Filling open buildings in downtown Decorah

This has been an active year for the downtown Decorah business district.  Several businesses, including Vanberia, The Sport Shop and H & L Toys, have closed.  But other businesses have filled the openings, including Modish, Letterwerks and Sports World.

Winneshiek County Development Inc. Executive Director Stephanie Fromm says her organization is working to get the word out about available properties.  WCDI's website, www.thinkdecorah.com, has a link to the LOIS website.  LOIS, which stands for "Location One Information System," can generate a map showing the location of open properties.

Fromm says while her office works with all local realtors--and has links to their websites on WCDI's website, it's good to have a central clearinghouse of information about properties.

Winneshiek County Development also is helping to support new and current business owners by co-sponsoring several classes teaching business skills.  A recent Quick Books class was very popular, she says.  A schedule of new classes will be available in the near future.

All of these steps are aimed at keeping downtown Decorah's business district vibrant.