Downtown forum gives Lake City a chance to shine

No single decision will revitalize a community’s economy, Jim Thompson told town officials and economic boosters June 21.
Instead, he said, a combination of interrelated things is the key to improving a town’s economic stability. Thompson, a business specialist with the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Downtown Resource Center, spoke at a Downtown Forum in Lake City.
“It’s not a vacuum,” he said. “You can’t make a decision in a community without it touching something else.”
As he travels the state to work with towns and cities of all sizes, the top issues he hears about, over and over again, are the lack of quality or affordable housing – or in some towns, the complete lack of any housing – and the need to develop a better workforce. But, Thompson said, a city can’t focus on just one of those problems. He also hears complaints from some business owners when he suggests working on housing first, as though creating places for workers to live won’t do enough to stimulate the local economy. 
Read more in the June 28 edition.