"When my husband and I became surprise parents in 2009, we were living in Virginia. He was 10 years away from retiring and we were older parents. When we added another child to our family in 2014, we knew would have to really work hard find the perfect place to settle down after retiring, a place where our two sons would be embraced by the community while they grew into productive and kind young men. Both our sons are autistic, and that meant the place we ended up would really have to offer services and opportunities above and beyond any regular ordinary place. he schools and special education system would have to eclipse all others, and housing and employment opportunities for special needs adults would be a necessity. The option of public transportation for my sons was a must, as were wayfinding and streets that connected to trails, making it easy for them to navigate the town on foot or bicycle.
We sifted through those cities that topped our list: Asheville, Pella, Knoxville. Then, out of the blue, my husband saw a Facebook post about the Decorah Eagles camera, a live feed of an eagles’ nest located in Decorah, Iowa. The more we researched the city, the more it ticked all the boxes we needed. The special education programs through Decorah Community School District include the finest teachers and paraeducators we had ever met, and the high school was a blue ribbon award winner and had been top ranked in the state for multiple years running. The community also offered several programs for special needs housing, job coaching and employment assistance for special needs adults and there were several types of public transportation available. If our sons wanted to attend college and could qualify, there is Luther College within walking distance. We were sold on the community."
Decorah's accessory dwelling unit ordinance was recently amended to include storage containers as a material that could be used for construction. Additionally, the code for accessory buildings was revamped so an residence could be constructed on the second level of an accessory building.
Currently, Decorah works with the Iowa Economic Development Authority to award tax credits to builders, and in 2022, the city's newly-constructed Briar Grove Apartments was awarded $1 million in tax breaks for two 48-unit apartment complexes. A third apartment building will be built in the next year, as will a townhome complex.
Ten percent of each building is set aside for low to moderate income families. In early 2023, a rewrite of the city's ordinance regarding the historic C3 business district made it more flexible to have residences in the same building as businesses.
Decorah, with a population slightly more than 7,500, has two dozen trails, totaling nearly 225 miles. One of these trails, Trout Run Trail, spans 11 miles and circumnavigates the city -- wayfinding along the trail makes it so people can easily enter and exit the trail and visit downtown or stop off at popular city attractions like Dunnings Springs and the Fish Hatchery.
Luther College, located at the northernmost part of Decorah, was recently awarded a Bicycle Friendly University silver award for its bicycle share program and the continuous efforts of the college's sustainability program.
In Decorah's historic downtown, the city has been working with engineers and architects to redesign the streets and parking north of the shopping district to make it more user friendly for visitors to park and navigate all around the downtown blocks on foot. Traffic studies have been performed at several intersections that post safety and congestion concerns, and those intersections were redesigned to make them safer for pedestrians crossing. Additionally, a new lit up and flashing crosswalk was installed across a busy street that was deemed most dangerous by the study, and that crosswalk has alleviated many concerns.
A new traffic study will be occurring in the next several months at another intersection to determine the best crosswalk design to utilize to extend a planned pedestrian trail across a busy intersection and connect a pathway so pedestrians can seamlessly connect to the Trout Run Trail. The new crosswalk will connect pedestrians to a new 10-foot wide paved foot and bike trail planned for installation this spring which will span a few blocks and connect to the city's municipal building and fire department. Once installed, this path (along with the new crosswalk), will connect sidewalks and trails and paths so pedestrians could feasibly and safely navigate on foot from one side of Decorah to the other through the downtown area.
Decorah’s city staff and officials meet often and Zoom every meeting so everyone can join. If there are ever any questions regarding financial decisions or budget concerns, the public is always invited to speak, and they often do! It's not out of the norm for a meeting regarding a hot topic to have 75 members attending and 20-30 speakers.
The city manager and treasurer are always available to explain in the most simple terms what is going on with any financial decisions, and open houses and Q&A sessions are common for the city.
The city manager is very supportive to local media when sharing graphs and explanations. Instead of finger-pointing and placing blame, he works hard to keep the focus on what the city is doing to make things better. The newspaper breaks down questions about complex financial matters such as Tax Increment Financing and our Urban Renewal Plan.
Our council members often hold gatherings with residents so they can sip on coffee while they discuss the pros and cons of a municipal electric utility in a more relaxed, informal setting.
Currently, the city is working to fundraise $1.5 million for the balance of a new sports complex we are constructing this summer, and the city has been meeting every week with the parks and rec board. Every meeting is available via zoom, and there is a weekly progress article in the newspaper.
In addition to city staff and council members, city residents are very vocal and supportive as well with ensuring people in the town are as informed as possible about finances. We have a municipal electric utility (MEU) vote coming up next month, and many people think it's going to increase taxes, but that's not how an MEU works. The city's website has neutral information about MEUs on it, and numerous residents have talked with members of our community to let them know a utility can’t use tax dollars.
Our council members are very budget-conscious and say as much when talking about finances. With the new sports complex, they vocalize what items we have in the city that can be repurposed — street lights, fence, building materials, etc.
Our city manager will also come right out and tell people what he is thinking. Our city needs new water meters, and we have been working to get new ones installed this year. Instead of raising the water and sewer tax rates, the city manager publicly said he is hoping the new meters will make up for the water loss we have been enduring with the old meters, and that will negate any tax rate increase this year. I think it’s very awesome that he tells it like it is.
With more than 20 miles of off-road trails in Decorah for hiking, biking and walking, a group of local residents / mountain bikers in 2003 found the trails were in disrepair and needed serious upkeep and continuous maintenance. The group of mountain bikers formed the Decorah Human Powered Trails and with support from the city's parks and recreation department, the volunteer DHPT group worked to keep the trails usable. Through the years, the group has grown from a handful of volunteers to an expansive sect of Decorah's mountain biking community.
DHPT meets monthly November to February to hold 'Buckthorn Blitz' days -- where they cut, treat, and remove invasive shrubs to help improve the health of the forests where the trails are located.During recent stormy weather, more than 50 volunteers with DHPT cut and cleared more than 50 fallen trees along trails. They donated their time and equipment to build a binzebo in early 2024 at Carlson Park in the city Their efforts have helped maintain trails in Decorah when parks and rec didn't have the staffing dedicated to do the job.
The mayor is almost always out and about in town, and she is so approachable! She is not only at big events and parades, but also at low key gatherings -- our art community recently hosted a drag show, and she was in the crowd and having a blast!
The city manager walks to and from work every day, and he stops and talks to people along the way. If he is on his front porch, there are residents who are on his lawn, chatting with him.
City council members are in sweatshirts and stocking caps on Friday nights, cheering on the football team and manning the concession stands and admission booths at the high school wrestling matches.
When a storm hits and a tree falls in a neighbor's yard, a swarm of people start breaking the tree down immediately, including the sheriff from across the street and the ward representative who lives a block over.
This town is very much about taking care of one another, elected or not. We've had numerous meetings with our council members one on one to discuss MEUs and the importance of housing in Decorah. I've talked with the city manager a ton of times asking questions about any concern I have about the city -- what are hotel-motel taxes and how do we use them? Where does my property line end? How do I file a noise complaint? He has always stopped and had time to talk with me, even if he was in line at the grocery store waiting to go home after a meeting. I spoke with our new police chief right after she was hired, and talking with her was like talking to a family member. With the exception of one or two people, the elected officials in Decorah are real people who are doing real work for a deeper purpose. We are a huge family here, and we take care of one another.
