October 9, 2024 • 36 mins
Season 1, Episode 9: Indianola Main Street Executive Director Erica Roberts and Indianola Main Street Board Vice President Leslie Held join "Indy Unplugged" for an insightful conversation that dives deeper into the ins and outs of Indianola Main Street. In August 2024, Indianola was named a Main Street Iowa community following a rigorous application process. Through the Main Street Approach™, communities like Indianola can capitalize on the unique identity, assets and character of their historic commercial districts and develop a framework that guides community-based downtown revitalization efforts.
During this episode of "Indy Unplugged," Erica and Leslie discuss how the timing to be a Main Street Iowa community is perfect, early goals and visions for the Indianola Downtown Square, strategic planning and survey data, community support and involvement, upcoming events on the Square, plus so much more.
Fast-forward to a specific topic covered:
- 00:00: Intro
- 00:42: Welcome
- 1:13: What Is Main Street Iowa & Indianola Main Street?
- 3:02: Main Street Iowa Application Process
- 5:18: Benefits As A Main Street Iowa Community
- 7:29: How Do You Stay Informed & Educate Others About Main Street?
- 9:01: Indianola Main Street Executive Director Announcement
- 12:30: Community Meeting & Survey Findings
- 16:13: Dynamics With Main Street Iowa & Community Partners
- 22:26: What Will The Rest Of 2024 Look Like?
- 27:03: Importance Of Events At Indianola Downtown Square
- 30:09: Including Simpson College In Future Endeavors
- 32:19: Final Thoughts & Closing
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
Welcome to Indy Unplugged, the podcast
that's your front rowseat to the real talk of Indianola.
I'm Aaron Young, your friendlyneighborhood host, and we're diving deep
into unfiltered stories, candid chatsin the nitty gritty of our vibrant city.
Think of this as a crash coursein all things Indianola.
No fancy jargon, just real conversations.
(00:33):
So get comfy,
hit that play buttonand let's explore the heart and soul
of our communitytogether on Indy Unplugged.
All righty.
Welcome back to another episode of IndyUnplugged, a City of Indianola podcast.
And today we're going to havea great conversation to learn more about
this crazy thingthat is Indianola Main Street.
(00:53):
Today's guests, we're joined by EricaRoberts and Leslie Held
with Indianola Main Street.
How are you both doing today?Thanks so much for hopping on. Good.
Thanks for having us.
Yes. Day in Indianola, 80 degrees.
Come down to the square.
Yeah. Yeah.
No. And a lot will be happening
on the square in the coming weeks,which we'll talk more about here in a bit.
But just let's start right off the bat.
(01:15):
What the heck is this thing
that is called in in all Main Streetand Main Street, Iowa?
Well, it's kind of interesting.
I I have to confess,I did a little studying on the main
Street history last nightand was interested in in what I found.
When you think of
about Main Street, Indianola,you have to roll back a little.
(01:36):
There's Main Street, Iowa.
There's Main Street America.
So the beginning of Main StreetAmerica happened
as a result of in the 1950s, the sixties,
things were popping upcalled shopping centers and malls.
And they were buildingon the outskirts of town.
And they were drawing commerce awayfrom these historic downtowns.
And our downtowns were dying.
(01:57):
I think it happened in Indianolato happen in my own hometown.
Our J.C. Penney moved to the mall.
Those sorts of things were happening.
So the National Historic PreservationCommittee
responded to that and developsomething called Main Street America.
And it was an approachthat took in four pillars.
They developed a a way to approachrevitalizing historic downtowns.
(02:23):
So Main Street, Iowa, was formed in 1985,
the Iowa legislaturethat adopted the system, and they started
accrediting in
Iowa towns and they started with twoI believe they do it every other year.
And now we are upjust past the 50 community.
(02:44):
Mark So Indianola, it's I think number 50
what it got 5053, I believe.
In a nutshell,
Main Street uses
the revitalization of your downtownfor economic growth.
That's the goal.
So what was that processlike for Indianola?
(03:05):
Leslie talked aboutwe were recently any noise
recently named Main Street Iowa Community.
Just what was the application process like
or justwhat did you two plus dozens of others
collectively had to doto get to this point where we're at today?
Shortly after the beginning of this yearthat we started having more
(03:28):
serious conversations on, you know,
are we going to apply for this in 2024.
So worked a little bit with
some partners
being the city, the Chamber of Commerce,Economic Development
dove into the application process.
It was a grueling application process
(03:50):
and so dove into that
in the spring, worked as a committee
and as team team membersto get the application turned around.
And we accomplishedthat at the very end of May,
did our presentation to the panel in July
(04:11):
and found out about a weekafter we presented
and we were able to publicly announce that
in August of this year
and when Main Street looks at communities,they look at literally everything.
They look at the amount of supportthat you have from your community, labor
leaders, from your citizens,from your different organizations.
(04:36):
They look at every statistic,I think known to mankind,
and then
they really look to see if you're ready.
So for Indianola, a big piece of this iswe had done an awful lot of work
up to that point, not specificallyto get ready for Main Street,
but to promote and improve our downtown.
(04:57):
So that was so helpful in us being chosen.
We were we were ready.
This was as our presentation
was based on, this was the missing piecefor us, for our downtown.
We needed we had enthusiastic people,but we really needed
a framework for how to take the next stepand push us forward.
(05:17):
So when you talk about the economicrevitalization component,
what are the other strengths and areasthat Main Street will provide?
And, you know,if you're looking at resources,
these resources that
Main Street Main Mainstreet will beproviding are at no cost to us.
Now that we have obtained the designation,there's there's
(05:40):
going to be a ton of online resourcesas well as filled assistance
specifically for small businesses,
grant opportunities that are only givento Main Street communities.
So those are justa few of the main street.
I will resources that now,
you know, we're we're going to be ableto utilize here in Indianola.
(06:02):
It's been a misconceptionfor many and understandably so,
that Main Street was a grant.
So we get asked, did you get the grant?
And it's not.
It's actually
something that provides us
with a framework, a process in resources.
So they put all of that together,but there's no money
involved in money that they grant to us.
(06:25):
We actually had to go outand fundraise in our community
to come up with our operating budgetin the community, responded with
well over $100,000 for our first yearto get us up and rolling.
That's why we were able to hirea full time executive director.
We now have a good budgetthat we can operate within.
We transferred over a board of directors
(06:46):
from the Indianola Downtown merchantsand then added key people to that.
I think it's important to notethat this is a self-sustaining program,
so we will continue to get investors
and get the community involved.
All the way through the process
in those first three years,Main Street provides us
with a lot of training and directionand then after that
(07:11):
we'll be more self-sustaining.
And they still overseas,they still provide training when needed,
but they pull out a little bit
because we should be on our own two feetby then and moving things forward.
But those first three yearswe have checklist and we have all kinds
of training that we go withinand then we have to report back to them.
So very grueling indeed.
When you compare the application processto the these first few steps that
(07:34):
the organization in the community has gonethrough, these last couple of weeks.
How do you
retain all
this information andhow do you rally the troops, so to speak,
to make sure that everyone's on boardand everyone's positive
and they can see
that light is at the end of the tunneland that it's going to be very,
(07:56):
very bright for all of Indianola,for residents, for the vast majority,
the community, for visitors who come into experience our downtown square.
I think the most important thing
is to educate our communityon what Main Street is and what it can do
and help everybody have a very clearvision of Main Street.
(08:17):
So for me, I think education is key,especially with our business owners,
residents, building owners and investors,making sure they understand
what Main Street can do for Indianola.
So that that is the first part of it
that like a little bitlike what Leslie had talked about,
(08:37):
just helping people understand
what is this,what is the thing called Main Street?
So that for me is kind of,you know, on the forefront of
working with our business ownerswithin that Main Street district
and seeing what their needs are, you know,doing an analysis of this downtown area
and trying to understand of what directionwe need to move in first.
(09:01):
And let's just bury the lead a little bit.
And we talked earlierabout the hiring of an executive director
in just recent LeeErica was, you know, announced
as the executive director of IndianolaMain Street.
Congratulations. Thank you.
How does it feel to nowkind of be at the reins
of this new journeyleading and all Main Street?
(09:22):
Yeah,definitely feels good. Feels familiar,
which is, you know,
really nice for meto be able to have gone through
the last nine months of educating myself,going through the application process
and different things of that nature,I think sort of led me
to where I am now and have,you know, a much better understanding.
(09:46):
Just tell us a little bit moreabout your background
and kind of the goalsand the vision that you see
kind of in these these early, early daysof of Indianola Main Street.
Yeah.
So my background is small business owner.
I've actually owned and operated businesson the square for over 20 years.
So familiar in that part of it.
(10:08):
So is able to kind of see as wella lot of different stages of our downtown
growing up here as well, even going
back to the seventies and rememberinglike what the square was.
And so through each decade,
the square has definitelytransitioned over the years.
What I would like to do
(10:29):
probably most and is the biggest concernis just structuring our main street,
working with our board of directorsand figuring out
how we can build a solid foundation.
And until that is done,
I think we have to pausejust a little bit on some
some of the bigger picture itemsso that we are able to go back
(10:53):
to that board of directors and thatexecutive director, get on the same page
and decide what our our goals are goingto be for Main Street in Indianola.
Leslie, just from a board of directorsstandpoint, just how great of a fit is it
to have Erica leading the chargefor Indianola
Main Street, in additionwith the collaboration of the board?
(11:13):
You know, when we decidedwe needed a full time executive director,
we heard from all sorts of peoplewho said,
I knowsomebody who would be great at that.
And that prompt has prompted us to say,okay,
let's let's go outand see who is interested in this.
And about midway through, Erica decidedto throw her hat in the ring as well.
(11:34):
So we went through,you know, all of those applications
and and had awhat we felt like was an objective
selection committeewho really grilled those applicants
because they were in
the people that were on that committeewere either involved in Main Street
or they were top investors for usor they were key community partners.
(11:55):
So they had a lot riding on this.
So we were all determinedto get the very best person
we could in that seat, and we got it.
Erica's heart is in this.
I said that recentlyto the Indianola Advocate.
We couldn't have picked anybody better.
We're just fortunate that she decided
that she would come out of hertwo week retire and do this.
(12:17):
And that's awesome.
And I think it speaks volumes of thethe character traits and just the
the vision that you have for the future
of our one of our most coveted assetsin our downtown square.
And I think from my perspective, too,you know,
I was fortunately able to be involvedwith that community meeting that in
(12:38):
in all Main Street and Main Street,Iowa, hosted here a couple of weeks ago.
And it was really eye opening.
But also a great opportunityto be in the same room
of a lot of those individualswho are those community supporters
or even investors to have that open dialogin that early development
of the strategic plan for Indianola
(13:01):
Main Street, but also that survey data,
it was for about a two and a half weeksstretch there in early September,
I believe it was where in inall Main Street had organized a community
wide survey to solicit the responsesof community members and visitors
alike of what they thought of the downtown
(13:23):
square and Indianola Main Street.
When you think about that data, whenyou were both at that meeting as well,
what are some of those facts and figuresthat stand out
that are kind of coming to your mindas we're talking about this,
that are like, hey, you know,this really is a key area
that we see as an opportunity or hey,this is an area
(13:44):
where it could be a challenge,but we have some of these
potential solutions in place or in motionto help us to help us get there.
I think one of the biggest thingsthat was not a surprise
was the concern with parking.
So that one, I would say, was not a
a surprise to me at all.
One of the most interesting aspects
(14:07):
going through it later was looking atwhat would you like to see downtown?
What are some of like the new businessesor what are we missing downtown?
That part I liked hearing from peopleon what they would like to see.
Come to Indianola downtown.
So I, I would say that overall,
I don't thinkthere were any major surprises.
(14:29):
It was interesting to seewhen they gathered that data.
There were interesting parts of it.
For example, like how many womenfilled out the survey versus males,
the age categories of peoplethat filled the surveys out
versusthe ones the low numbers that that didn't.
So those parts were kind of interesting.
(14:51):
I would have liked tomaybe see a little bit bigger numbers
of participants in the survey.
I think it would have given usa better big picture,
but that can also, you know,we are able to do that and create surveys
within within this district to help usalso make decisions down the road.
And I see that probably happening. But
(15:13):
I don't think for me,
other than thatthere was any any big surprises with it.
I was interested by the number of peoplewho were interested
or would considerliving in our downtown area.
It was a much highernumber than I ever expected
and I think
that's pretty exciting for people who say,
(15:34):
you know, I think I, I could envision this
and I could either move my familyor move there myself.
Interesting in a
area that we probably need
the most work on downtown,right, is upper storey housing.
So the biggest interest lies in whereI think we are lacking
the most as a downtown.
(15:56):
When you compare to other small townsor other Main Street communities
and what they have donewith their upper storey housing,
we are definitely behind the markon that right.
And it's a big focus of Main Street.
So that piece of the puzzlejust seemed to fall into place for us.
And I know when we were on that tourwith Debbie Durham, the director
(16:17):
of the Iowa Finance Authority,and Michael with Main Street, Iowa,
and some of those other key Main StreetIowa specialists, that Indianola,
downtown and Main Street has accessnow being a Main Street Iowa community.
We were inside the Harrison Buildingand we were up in a current resident
on the downtown square,and there beautiful apartment.
(16:40):
And I remember that resident showing usthe the beautiful part of it,
and she referred to itas the good, the bad and the ugly.
Went back to the uglyand we saw all the exposed brick
and just kind of the the blank canvas,if you will,
to really reimaginewhat this space could be.
I mean, that's going to be exciting,even though it's kind of like,
(17:02):
well, what do we get ourselves into?
But being in a space that's historic,to rethink and reimagine and rejuvenate
what it could be, to thenbring potential residents or visitors
or businessin to better utilize that space.
You're exactly right.
And it's funto walk to walk around and envision
not only our empty spaces,but other spaces that might be change.
(17:26):
So walking around thinking,What are we missing and how?
How could we use this?
And Main Street is so good at that,at thinking of things that we have
never thought of before and saying, Hey,you know, maybe you could think of a cafe
run by one of your programs outat the high school.
They did that recently in Oskaloosa
(17:47):
and opened a lunch in Cafe.
There are all sorts of waysto think about spaces.
There are all sorts of waysto think about your downtown,
and they can helplead us in the right direction.
They did a survey and they took picturesof what our current businesses are
and then they can help lead us towardswhat are you missing?
You know,is it a white tablecloth restaurant
(18:10):
or is it something for kids to do?
You know, all all sorts of things.
And I thought if anything,it gave a lot of motivation.
You walk into a space that has been redoneand you see what it can be.
And there are a lot of those downtowna lot of spaces that need to be redone.
Luckily, we got to see onethat that had been redone,
(18:33):
but for sure, motivation.
That tour gave a lot of motivationto focus a little bit better.
On her Upper Upper story with Harrison'sWe literally got to see behind
the curtains.
So when you go insideand if you haven't caught this yet,
that facade on the old Harrison'sbuilding is fake.
It's a facadethat was put up and it's freestanding.
(18:55):
It actually protectsthis 1800s architecture
that lies behind itthat we are working to expose.
And it was the first timethat many of us had seen that.
So to walk up in those spaces and say,Oh my gosh, it's beautiful.
Well, not just Walker,but take that freight elevator.
We took our lives experience right?
You got to make sure you bring that up,because that was
(19:19):
that was that w t.f therethere are no stairs in that building.
But it was so cool because, you know,
you talk about historic preservationand I mean that's it to a T, right?
And with that, when you have these ideascoming from those
who are these community partnersand these other organizations
come in and help us, is it oftenjust the simplest ideas?
(19:43):
And it could be things that we'rejust we're making it too complicated.
Is that also a good benefitto be a mainstay of a community where it's
bringing in those experts
and these other opinions where it's like,hey, you're
overthinking it, Go back to its rootand think of it in this frame.
And it's kind of like a reminderas you go about your process
to not overcomplicate,just keep it simple.
(20:04):
Well, and for me, that's huge.
I mean, when we talk about resourcesand and we talk about, you know,
using mainstreamIowa as a guide, they've got,
you know, experts in in that department
that specifically can workand customize things for Indianola.
And for me,that's that's the most exciting thing.
(20:26):
They can come in and go, okay, well,how about this?
Or how about this?
And like you said, it could very wellbe things that we have and even
thought about,
nor have we had the time.
A lot of us as volunteers to be able
to put in the workthat would need to be done to do that.
(20:46):
So this opened a very different door
as far as being able to focusand put the time and effort in on
some of these areas that we'veprobably needed to for a while now.
Yeah, that's very true.
You know, our our board has functioned
evenings, weekends, nights,
and we tend to zero in on specific things.
(21:09):
But now it's kind of like somebody said,
take a step backand look at the whole picture here.
Look at how your downtown looks,how it feels, how people feel about it,
what you're missing.
So it's challenged usto look at the bigger picture.
Absolutely.
And working with our partners,our community partners, the city,
you know, the chamber,economic development to, you know,
(21:33):
I think that's one thingthat we really want to highlight
is the importance of these partnershipsand these relationships.
City's got some great things going on.
Chambers got some great things going on
Main Streets,got some great things going on.
And if we all work together,we can really,
you know, to me blow some of the stuffout of the water for sure.
(21:54):
Yeah, for my End Point, I think that unityis at an all time high right now
amongst all these different entitiesand these individuals.
And you've got passion, you've got vision,you've got guidance,
you've got that structureand you've got that support.
So I mean, the sky literally is the limit.
I know we always say that with the,
you know, the balloonsand everything else,
(22:14):
but we can really doa lot of great things together.
So me personally, I'm excitedfor the next steps, too, to be part
and to be along for the ride of this wildjourney that is indeed of Main Street.
So what do these next steps look like
as we round out the end of 2024?
We talked earlier about, you know,the development of that strategic plan.
(22:35):
Just kind of take us through that processand really kind of what
October, November and
December could look likewith Indianola Main Street.
So for Octoberand just kind of getting settled in,
we have our first official board meeting
in October where we'll be able to start
(22:58):
putting a little bit of that structuretogether.
In addition to that, we have,
you know, I would say one of our largestMain Street events,
which is one which is in Bruce,and that is October 25th.
So a lot of effort will go into
making that event successful.
Leslie chairs that event has donean amazing job over the last few years.
(23:21):
You know,
bringing over a thousand womeninto the downtown area
for that evening has been huge.
Will go into November 7th.
There will be several of usgoing to Valley Junction for kind of
a new designation orientation type
sessionthat I'm very much looking forward to.
I will do a little bit of trainingand orientation
(23:44):
for my partas executive director in November as well.
And then we go right into homefor the holidays on November 23rd.
So in between all of this is some additional training that will be going through
and I will
be doing some additional training as well.
So it's going to be a very busy Octoberand November.
(24:08):
December,
but it's the first three months.
So that is no surprise.
I think Main Street warned usthe initial stage was, see,
what did we get ourselves into stage?
And I think we're just coming out of that.
So starting to wrap aroundour arms, around what do we have to do
and when does it need to be doneand start to understand it better?
(24:32):
We have so much to learn,but we're getting there.
I think we kind of went from overwhelmedto now a little bit excited right?
So when once that that wore off, you know,because a lot is thrown at you at once
when you get the designation a lot,especially within probably two weeks
for people who are running businessesand have other jobs that keep in mind
(24:53):
still volunteers.
Yeah. Yeah.
So now that, if you will,the dust has settled, you're starting to,
you know, your mind starting
to like, turn, your wheels are turningand you're you're starting to see
some different possibilities.
You know, the ideas are startingto pop into your head now.
And that part for me is very excitingbecause
(25:15):
with everything that we're offeringand we want
economic growth downtownmore than anything, but
we also want to bring back our downtownbeing sort of that special
gathering place.
And that's been absent for too longas far as I'm concerned,
because again, growing up here
my whole life, it was a gathering placeand we lost that just a little bit
(25:40):
along the wayand very rarely to get back to
doingsome really exciting things on the square.
I know the chamber
with their concert series and different
things like that has broughtthat back to the square as well.
So that part I'm also very excited for.
We think Mainstreet Street
(26:00):
improve the quality of lifefor the everyday citizen,
but it'll be great for our businesseswho are not on the square.
So when Symantecis trying to lure a top level executive,
they can point to our downtown squareand say, What a great place to live.
And you have this rightat your fingertips.
You know, you could live four blocks awayfrom all of this.
It's really a domino effectwhen our downtown is successful.
(26:23):
You know, it just kind of goes
out into beyond in that district.
You know,those businesses become successful.
The more trafficwe have in Indianola and downtown,
the more that traffic is going to spreadthroughout the entire community.
So what you want in the end, of course,is for it to be a win win for everybody,
(26:44):
whether you're in that districtor whether you're outside of the district.
You know, we hope that itit is beneficial all the way around.
And the tourism, that hotel motel tax,that's real money.
So if we can promote our tourism,that has a very real effect
on our communityand the things we're able to do, no doubt.
How vital are those eventsthat are held on the square in terms of,
(27:06):
you know,you think about that first impression
being a lasting impression, whether it befor the individual who may become
no Wayne's which which is isn't Brucefor the first time or home
for the holidays or any other eventthat we have on the square year round.
Just how important are those opportunitiesto create that first impression
to then hopefully have those individualskeep coming back for more,
(27:29):
whether it's living in upper levelhousing or shopping on the square
or coming back to a future eventwith their families or with their friends.
Speaking as a past business owner,
the one thing that I would say iswhen you have events like this
and Wayne with Jazz and Bruce againbeing a good example,
you've got womencoming in from out of town.
(27:50):
And what I noticed as being a businessowner is how many of them returned
and said, Oh, I was here for wine,
which is and Bruce for the first timeand actually came and did holiday shopping
and other things in the stores downtownbecause they enjoyed their experience.
So they returned.
That's huge.
(28:11):
If we can get more people doingthat, will do the same thing
for home for the holidays.
You know,bringing as many people as we can for that
very special time of yearthat people gather and do things.
And even even if they can'tget to everywhere that particular night,
I guess I have been
pleasantly surprised athow many of them returned at a later date.
(28:35):
So that's exciting.
We haven't had that in a while,so that that is the momentum.
I would like to keep goingfrom these events
and we made some changes this year,so it lines up perfectly.
We go from wine, which is and brewsand we invite them back for home
for the holidays.
A couple, three weeks laterthey come back for home for the holidays.
We invite them backfor Small Business Saturday.
(28:57):
So we just keep building on that and keepinviting them back for event after event.
There are all kinds of great reasonsto visit Indianola.
I think we're going to have to come upwith something in
and it been winter early
and I've been questioned
a little bit about that,about home for the holidays this year.
We actually moved it earlier in November.
We had had it inkind of a mid December range.
(29:20):
A couple of things worked against us.
The weather can be very, very tricky
as well as we were cuttingit pretty close to Christmas.
So we wanted to kind of back it upa little bit
in the hopes that we wouldnot only have better weather,
but that for shopping needs,that people would
would be justbeginning their holiday shopping.
So that is the reason that we moved itforward.
(29:43):
We also want to be very respectfulof our neighboring communities like Milo,
who has their own holiday festival there.
So we want to be respectful of the datesthat they hold theirs.
And so that was the reason that we wemoved it up pretty significantly this year
and we'll try it out and see how it goesand we'll be transparent.
Every eventwe do, it's all about those registers
(30:04):
ringing and peoplehaving really strong sales nights.
That's why we do all of this.
To that end, to I want to ask, you know,the Main Street district is about nine
and a half blocks, including the squareand one of those components
and we talked a little bit about thisduring that community
meeting with Main Street, Iowa,and their crew and the community members
was the untapped potentialby having Simpson
(30:27):
College neighboringpractically the downtown square.
And you think about the initiativewith the Wonder on Buxton project
to allow that connectivitybetween campus and square.
Just what are some of those
ideas or just next steps or
just building upon that momentumof bringing in Simpson
(30:50):
to feel more included with their communityand especially with the downtown square?
Well, you talk about being the right timefor us.
It could not be more right to haveJay Byars as President Simpson College,
who has run the Des Moines
Greater Partnership, GreaterDes Moines Partnership for so many years.
And he, of course,has a great understanding of the power of
(31:15):
business districts and understands fully
how that can benefit Simpsonand how Simpson can benefit us as well.
Actually, I was emailing this morning,we're going to go over and sell wine,
which is in Bruce tickets to the studentsat a discounted price next week.
So what a great thing for the studentsand opportunity to say
(31:36):
you'renot only attending this beautiful campus,
but we've got a vibrant downtown,literally three blocks away.
And that's definitely on, you know,if I have a to do list,
it's definitely how do we strengthen ourrelationship with Simpson.
Again, maybe an area
that wehave needed to improve on for a while.
But I think it was all about the timing.
(31:57):
And like Leslie said, the timing feelsso right at this particular time
to really start
having a great working relationshipwith Simpson College.
And there is enthusiastic as we areand that's great.
Adam To the team, Adam to the neverending list of community partners,
the more the merrier.
Well, they're on their way now.
(32:19):
But lastly,I just want to open up the floor
to both of you as we wrap things up,just to kind of share any
final closing remarks are just thoughtsyou have as we
think more about in in our main streetand these next steps
in the future that the impactit will have on our community.
I'm going to go backto my favorite example from Leslie,
(32:40):
which was, you know, we are in the processof building this ship
and there's a lot of partsto that, to this.
And this isthis is going to be a marathon.
It's not going to be a race.
We're going to get there in our own timeand pace ourselves
at, you know, in a waythat makes the most sense for Indianola.
(33:01):
And this is not just about a board andit's not just about an executive director.
It's really about the entire communitycoming together
and working to make Indianola successful.
And at the end of the day,
that's really what we wantand that's what our goals are.
But it is going to take some time.
(33:24):
And, you know,
we wouldjust ask for people to be patient,
that we will get there and get involved.
There are endless ways to get involved,
whether it's an eventor whether it's on a committee.
There are multiple ways thatpeople can get involved with Indianola,
Main Street, and we welcome, you know,anybody that would like to get involved.
(33:47):
Please come join us. You bet.
As the board gets settledwhere we were going to appoint
not only our officers,we have now a vacancy for President,
but also our committee chairs.
And once those chairs are set,then we're going to be
looking for the communityto come help us carry out
(34:09):
each of those
strategiesfor those four pillars and pillars,
our organization, Economic Vitality,Design and promotion.
So there's a little somethingfor everybody there.
But as Eric has said, man, it'sa lot of work and we can't do it alone.
But it's pretty exciting and what a hugedifference for our community.
So it's starting to understand Main Street
(34:32):
and we'll teach you as much as we can,as as we learn, as we go along.
But it is
becoming involvedso that we can push all of this forward.
And what are the best ways for listeners,community members,
really anyone to learn moreabout Indianola Main Street
and to stay connected and follow alongwith these next steps in this journey?
(34:53):
I think there's multiple ways.
If you're wanting to learn more aboutMain Street first all, you can contact us.
We're happy to sit down any time.
Even if you have a small organizationthat would like to learn
more about Main Street as a group,we're happy to present that as well.
Do not ever be afraidto get on the main street Iowa website.
(35:14):
Fantastic place to find great resources
to just learn moreor get a better overview of Main Street.
And then if youare wanting to get involved, whether again
it be volunteer, maybe you're interestedin a committee again contacting us
and we will we will get that ball rollingfor you and follow us on social media.
(35:35):
So you'll get the latest of whatwe're doing as well as events
that are coming up.
So follow them on Facebook.
And, you know,
I think it's still an email downtownMain Street, but I know the URL by heart.
It's Facebook.comback slash shop, Indianola.
There you go.
I know by heart because I see I see it.
(35:56):
But I just want to thank you againso much for
joining us on this episode of IndieUnplugged.
Listeners.
Make sure you leave us a comment sharereview.
That way we can make surewe're hitting the mark on these.
We've been doingkind of semi weekly episodes now.
We used to be monthly,but now we're picking up steam
by having more content and informationdistributed through your feed.
(36:21):
So leave in those commentsand those reviews
would be helpfulto make sure that we're hitting the mark
each and every episode, thatthis is all relevant information for you.
And who knows, maybe next time you can bea featured guest on Indy Unplugged.
Welcome to Indy Unplugged, the podcast
that's your front rowseat to the real talk of Indianola.
I'm Aaron Young, your friendlyneighborhood host, and we're diving deep
into unfiltered stories, candid chatsin the nitty gritty of our vibrant city.
Think of this as a crash coursein all things Indianola.
No fancy jargon, just real conversations.
(00:33):
So get comfy,
hit that play buttonand let's explore the heart and soul
of our communitytogether on Indy Unplugged.
All righty.
Welcome back to another episode of IndyUnplugged, a City of Indianola podcast.
And today we're going to havea great conversation to learn more about
this crazy thingthat is Indianola Main Street.
(00:53):
Today's guests, we're joined by EricaRoberts and Leslie Held
with Indianola Main Street.
How are you both doing today?Thanks so much for hopping on. Good.
Thanks for having us.
Yes. Day in Indianola, 80 degrees.
Come down to the square.
Yeah. Yeah.
No. And a lot will be happening
on the square in the coming weeks,which we'll talk more about here in a bit.
But just let's start right off the bat.
(01:15):
What the heck is this thing
that is called in in all Main Streetand Main Street, Iowa?
Well, it's kind of interesting.
I I have to confess,I did a little studying on the main
Street history last nightand was interested in in what I found.
When you think of
about Main Street, Indianola,you have to roll back a little.
(01:36):
There's Main Street, Iowa.
There's Main Street America.
So the beginning of Main StreetAmerica happened
as a result of in the 1950s, the sixties,
things were popping upcalled shopping centers and malls.
And they were buildingon the outskirts of town.
And they were drawing commerce awayfrom these historic downtowns.
And our downtowns were dying.
(01:57):
I think it happened in Indianolato happen in my own hometown.
Our J.C. Penney moved to the mall.
Those sorts of things were happening.
So the National Historic PreservationCommittee
responded to that and developsomething called Main Street America.
And it was an approachthat took in four pillars.
They developed a a way to approachrevitalizing historic downtowns.
(02:23):
So Main Street, Iowa, was formed in 1985,
the Iowa legislaturethat adopted the system, and they started
accrediting in
Iowa towns and they started with twoI believe they do it every other year.
And now we are upjust past the 50 community.
(02:44):
Mark So Indianola, it's I think number 50
what it got 5053, I believe.
In a nutshell,
Main Street uses
the revitalization of your downtownfor economic growth.
That's the goal.
So what was that processlike for Indianola?
(03:05):
Leslie talked aboutwe were recently any noise
recently named Main Street Iowa Community.
Just what was the application process like
or justwhat did you two plus dozens of others
collectively had to doto get to this point where we're at today?
Shortly after the beginning of this yearthat we started having more
(03:28):
serious conversations on, you know,
are we going to apply for this in 2024.
So worked a little bit with
some partners
being the city, the Chamber of Commerce,Economic Development
dove into the application process.
It was a grueling application process
(03:50):
and so dove into that
in the spring, worked as a committee
and as team team membersto get the application turned around.
And we accomplishedthat at the very end of May,
did our presentation to the panel in July
(04:11):
and found out about a weekafter we presented
and we were able to publicly announce that
in August of this year
and when Main Street looks at communities,they look at literally everything.
They look at the amount of supportthat you have from your community, labor
leaders, from your citizens,from your different organizations.
(04:36):
They look at every statistic,I think known to mankind,
and then
they really look to see if you're ready.
So for Indianola, a big piece of this iswe had done an awful lot of work
up to that point, not specificallyto get ready for Main Street,
but to promote and improve our downtown.
(04:57):
So that was so helpful in us being chosen.
We were we were ready.
This was as our presentation
was based on, this was the missing piecefor us, for our downtown.
We needed we had enthusiastic people,but we really needed
a framework for how to take the next stepand push us forward.
(05:17):
So when you talk about the economicrevitalization component,
what are the other strengths and areasthat Main Street will provide?
And, you know,if you're looking at resources,
these resources that
Main Street Main Mainstreet will beproviding are at no cost to us.
Now that we have obtained the designation,there's there's
(05:40):
going to be a ton of online resourcesas well as filled assistance
specifically for small businesses,
grant opportunities that are only givento Main Street communities.
So those are justa few of the main street.
I will resources that now,
you know, we're we're going to be ableto utilize here in Indianola.
(06:02):
It's been a misconceptionfor many and understandably so,
that Main Street was a grant.
So we get asked, did you get the grant?
And it's not.
It's actually
something that provides us
with a framework, a process in resources.
So they put all of that together,but there's no money
involved in money that they grant to us.
(06:25):
We actually had to go outand fundraise in our community
to come up with our operating budgetin the community, responded with
well over $100,000 for our first yearto get us up and rolling.
That's why we were able to hirea full time executive director.
We now have a good budgetthat we can operate within.
We transferred over a board of directors
(06:46):
from the Indianola Downtown merchantsand then added key people to that.
I think it's important to notethat this is a self-sustaining program,
so we will continue to get investors
and get the community involved.
All the way through the process
in those first three years,Main Street provides us
with a lot of training and directionand then after that
(07:11):
we'll be more self-sustaining.
And they still overseas,they still provide training when needed,
but they pull out a little bit
because we should be on our own two feetby then and moving things forward.
But those first three yearswe have checklist and we have all kinds
of training that we go withinand then we have to report back to them.
So very grueling indeed.
When you compare the application processto the these first few steps that
(07:34):
the organization in the community has gonethrough, these last couple of weeks.
How do you
retain all
this information andhow do you rally the troops, so to speak,
to make sure that everyone's on boardand everyone's positive
and they can see
that light is at the end of the tunneland that it's going to be very,
(07:56):
very bright for all of Indianola,for residents, for the vast majority,
the community, for visitors who come into experience our downtown square.
I think the most important thing
is to educate our communityon what Main Street is and what it can do
and help everybody have a very clearvision of Main Street.
(08:17):
So for me, I think education is key,especially with our business owners,
residents, building owners and investors,making sure they understand
what Main Street can do for Indianola.
So that that is the first part of it
that like a little bitlike what Leslie had talked about,
(08:37):
just helping people understand
what is this,what is the thing called Main Street?
So that for me is kind of,you know, on the forefront of
working with our business ownerswithin that Main Street district
and seeing what their needs are, you know,doing an analysis of this downtown area
and trying to understand of what directionwe need to move in first.
(09:01):
And let's just bury the lead a little bit.
And we talked earlierabout the hiring of an executive director
in just recent LeeErica was, you know, announced
as the executive director of IndianolaMain Street.
Congratulations. Thank you.
How does it feel to nowkind of be at the reins
of this new journeyleading and all Main Street?
(09:22):
Yeah,definitely feels good. Feels familiar,
which is, you know,
really nice for meto be able to have gone through
the last nine months of educating myself,going through the application process
and different things of that nature,I think sort of led me
to where I am now and have,you know, a much better understanding.
(09:46):
Just tell us a little bit moreabout your background
and kind of the goalsand the vision that you see
kind of in these these early, early daysof of Indianola Main Street.
Yeah.
So my background is small business owner.
I've actually owned and operated businesson the square for over 20 years.
So familiar in that part of it.
(10:08):
So is able to kind of see as wella lot of different stages of our downtown
growing up here as well, even going
back to the seventies and rememberinglike what the square was.
And so through each decade,
the square has definitelytransitioned over the years.
What I would like to do
(10:29):
probably most and is the biggest concernis just structuring our main street,
working with our board of directorsand figuring out
how we can build a solid foundation.
And until that is done,
I think we have to pausejust a little bit on some
some of the bigger picture itemsso that we are able to go back
(10:53):
to that board of directors and thatexecutive director, get on the same page
and decide what our our goals are goingto be for Main Street in Indianola.
Leslie, just from a board of directorsstandpoint, just how great of a fit is it
to have Erica leading the chargefor Indianola
Main Street, in additionwith the collaboration of the board?
(11:13):
You know, when we decidedwe needed a full time executive director,
we heard from all sorts of peoplewho said,
I knowsomebody who would be great at that.
And that prompt has prompted us to say,okay,
let's let's go outand see who is interested in this.
And about midway through, Erica decidedto throw her hat in the ring as well.
(11:34):
So we went through,you know, all of those applications
and and had awhat we felt like was an objective
selection committeewho really grilled those applicants
because they were in
the people that were on that committeewere either involved in Main Street
or they were top investors for usor they were key community partners.
(11:55):
So they had a lot riding on this.
So we were all determinedto get the very best person
we could in that seat, and we got it.
Erica's heart is in this.
I said that recentlyto the Indianola Advocate.
We couldn't have picked anybody better.
We're just fortunate that she decided
that she would come out of hertwo week retire and do this.
(12:17):
And that's awesome.
And I think it speaks volumes of thethe character traits and just the
the vision that you have for the future
of our one of our most coveted assetsin our downtown square.
And I think from my perspective, too,you know,
I was fortunately able to be involvedwith that community meeting that in
(12:38):
in all Main Street and Main Street,Iowa, hosted here a couple of weeks ago.
And it was really eye opening.
But also a great opportunityto be in the same room
of a lot of those individualswho are those community supporters
or even investors to have that open dialogin that early development
of the strategic plan for Indianola
(13:01):
Main Street, but also that survey data,
it was for about a two and a half weeksstretch there in early September,
I believe it was where in inall Main Street had organized a community
wide survey to solicit the responsesof community members and visitors
alike of what they thought of the downtown
(13:23):
square and Indianola Main Street.
When you think about that data, whenyou were both at that meeting as well,
what are some of those facts and figuresthat stand out
that are kind of coming to your mindas we're talking about this,
that are like, hey, you know,this really is a key area
that we see as an opportunity or hey,this is an area
(13:44):
where it could be a challenge,but we have some of these
potential solutions in place or in motionto help us to help us get there.
I think one of the biggest thingsthat was not a surprise
was the concern with parking.
So that one, I would say, was not a
a surprise to me at all.
One of the most interesting aspects
(14:07):
going through it later was looking atwhat would you like to see downtown?
What are some of like the new businessesor what are we missing downtown?
That part I liked hearing from peopleon what they would like to see.
Come to Indianola downtown.
So I, I would say that overall,
I don't thinkthere were any major surprises.
(14:29):
It was interesting to seewhen they gathered that data.
There were interesting parts of it.
For example, like how many womenfilled out the survey versus males,
the age categories of peoplethat filled the surveys out
versusthe ones the low numbers that that didn't.
So those parts were kind of interesting.
(14:51):
I would have liked tomaybe see a little bit bigger numbers
of participants in the survey.
I think it would have given usa better big picture,
but that can also, you know,we are able to do that and create surveys
within within this district to help usalso make decisions down the road.
And I see that probably happening. But
(15:13):
I don't think for me,
other than thatthere was any any big surprises with it.
I was interested by the number of peoplewho were interested
or would considerliving in our downtown area.
It was a much highernumber than I ever expected
and I think
that's pretty exciting for people who say,
(15:34):
you know, I think I, I could envision this
and I could either move my familyor move there myself.
Interesting in a
area that we probably need
the most work on downtown,right, is upper storey housing.
So the biggest interest lies in whereI think we are lacking
the most as a downtown.
(15:56):
When you compare to other small townsor other Main Street communities
and what they have donewith their upper storey housing,
we are definitely behind the markon that right.
And it's a big focus of Main Street.
So that piece of the puzzlejust seemed to fall into place for us.
And I know when we were on that tourwith Debbie Durham, the director
(16:17):
of the Iowa Finance Authority,and Michael with Main Street, Iowa,
and some of those other key Main StreetIowa specialists, that Indianola,
downtown and Main Street has accessnow being a Main Street Iowa community.
We were inside the Harrison Buildingand we were up in a current resident
on the downtown square,and there beautiful apartment.
(16:40):
And I remember that resident showing usthe the beautiful part of it,
and she referred to itas the good, the bad and the ugly.
Went back to the uglyand we saw all the exposed brick
and just kind of the the blank canvas,if you will,
to really reimaginewhat this space could be.
I mean, that's going to be exciting,even though it's kind of like,
(17:02):
well, what do we get ourselves into?
But being in a space that's historic,to rethink and reimagine and rejuvenate
what it could be, to thenbring potential residents or visitors
or businessin to better utilize that space.
You're exactly right.
And it's funto walk to walk around and envision
not only our empty spaces,but other spaces that might be change.
(17:26):
So walking around thinking,What are we missing and how?
How could we use this?
And Main Street is so good at that,at thinking of things that we have
never thought of before and saying, Hey,you know, maybe you could think of a cafe
run by one of your programs outat the high school.
They did that recently in Oskaloosa
(17:47):
and opened a lunch in Cafe.
There are all sorts of waysto think about spaces.
There are all sorts of waysto think about your downtown,
and they can helplead us in the right direction.
They did a survey and they took picturesof what our current businesses are
and then they can help lead us towardswhat are you missing?
You know,is it a white tablecloth restaurant
(18:10):
or is it something for kids to do?
You know, all all sorts of things.
And I thought if anything,it gave a lot of motivation.
You walk into a space that has been redoneand you see what it can be.
And there are a lot of those downtowna lot of spaces that need to be redone.
Luckily, we got to see onethat that had been redone,
(18:33):
but for sure, motivation.
That tour gave a lot of motivationto focus a little bit better.
On her Upper Upper story with Harrison'sWe literally got to see behind
the curtains.
So when you go insideand if you haven't caught this yet,
that facade on the old Harrison'sbuilding is fake.
It's a facadethat was put up and it's freestanding.
(18:55):
It actually protectsthis 1800s architecture
that lies behind itthat we are working to expose.
And it was the first timethat many of us had seen that.
So to walk up in those spaces and say,Oh my gosh, it's beautiful.
Well, not just Walker,but take that freight elevator.
We took our lives experience right?
You got to make sure you bring that up,because that was
(19:19):
that was that w t.f therethere are no stairs in that building.
But it was so cool because, you know,
you talk about historic preservationand I mean that's it to a T, right?
And with that, when you have these ideascoming from those
who are these community partnersand these other organizations
come in and help us, is it oftenjust the simplest ideas?
(19:43):
And it could be things that we'rejust we're making it too complicated.
Is that also a good benefitto be a mainstay of a community where it's
bringing in those experts
and these other opinions where it's like,hey, you're
overthinking it, Go back to its rootand think of it in this frame.
And it's kind of like a reminderas you go about your process
to not overcomplicate,just keep it simple.
(20:04):
Well, and for me, that's huge.
I mean, when we talk about resourcesand and we talk about, you know,
using mainstreamIowa as a guide, they've got,
you know, experts in in that department
that specifically can workand customize things for Indianola.
And for me,that's that's the most exciting thing.
(20:26):
They can come in and go, okay, well,how about this?
Or how about this?
And like you said, it could very wellbe things that we have and even
thought about,
nor have we had the time.
A lot of us as volunteers to be able
to put in the workthat would need to be done to do that.
(20:46):
So this opened a very different door
as far as being able to focusand put the time and effort in on
some of these areas that we'veprobably needed to for a while now.
Yeah, that's very true.
You know, our our board has functioned
evenings, weekends, nights,
and we tend to zero in on specific things.
(21:09):
But now it's kind of like somebody said,
take a step backand look at the whole picture here.
Look at how your downtown looks,how it feels, how people feel about it,
what you're missing.
So it's challenged usto look at the bigger picture.
Absolutely.
And working with our partners,our community partners, the city,
you know, the chamber,economic development to, you know,
(21:33):
I think that's one thingthat we really want to highlight
is the importance of these partnershipsand these relationships.
City's got some great things going on.
Chambers got some great things going on
Main Streets,got some great things going on.
And if we all work together,we can really,
you know, to me blow some of the stuffout of the water for sure.
(21:54):
Yeah, for my End Point, I think that unityis at an all time high right now
amongst all these different entitiesand these individuals.
And you've got passion, you've got vision,you've got guidance,
you've got that structureand you've got that support.
So I mean, the sky literally is the limit.
I know we always say that with the,
you know, the balloonsand everything else,
(22:14):
but we can really doa lot of great things together.
So me personally, I'm excitedfor the next steps, too, to be part
and to be along for the ride of this wildjourney that is indeed of Main Street.
So what do these next steps look like
as we round out the end of 2024?
We talked earlier about, you know,the development of that strategic plan.
(22:35):
Just kind of take us through that processand really kind of what
October, November and
December could look likewith Indianola Main Street.
So for Octoberand just kind of getting settled in,
we have our first official board meeting
in October where we'll be able to start
(22:58):
putting a little bit of that structuretogether.
In addition to that, we have,
you know, I would say one of our largestMain Street events,
which is one which is in Bruce,and that is October 25th.
So a lot of effort will go into
making that event successful.
Leslie chairs that event has donean amazing job over the last few years.
(23:21):
You know,
bringing over a thousand womeninto the downtown area
for that evening has been huge.
Will go into November 7th.
There will be several of usgoing to Valley Junction for kind of
a new designation orientation type
sessionthat I'm very much looking forward to.
I will do a little bit of trainingand orientation
(23:44):
for my partas executive director in November as well.
And then we go right into homefor the holidays on November 23rd.
So in between all of this is some additional training that will be going through
and I will
be doing some additional training as well.
So it's going to be a very busy Octoberand November.
(24:08):
December,
but it's the first three months.
So that is no surprise.
I think Main Street warned usthe initial stage was, see,
what did we get ourselves into stage?
And I think we're just coming out of that.
So starting to wrap aroundour arms, around what do we have to do
and when does it need to be doneand start to understand it better?
(24:32):
We have so much to learn,but we're getting there.
I think we kind of went from overwhelmedto now a little bit excited right?
So when once that that wore off, you know,because a lot is thrown at you at once
when you get the designation a lot,especially within probably two weeks
for people who are running businessesand have other jobs that keep in mind
(24:53):
still volunteers.
Yeah. Yeah.
So now that, if you will,the dust has settled, you're starting to,
you know, your mind starting
to like, turn, your wheels are turningand you're you're starting to see
some different possibilities.
You know, the ideas are startingto pop into your head now.
And that part for me is very excitingbecause
(25:15):
with everything that we're offeringand we want
economic growth downtownmore than anything, but
we also want to bring back our downtownbeing sort of that special
gathering place.
And that's been absent for too longas far as I'm concerned,
because again, growing up here
my whole life, it was a gathering placeand we lost that just a little bit
(25:40):
along the wayand very rarely to get back to
doingsome really exciting things on the square.
I know the chamber
with their concert series and different
things like that has broughtthat back to the square as well.
So that part I'm also very excited for.
We think Mainstreet Street
(26:00):
improve the quality of lifefor the everyday citizen,
but it'll be great for our businesseswho are not on the square.
So when Symantecis trying to lure a top level executive,
they can point to our downtown squareand say, What a great place to live.
And you have this rightat your fingertips.
You know, you could live four blocks awayfrom all of this.
It's really a domino effectwhen our downtown is successful.
(26:23):
You know, it just kind of goes
out into beyond in that district.
You know,those businesses become successful.
The more trafficwe have in Indianola and downtown,
the more that traffic is going to spreadthroughout the entire community.
So what you want in the end, of course,is for it to be a win win for everybody,
(26:44):
whether you're in that districtor whether you're outside of the district.
You know, we hope that itit is beneficial all the way around.
And the tourism, that hotel motel tax,that's real money.
So if we can promote our tourism,that has a very real effect
on our communityand the things we're able to do, no doubt.
How vital are those eventsthat are held on the square in terms of,
(27:06):
you know,you think about that first impression
being a lasting impression, whether it befor the individual who may become
no Wayne's which which is isn't Brucefor the first time or home
for the holidays or any other eventthat we have on the square year round.
Just how important are those opportunitiesto create that first impression
to then hopefully have those individualskeep coming back for more,
(27:29):
whether it's living in upper levelhousing or shopping on the square
or coming back to a future eventwith their families or with their friends.
Speaking as a past business owner,
the one thing that I would say iswhen you have events like this
and Wayne with Jazz and Bruce againbeing a good example,
you've got womencoming in from out of town.
(27:50):
And what I noticed as being a businessowner is how many of them returned
and said, Oh, I was here for wine,
which is and Bruce for the first timeand actually came and did holiday shopping
and other things in the stores downtownbecause they enjoyed their experience.
So they returned.
That's huge.
(28:11):
If we can get more people doingthat, will do the same thing
for home for the holidays.
You know,bringing as many people as we can for that
very special time of yearthat people gather and do things.
And even even if they can'tget to everywhere that particular night,
I guess I have been
pleasantly surprised athow many of them returned at a later date.
(28:35):
So that's exciting.
We haven't had that in a while,so that that is the momentum.
I would like to keep goingfrom these events
and we made some changes this year,so it lines up perfectly.
We go from wine, which is and brewsand we invite them back for home
for the holidays.
A couple, three weeks laterthey come back for home for the holidays.
We invite them backfor Small Business Saturday.
(28:57):
So we just keep building on that and keepinviting them back for event after event.
There are all kinds of great reasonsto visit Indianola.
I think we're going to have to come upwith something in
and it been winter early
and I've been questioned
a little bit about that,about home for the holidays this year.
We actually moved it earlier in November.
We had had it inkind of a mid December range.
(29:20):
A couple of things worked against us.
The weather can be very, very tricky
as well as we were cuttingit pretty close to Christmas.
So we wanted to kind of back it upa little bit
in the hopes that we wouldnot only have better weather,
but that for shopping needs,that people would
would be justbeginning their holiday shopping.
So that is the reason that we moved itforward.
(29:43):
We also want to be very respectfulof our neighboring communities like Milo,
who has their own holiday festival there.
So we want to be respectful of the datesthat they hold theirs.
And so that was the reason that we wemoved it up pretty significantly this year
and we'll try it out and see how it goesand we'll be transparent.
Every eventwe do, it's all about those registers
(30:04):
ringing and peoplehaving really strong sales nights.
That's why we do all of this.
To that end, to I want to ask, you know,the Main Street district is about nine
and a half blocks, including the squareand one of those components
and we talked a little bit about thisduring that community
meeting with Main Street, Iowa,and their crew and the community members
was the untapped potentialby having Simpson
(30:27):
College neighboringpractically the downtown square.
And you think about the initiativewith the Wonder on Buxton project
to allow that connectivitybetween campus and square.
Just what are some of those
ideas or just next steps or
just building upon that momentumof bringing in Simpson
(30:50):
to feel more included with their communityand especially with the downtown square?
Well, you talk about being the right timefor us.
It could not be more right to haveJay Byars as President Simpson College,
who has run the Des Moines
Greater Partnership, GreaterDes Moines Partnership for so many years.
And he, of course,has a great understanding of the power of
(31:15):
business districts and understands fully
how that can benefit Simpsonand how Simpson can benefit us as well.
Actually, I was emailing this morning,we're going to go over and sell wine,
which is in Bruce tickets to the studentsat a discounted price next week.
So what a great thing for the studentsand opportunity to say
(31:36):
you'renot only attending this beautiful campus,
but we've got a vibrant downtown,literally three blocks away.
And that's definitely on, you know,if I have a to do list,
it's definitely how do we strengthen ourrelationship with Simpson.
Again, maybe an area
that wehave needed to improve on for a while.
But I think it was all about the timing.
(31:57):
And like Leslie said, the timing feelsso right at this particular time
to really start
having a great working relationshipwith Simpson College.
And there is enthusiastic as we areand that's great.
Adam To the team, Adam to the neverending list of community partners,
the more the merrier.
Well, they're on their way now.
(32:19):
But lastly,I just want to open up the floor
to both of you as we wrap things up,just to kind of share any
final closing remarks are just thoughtsyou have as we
think more about in in our main streetand these next steps
in the future that the impactit will have on our community.
I'm going to go backto my favorite example from Leslie,
(32:40):
which was, you know, we are in the processof building this ship
and there's a lot of partsto that, to this.
And this isthis is going to be a marathon.
It's not going to be a race.
We're going to get there in our own timeand pace ourselves
at, you know, in a waythat makes the most sense for Indianola.
(33:01):
And this is not just about a board andit's not just about an executive director.
It's really about the entire communitycoming together
and working to make Indianola successful.
And at the end of the day,
that's really what we wantand that's what our goals are.
But it is going to take some time.
(33:24):
And, you know,
we wouldjust ask for people to be patient,
that we will get there and get involved.
There are endless ways to get involved,
whether it's an eventor whether it's on a committee.
There are multiple ways thatpeople can get involved with Indianola,
Main Street, and we welcome, you know,anybody that would like to get involved.
(33:47):
Please come join us. You bet.
As the board gets settledwhere we were going to appoint
not only our officers,we have now a vacancy for President,
but also our committee chairs.
And once those chairs are set,then we're going to be
looking for the communityto come help us carry out
(34:09):
each of those
strategiesfor those four pillars and pillars,
our organization, Economic Vitality,Design and promotion.
So there's a little somethingfor everybody there.
But as Eric has said, man, it'sa lot of work and we can't do it alone.
But it's pretty exciting and what a hugedifference for our community.
So it's starting to understand Main Street
(34:32):
and we'll teach you as much as we can,as as we learn, as we go along.
But it is
becoming involvedso that we can push all of this forward.
And what are the best ways for listeners,community members,
really anyone to learn moreabout Indianola Main Street
and to stay connected and follow alongwith these next steps in this journey?
(34:53):
I think there's multiple ways.
If you're wanting to learn more aboutMain Street first all, you can contact us.
We're happy to sit down any time.
Even if you have a small organizationthat would like to learn
more about Main Street as a group,we're happy to present that as well.
Do not ever be afraidto get on the main street Iowa website.
(35:14):
Fantastic place to find great resources
to just learn moreor get a better overview of Main Street.
And then if youare wanting to get involved, whether again
it be volunteer, maybe you're interestedin a committee again contacting us
and we will we will get that ball rollingfor you and follow us on social media.
(35:35):
So you'll get the latest of whatwe're doing as well as events
that are coming up.
So follow them on Facebook.
And, you know,
I think it's still an email downtownMain Street, but I know the URL by heart.
It's Facebook.comback slash shop, Indianola.
There you go.
I know by heart because I see I see it.
(35:56):
But I just want to thank you againso much for
joining us on this episode of IndieUnplugged.
Listeners.
Make sure you leave us a comment sharereview.
That way we can make surewe're hitting the mark on these.
We've been doingkind of semi weekly episodes now.
We used to be monthly,but now we're picking up steam
by having more content and informationdistributed through your feed.
(36:21):
So leave in those commentsand those reviews
would be helpfulto make sure that we're hitting the mark
each and every episode, thatthis is all relevant information for you.
And who knows, maybe next time you can bea featured guest on Indy Unplugged.
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