We are now less than a month away from when the Guthrie Center Revitalization Corporation will send 30 community members to Des Moines for their Main Street Iowa skit presentation to the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

According to Main Street Iowa State Coordinator Michael Wagler, at its core, a town’s application must emphasize “economic development within the context of historic preservation.”  It must also showcase a “broad base of community support.”

“That’s not only the local non-profits and businesses, but also looking broader to the community as a whole, as well as a strong public-private partnership which is key to a sustainable downtown and community development strategy.”

Wagler says communities that succeed with Main Street do so because they remain committed to the program’s “four-point approach,” which is a trademarked process owned by the National Main Street Center.

“The four-point approach looks at four comprehensive areas that align with community values that drive development.  Those four points are organization, promotion, economic restructuring and design.  What we see from the implementation of this approach is a community is all of the sudden taking a step back and looking at a more comprehensive approach to really go from point A to point B, and (they) align those with the social values that enable that to happen.”

To hear more about what the IEDA looks for in a Main Street Iowa application, tune-in to Thursday’s Let’s Talk Guthrie County to hear our full conversation with Wagler during the 9am, noon and 5 o’clock hours on K107.