Stuff Etc. for its unique “solar plus storage” technology in Coralville
- In the Renovated Civic – Small Community category, the Bricker-Price Block for the restoration of the Bricker-Price Block in Earlham
- In the Renovated Civic – Large Community, the Davenport Community School District for its J.B. Young Opportunity Center in Davenport
- In the Renovated Residential category, Professional Property Management for Sun Prairie Apartments in West Des Moines
- In the Stormwater Management category, the City of Algona for its Downtown Green Parking Lot Infrastructure Renewal in Algona
- In the Transportation/Complete Streets category, the City of Manning for its Trails Network in Manning
“The nominations for 2018 were very diverse. The jurors really appreciated the number of renovations that were nominated. There are so many great developments occurring in our state,” stated Kari Carney, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Iowa. “Iowa should celebrate the communities where thoughtful planning is happening. Hopefully other communities can replicate the successes of our 2018 category winners.”
The Best Development Awards winners are selected from a pool of nominations each year by an independent group of jurors. This year’s jurors were Pat Boddy, Senior Partner Emeritus at RDG Planning & Design; Jeff Geerts, Special Projects Manager with the Community Development Division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority; Jeff Hanson, Community Development Operations Manager of the City of Sioux City; Ulrike Passe, Associate Professor of Architecture at Iowa State University and Director of the Center for Building Energy Research, and Ryan Peterson, President of Impact7G.
An Award Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 2019, at 12 noon at the Capitol Rotunda. It is free and open to the public.
The Best Development Awards 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, 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 Awards Program, please contact Julia McGuire at 515-988-1828 or email awards@1000friendsofiowa.org.
Help Save Energy Efficiency.
Updated:
Right now, making it’s way through the Iowa State House is a horrible bill – Senate File (SF) 2311 (formerly SSB 3093). The bill has passed out of committees in both houses and was passed out of the full senate. The bill is now awaiting debate in the full house. This bill has sweeping changes that decimates energy efficiency programs, potentially losing over 80% of the current funds, it essentially deregulates utilities in Iowa, leaving all utility customers vulnerable to soaring prices and the whims of the utility companies, and it makes it easier for gas pipelines to be built in Iowa.
If enacted, Senate File (SF) 2311 (formerly SSB 3093), which is being championed by Iowa’s investor owned utilities, would:
- Effectively deregulate Iowa’s energy utilities;
- Slash energy efficiency programs, potentially by up to 80% or more;
- Make it easier for gas pipelines to build in Iowa.
- And though the bad solar provisions were removed, there is still an effort to put them back into the bill which if added back in, could essentially kill rooftop and community solar by allowing utility companies to discriminate against solar customers.
So what does that mean for you? It means:
This bill is bad for Iowans. Energy efficiency is a key factor that keeps utility rates low in Iowa. If passed, utility rates will go up. Low income people will lose out on energy efficiency and weatherization programs programs and utility companies can build unnecessary fossils fuel generation plants and charge all of their customers to foot the bill.
We could see a potential loss of over 20,000 jobs in the energy efficiency sectors and and a loss of over $200,000,000 that would have been savings for utility customers.
If you are asking what we can do about it, keep reading!
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- Call or email your State Representative! (click here to find their contact info)
- Attend a legislative coffee and demand your elected officials oppose this bill (click here for a list of legislative coffees)
- Make calls to fellow 1000 friends members to get more people taking action (click here to sign up)
Talking points for the overall bill: Click here.
Energy Efficiency Fact Sheet: Click here.
Another bad bill that is now making it’s way through the senate is SSB 3078. This bill proposes to eliminate all energy efficiency programs. It is on the Ways and Means subcommittee schedule for Monday, March 19 at 3:00 p.m. The subcommittee is made up of Senator Fenestra, Senator Hogg, and Senator R.Schmidt. Please contact all three of them and ask them to oppose SSB 3078. Click here to find their contact info.
Become a Sponsor for the 2018 BDA!
1000 Friends of Iowa’s Best Development Awards – Become a sponsor!
Iowa communities are facing turning points; how they move forward impacts Iowa for generations to come.
Showcasing Iowa’s very best works raises the bar, encouraging and inspiring tomorrow’s efforts to higher levels of sustainability.
With 15 years of project winners and more to come, the Best Development Awards create a platform of sustainable growth models that are innovative, economically viable, and serve their communities well.
The Best Development Awards recognizes projects in 12 categories:
- Residential – New, Renovated
- Commercial – New, Renovated
- Civic – New, Renovated
- Mixed Use Space
- Innovative Leadership
- Storm Water Management
- Transportation/Complete Streets
- Renewable Energy
- Urban Placemaking/Green Space
Timeline: Award nominations open September 1, 2018. Nominees are judged by independent jurors in December and the awards ceremony is January 22, 2019.
Your generous, tax-deductible sponsorship gift will enable us to amplify awareness of innovative development works and further inspire residents, cities, businesses, and organizations to do well by Iowa’s resources. Won’t you become a sponsor today?
To download the full sponsorship packet, click here.
To make a sponsorship gift, click here.
Sponsorship Benefits:
To see and read more about winners, check out The Iowan Magazine feature on 2015 winners: http://bit.ly/29SV8Xh and go to https://1000friendsofiowa.org/our- programs/best-development-awards/
Best Development Awards – Become a Sponsor!
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Celebrating 16 Years of Recognizing Smart Growth & Sustainable Development Across Iowa
The Best Development Awards program recognizes cities, companies, nonprofit organizations, and individuals who demonstrate how responsible development and planning practices provide benefits to the community, the environment, and quality of life for future generations. Nominated projects help advance sustainability across our state by considering site placement, design, water efficiency, energy management, materials and resources used, indoor environmental quality, public use, and long-term benefits.
Our Best Development Awards Program is made possible because of the generous donations of our sponsors. Please consider becoming a sponsor this year. For more information on sponsorships, click here.
Click here to make a sponsorship gift.
Nominations for the 2017 Awards will open on September 1, 2017.
Download the Best Development Awards informational brochure here.
HOW TO APPLY:
STEP 1: Download the category application (see links below)
STEP 2: Review the awards program and category criteria
STEP 3: Submit your nomination by the Nov. 15th deadline
Entry Fee: $50
Pay entry fee online by clicking here or make checks payable to: 1000 Friends of Iowa 3850 Merle Hay Road, Suite 605 Des Moines, IA 50310 (Please note Best Development Awards entry fee)
2017 Categories (Click the specific category for its application)
Questions? Contact: Awards@1000friendsofiowa.org
Now more than ever we must raise awareness of people doing great things in our communities. We are facing a critical time when our water, land, air, and climate are so threatened by the impacts of poor land use decisions — it is imperative that we work to promote efforts that are doing it right. Because we know that smart land use and sustainable communities are more that just buildings, we’ve added three new categories this year:
- Renewable Energy, including solar and wind for commercial and residential properties
- Transportation/Complete Streets, including walkability and bicycle-friendly measures that cut the dependency on fossil fuels and decrease sprawl
- Placemaking/Green Space, which turn blight and poor planning into a living vision
Want to sponsor the 2017 Best Development Awards?
Get information here, including sponsorship benefits.
1000 Friends of Iowa established the Best Development Awards in 2001 to showcase development projects and programs in Iowa that best reflect the principles of smart growth, sustainability, and uphold the mission of 1000 Friends of Iowa. We also recognize the efforts of businesses, developers, cities, organizations, and individuals responsible for these projects. The Best Development Awards are selected from a pool of applicants each year and judged by an independent group of jurors. Become a sponsor today!
Stay up to date on awards announcements and happenings on Facebook and Twitter![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
THE AMAZING WORLD BELOW
Healthy soil is one of the Earth’s most diverse habitats. In celebration, the United Nations has declared this year as International Year of Soils. We also think healthy soil deserves more attention, and have launched a new web page with links to facts and resources about soil. We’ll add to it throughout the year: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/year-of-soils
Unconventional Agriculture
1000 Friends of Iowa Treasurer, LaVon Griffieon, is mentioned in an Earth Island Journal article.
Title: Our food systems are changing for the better thanks to a rising crop of women farmers.
Written by: Sena Christian.
Click link to see the full article, http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/unconventional_agriculture/.
Food Hubs Emerging as Economic Force in Iowa
The first coordinated study of food hub development in Iowa shows that food hubs play a significant role in the state’s local and regional food economy. According to the study, thirteen food hubs purchased $4.5 million in food from more than 450 Iowa farmers and supported 58 jobs. Further, it posits that if the sample businesses were representative of all 31 food hubs and centers of food hub-related activity in the state, Iowa food hubs could be handling more than $10 million of locally grown food in the state! Read the full report.