Decorah considers applying to become part of the Main Street Iowa program

Can Decorah's downtown historic district be used as a tool for economic development in the community?  That's the question being studied by City of Decorah officials and others in the community.

Main Street Iowa is a state program which works with a select group of communities, including West Union, Lansing, Elkader and New Hampton, to provide a framework for downtown revitalization efforts.  Main Street Iowa's Michael Wagler visited Decorah on Thursday for a two-hour workshop on what it might look like to have Decorah join the program.

Wagler tells decorahnews.com that Main Street Iowa is a program, not just a label.  Participating communities get technical assistance from Iowa Economic Development, including training workshops, architectural assistance, design assistance, business assistance and other program assistance.  Wagler says communities identify goals for their downtown and then coordinate efforts to improve and promote the downtown.

Main Street Iowa accepts applications only every other year and then selects only one or two communities. Wagler says it's a competitive application process, with communities selected on the basis of their readiness for the program.