The Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Downtown Resource center will be in Knoxville today. The organization is meeting at the Knoxville Public Library in order to discuss issues regarding downtown revitalization. Jim Engle, director of the Iowa Downtown Resource Center says the organization finds ways to assist all downtowns in the state of Iowa. Their main program is Main Street Iowa. The IEDA’s downtown resource center is looking for ways to get people talking about revitalizing downtown areas and working on communications throughout communities by working with businesses and colleges. Engel says the unique part about the meetings is that the community and the attendees get to be the speakers. The first meeting was in Atlantic, then Knoxville, followed by Storm Lake and Oelwein Iowa. Each location was chosen at random.

The sessions will follow this schedule:
· 9:30 -10:45 a.m. – Discussion Group: Improving your Downtown Appearance
· 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Listening Session: What are your Downtown Issues/Challenges?
· 12 – 12:30 p.m. – Tour of host downtown
· 12:30 – 2 p.m. – Lunch on your own, experiencing the host downtown
· 2 – 3:30 p.m. – Discussion Group: Creating a Great Downtown Business Environment