A public presentation tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon from the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Downtown Resource Center will give residents, business owners, and other community stakeholders an expansive look at Carroll’s downtown challenges. The assessment is a joint effort between the City of Carroll, the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, and the Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP). Chamber and CCGP Executive Director Kimberly Tiefenthaler says IEDA staff started working in the community on Tuesday.
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Carroll has been an economic hub in western Iowa for decades, but the community is not immune to the creeping pressure on rural downtowns across the country that have closed storefronts and left buildings vacant. Tiefenthaler says Carroll still has many great things going for it, but there is room for improvement, especially in the downtown.
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The team will spend 2.5 days touring the downtown, meeting with business owners, interviewing focus groups, and more. That work will culminate in a public presentation Thursday afternoon at Western Iowa Networks (WIN).
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Thursday’s meeting is only a preliminary report. Tiefenthaler expects they will receive a more in-depth review of the IEDA’s visit sometime in the next several months, which will serve as a roadmap for improvements or changes to the downtown to spur economic growth.