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Mar. 3, 2010
NORTH LIBERTY LEADER
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Wendy Ford, Economic Development Coordinator for City of Iowa City, Susan Mims, Iowa City City Council, Governor Chet Culver, Senator Bob Dvorsky, Josh Schamberger, President of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau; Back Row: Senator Joe Bolkom, Laurie Haman, Vice President of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ryan Heiar, North Liberty City Administrator.
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DES MOINES - Governor Chet Culver signed has signed agreements with Iowa's six new "Great Places," creating work plans designed to make each a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Iowa Great Places is an initiative of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs that combines state resources and local assets to help communities cultivate the unique qualities that make them special. The Memorandums of Understanding signed by Gov. Culver bring the state into partnership with each of the following communities: Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty, Marion, Tama County, Turkey River Corridor, and Villages of Van Buren County.
"I am proud to sign these agreements and officially welcome these communities to the Iowa Great Places program," Governor Culver said. "These communities have proposed projects that build our cultural infrastructure, create jobs, and enhance quality of life opportunities that retain Iowa's young people and attract new residents of all ages. I look forward to working with them to fulfill the projects to move Iowa forward"
The program asks Iowans to develop proposals that address seven unique and authentic dimensions that make places special: engaging experiences; rich, diverse populations and cultures; a vital, creative economy; clean and accessible natural and built environments; well-designed infrastructure; a shared attitude of optimism that welcomes new ideas; and based on a diverse and inclusive cultural mosaic.
The Iowa City/Coralville/North Liberty proposal incorporates three communities with a vision focusing on literature. Iowa City became part of the Creative Cities Network when it was named a City of Literature in November, 2008, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Iowa City is the third city in the world to receive this recognition, joining Edinburgh, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia. Its proposal develops and supports the "UNESCO City of Literature" brand for Iowa City and surrounding communities.
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