Survey reveals that 300 new housing units are needed in Winneshiek County in the next 10 years

If Winneshiek County wants to have modest population growth in the next ten years, it will need to find a way to encourage the construction of 300 housing units.

That's the conclusion of a study by a "Community Housing Assessment Team" that presented its findings Wednesday evening at Decorah City Hall, Project Leader Marty Shukert of RDG Planning & Design visited Winneshiek County in November and conducted focus-group sessions in Decorah and Calmar during his visit. He also toured housing sites throughout the county and has compiled extensive demographic information about Winneshiek County.

Shukert told Wednesday evening's meeting that housing is fairly affordable in Calmar and Ossian, but slightly expensive in Decorah.  He also mentioned that there has been "a huge in-migration of older adults" into Decorah in recent years.

That statistic shows Decorah needs more multi-family housing, especially for those older adults.  If that happens, the population of Decorah could grow by around 300 people in the next ten years, offsetting expected population losses in rural Winneshiek County.