Today I write to share with you that the Chamber is publicly endorsing the March 4 PPEL vote for the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District, in hopes that it will help move our community forward. It is important to our organization because it matters to our members. As part of educational support strategic initiative, we chose to collaborate with the School District to gain public support for a potential bond which is, in part, why we are asking you to join us in voting YES for the future of our community.
We know the viability and success of educational institutions to be tied to the long-term economic success of Grinnell. Our schools are an integral part of Grinnell's future and vitality, and our businesses rely on a thriving community to ensure their own success and growth. Will this cost more for all of us, business included? It will - but the tax implications are significantly less than previous plans presented (I encourage you to use this calculator to figure your tax implication). We believe that a YES vote has the power to be a unifier for our community, which will allow us to strengthen and enhance our school district and greatly reimagine the future of Grinnell.
We have heard directly from many of our businesses and community leaders who feel this is a pivotal moment for the Grinnell community. Should this vote fail to pass, we believe there will be unintended consequences that affect the ability to maintain and grow businesses in our community. We have heard from many of our members that this would likely lead to potential closures or relocation of businesses.
We recently held a session for chamber members with Superintendent Lisa Beames, sharing more about how this point was reached, and why the district needs this adjustment in order to remain financially solvent. You can watch it here and we encourage you to share it with others.
We urge people to understand the facts and figures of this vote. Our district needs this. Our business community needs this. Grinnell needs this.
on behalf of the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce Staff & Board of Directors
We talk about connection as it relates to many things: connection to community, connections with one another, connections to businesses but today we're talking about connection to broadband.
A few years ago, many of our businesses - large and small - came to us with the same problem: their internet was not reliable enough for them to conduct daily business, and they needed help. Along with our partners at the City of Grinnell, we conducted focus group meetings with several businesses to better understand the issue so that we could seek a solution.
We met with a number of potential providers to determine how they may be able to assist, and ultimately found a willing partner in Mahaska Communication Group (MCG) to build out fiber to the Grinnell community. Their investment, along with additional upgrades from other existing providers, led to much improved broadband access in Grinnell over the past four years. So much so that when we look at this newly provided map from the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), we can see the city limits of Grinnell are now one of the most connected communities in the state!
Connection - in its many forms - matters, and we are glad to have been able to play a part in furthering the connectivity of our community.
Can you imagine a party to celebrate turning 110 years old?! That's exactly what's happening for Miss Edith Renfrow Smith this Sunday (July 14) as she turns 110 years old! Ms. Renfrow Smith is originally from Grinnell, having graduated from Grinnell High School in 1932 and is the first black alumna of Grinnell College, receiving her diploma from the institution in 1937. Edith later relocated to the Chicago area where she worked as a public-school teacher for many years before retiring and going on to have a long volunteer career with Goodwill and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Grinnell College recently announced they would be naming the new downtown residence hall in honor of Ms. Edith Renfrow Smith, in recognition of her long-standing dedication to community service. We are thrilled to share this announcement, and her love for her hometown, and cannot wait to see students enjoying their new downtown living experience later this fall!
You, too, can help celebrate this amazing 110-year milestone for Ms. Renfrow Smith and learn more about she and her family. Drake Community Library's Poweshiek History Preservation Project has partnered with the Grinnell Area Arts Council to host an exhibit that will be on display through August 10 at the Arts Council (926 Broad St). Community members are encouraged to experience the new exhibit "Connections" which combines history and art to explore Grinnell's past, and TODAY (July 12) from 4-6PM they'll also be celebrating Ms. Renfrow Smith with birthday cupcakes and greetings!
In Ms. Renfrow Smith's response to being awarded an honorary doctorate from Grinnell College in 2019, she said 'Grinnell has been my life.' We are proud to help honor this true Grinnellian, and aspire to her long-standing dedication to community; may we all be so diligent to engage with our community and service in the ways that she has over her incredible lifetime.
We're thrilled to announce Peggy Elliott and Martha Pinder as the 2024 Fourth of July Parade Grand Marshals. Many incredible and worthy nominations were received again this year, and we are excited to recognize Peggy and Martha for their tireless commitment to communicate, inform and highlight area happenings.
Each year we receive many nominations to serve as the Fourth of July Grand Marshal, and this year was no exception. In a world where communication and accurate reporting are critical, we are thrilled to recognize Peggy and Martha for their commitment to keeping Grinnell and the surrounding area informed.
One nominee shares, “The Grinnell Herald-Register plays a critical role in Grinnell by informing us of important events, telling the stories of our residents, and documenting the history of our community.” The Grinnell Herald Register, owned by members of the Pinder family since 1944, is one of the community’s longest standing businesses. The sisters are no strangers to the community, devoting their lives and livelihood to sharing the community’s important news and information for decades.
The community is invited to join Peggy and Martha as this year’s Grand Marshals at the Fourth of July parade beginning at 5 PM. Click /index.cfm?nodeID=86743&audienceID=1 to find more details about Grinnell on the Fourth.
Martha & Peggy are pictured above with their late mother, Dorothy Pinder.
The parade is produced by the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce and presented by Ahrens Park Foundation in partnership with Grinnell Mutual, Green State Credit Union and Clarity Eyecare and Windsor Manor. Fireworks are managed by the City of Grinnell and paid for by the City’s Hotel/Motel Tax Committee.
In case you missed it, our President & CEO Rachael Kinnick attended the Greater Des Moines Partnership's DMDC fly-in back in May along with a few others from our community.
Much of our organization's work is spent strengthening the local Grinnell community right here in our five square miles. But we also work with other communities in the Central Iowa region. Our Chamber of Commerce is a regional affiliate of the Greater Des Moines Partnership (GDMP) and we work with them and their 23 affiliate chambers of commerce towards a common goal of strengthening central Iowa as a great place to do business and raise families.
While many of GDMP's members are located in metro areas and are advocating heavily for their communities, we take the time to advocate on behalf of Grinnell and rural Iowa. This year, GDMP is working to launch initiatives that better support and connect rural, suburban and urban, and we are thrilled to be part of that work to better connect our community and its businesses with others. With so much of rural Iowa beginning to see economic downturns, many federal programs are instrumental for continued community development in these places.
Not only did we have the chance to talk with our elected delegation and their staff about a number of issues which are critical to the continued growth and vibrancy of Grinnell, but we were able to network with nearly 200 business and industry leaders from the Central Iowa region. We were inspired by the support and encouragement from our peers and are excited to work with them in the coming months as we continue to strengthen many newfound relationships.
As a chamber of commerce, we spend much of our time collaborating with others. Not only in our community, but within our region to continue building rural, suburban and urban relationships in an effort to make Grinnell and Central Iowa a great place to live, learn, work and play.
Many of you will recall that a little over a year ago, the Build a Better Grinnell project surveyed community members in an effort to better understand some of the key issues community members believe to be most critical to the Grinnell community. Seven top responses were identified, and while there will be more information coming soon about each of those, one of the key issues Grinnellians noted was improving drinking water quality. At the time of the information gathering and its subsequent release, the City was already in the process of designing a new water treatment plant to help address the issue.
Much progress has been made since that time, and as you can imagine, projects like these take a significant amount of legwork to structure, design and develop - not to mention time and money. The city just recently completed the 95% design meeting with project developers, indicating components of the project will soon be put to bid and visible progress will soon be made. You can read more about the status of all the water improvement projects in a recent update on the city's website HERE.
The city was also recently notified they are the recipient of a federal grant through the Community Project Funding process, secured by Congresswoman Hinson, to help fund the efforts. This earmark will provide $3M towards the scope of the project. Additionally, the City has applied for state revolving funds (SRF) and are exploring other funding options that could also be used toward the project's completion.
I encourage community members to follow along with the Grinnell Herald Register as they provide regular and in-depth updates on this important community project. And in case you missed it, the Chamber Ambassadors visited the City of Grinnell's Water Treatment Plant over spring break (thus the smaller group photo!) to learn more about the progress being made on these efforts to address the water system(s) in the community. You can read more about that visit and find some of the photos HERE.
Our team had the pleasure of attending Grinnell High School's Reverse Career Fair this week. It was an opportunity for us and our business community to visit with the Career and Technical Education students and see what they've been learning in class and how these skills can help them in a future internship or career. There were over 30 different classes represented by 50+ students from all four grades.
From business to ag science, culinary to manufacturing, robotics to theater and more, each student we talked with shared their successes and challenges in what they've learned this school year. Our team was impressed by the student's communication skills and their passion for sharing what they learned, and we even learned a thing or two! Some key skills they've developed include; project management, problem solving, teamwork, communication, time management, public speaking and so much more. The CTE program plans to do this again next year and we strongly encourage anyone interested to attend.
Hats off to Amy Skouson, Ashley Wolfe, Jerry Hulsing, Sam Watts and the rest of the GHS faculty and staff for their hard work in preparing Grinnell students for the future. We appreciate your dedication and thank you for the opportunity to visit with students. And to all the students that participated, thank you for sharing your passion and experiences with us. We can't wait to see what you do next!
We strongly believe in regional collaboration and we also believe in tapping into resources outside of our own community, when possible. We were proud to host team members of the Iowa Economic Development Authority/Iowa Finance Authority in Grinnell yesterday. Joined by Director Debi Durham and Main Street Director, Michael Wagler for a morning visit, we spent a quick visit touring them through the community. We used the opportunity to not only thank them for the investments the State of Iowa has had in recent projects in Grinnell, but to also ask for continued support and assistance for future projects.
The department oversees an incredible number of programs and initiatives including economic development, housing, tourism, downtown resource center and several others. We were able to share some progress of their most recent financial commitments to Grinnell in action. A few of those included the completion of the second round downtown facade project, the Grinnell Historical Museum - which was recently awarded a $200,000 CAT grant, several housing projects including the now-completed Reserves at South Lake (nearest WalMart), a downtown building rehabilitation project for the School of Music, and concluded with a visit to the UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center's OB department who was recently awarded $600,000 through a CDBG program.
Our office and many of our partners are constantly looking into opportunities - whether grants or loans - that may help move projects and businesses forward in our community, and we feel fortunate to have partners at IEDA who are willing to engage and assist us along the way. We can't wait to have them visit again soon as we more projects come to fruition!
The grass always seems greener on the other side, right? It's often easy to look at someone else, another business or perhaps community and want something they have. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side; from time to time I think it's important to take stock of the great things you do have. Earlier this week we were able to do just that as we hosted the Empower Rural Iowa/Iowa Rural Development Council joint meeting here in Grinnell. It was a fantastic day - the weather cooperated - and we were able to showcase the Grinnell community to approximately 120 community leaders from across the state!
But we didn't do it alone - we had the help of more than a dozen member businesses and organizations to help showcase our community! From hosting a community panel focusing on rural vitality, sharing ideas about how rural remains relevant, to hosting a walking tour with multiple stops around downtown. Attendees enjoyed their time in Grinnell and we loved hosting them here!
It also served as a great reminder of the many amenities we have here that other communities would love to have. While we must never lose sight of community betterment and future projects, it's okay to pause to celebrate our collective accomplishments from time to time.
Our community is composed of people from all different backgrounds and religions. It is our hope that all Grinnellians truly feel welcome here. As such, we are excited to announce a new effort intended to raise awareness of different winter holidays and cultural celebrations recognized between November 17 (the date of this year's Jingle Bell Holiday) and December 31. Thanks in part to a grant from the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation, you can learn more about various holidays including Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Christmas and Kwanzaa, among others. Additionally, you can find this information available in Central Park as we celebrate the holiday season via our Holidays in Grinnell programming.
Speaking of programming, there are a number of events taking place now through the end of the year and we encourage you to check them out via our community calendar. Groups and organizations have committed time and resources to bring fun activities and events to the community, and now need people to experience the excitement! And please do whatever you can to shop local this holiday season - it truly does make an impact! If you're still needing some inspiration, check out our Gift Guide, featuring many local businesses and organizations to support this season.
