So exactly what is the “Marshalltown Vibe?” It’s that “distinctly different” energy that we have here in Marshalltown. Just walk around town a bit and you’ll begin to feel it. It’s that certain, hard to describe, feeling that you get about something. The Marshalltown Vibe is the way that people, both near and far, are beginning to talk about Marshalltown. The Marshalltown Vibe also describes the sense of confidence that we begin to feel around town. The Marshalltown Vibe is on an upswing and headed in a positive direction.

Is it important to monitor and measure a community’s vibe? Absolutely. It’s a community’s vibe that helps to create an atmosphere that is conducive to positive economic/community development and overall community growth. As I look back on the first 11 months of 2016 I can say with much certainty that the positive Marshalltown Vibe has been building with the help of so many in our community.

At the Marshalltown Regional Partnership, we are proud and honored to have had an opportunity to help create some positive momentum in our community. Each one of the partnership organizations have played a role in helping to create the Marshalltown Vibe over this past year.

A few examples of their positive projects:

• Housing — take a look at the housing starts around town, whether it be the new single family homes that Orton Homes are building in the South Point Subdivision off of Merle Hibbs, the townhomes that are currently being constructed off of Olive and Iowa Avenue, the townhomes that are being built near Wandering Creek Golf Course, and the assisted living facility that will be breaking ground in the spring of 2017. Our housing challenge in Marshalltown is being positively addressed and Marshall Economic Development and the city are to be congratulated for this direction and momentum! Economic Development site selectors will tell you that roof tops help drive economic/community development and our roof tops are on the rise!

• When I think about the work of our Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce over this past year, there are many items that I can list, but the one that I believe has really helped create the positive Marshalltown Vibe is the beautiful redevelopment and rededication of the Fisher Community Center pond by the Iowa Valley Leadership (IVL) class, led by the Chamber and co-sponsored by Iowa Valley Continuing Education. The outpouring of support the class received from the community to provide the resources necessary was nothing short of remarkable on one hand, and on the other hand was characteristically Marshalltown. There is a lot of pride in our community for the Fisher Community Center and the IVL class helped reveal that pride!

• 2016 has also provided for a fresh start at the Marshalltown Convention and Visitors Bureau with work being done on some exciting initiatives that are also helping to create that Marshalltown Vibe. The Marshalltown CVB is involved with two groups that have really taken our community by storm. 1. TRAILS, Inc. currently finishing the Iowa River Trail from Marshalltown to Steamboat Rock (This will be a top trail in Iowa and the Midwest). 2. Marshalltown Public Art Committee (M-PAC) responsible for the recently installed Drills public art, the crowning touch to the Roundhouse renovation on the MHS campus. Add Drills to the Echo public art in the 13th Street District, and it is easy to see firsthand the positive impact M-PAC had in creating the Marshalltown Vibe.

For more opportunities to get a sense of what’s happening in and around Marshalltown check out the Community Calendar of Events on the Events Page on our new partnership website www.marshalltown.org.

And as we finish up 2016 and head into 2017, we are also fortunate to have added another community partner, Vision Marshalltown, to help us all bring back, develop and communicate that oh so important “community pride” that is a very important component of the Marshalltown Vibe.

So as we are entering the holiday season and finishing up a positive 2016, step outside, take a look around, and begin to see, feel, hear and take part in that Marshalltown Vibe. Be careful, though … it’s contagious!

#MarshalltownVibe

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David Barajas Jr. is the CEO of the Marshalltown Regional Partnership.