As we launched Capital Crossroads 2.0 in February, our volunteers understood the significant journey that laid ahead of us: Implementing a nearly 130-page comprehensive community development strategy that spans topics from traditional economic development to mental health to arts and culture. In the first few months of executing on the vision plan, we’ve made significant progress across all ten Capitals, or work platforms. Take a look at a sampling of our work over the last quarter, or check out the full report.

In June, Director Bethany Wilcoxon served on a panel at the Society for Diversity’s annual conference in Chicago. Wilcoxon joined three other Iowa leaders for the discussion: Sarika Bhakta of Nikeya Diversity Consulting, Greg Aguilar of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Katrina Neely Farren-Eller with Inclusive Dubuque. They shared their experiences in integrating diversity, equity, inclusion, and engagement into their respective work.

Multiple metro-area communities have adopted uniform construction and maintenance codes through the work of the Central Iowa Code Consortium (CICC). The CICC is a collaborative effort born out of the Governance Capital that brought public and private sector leaders together to produce a model code for all metro-area communities to consider through their local code adoption process.

“Adopting uniform codes streamlines the development process for all involved and helps ensure that we, as a region, are continually promoting the health, safety, and welfare of residents by creating safe buildings and communities,” said Jonathan Lund, City of Des Moines Fire Marshal and a CICC co-chair. Read more.

The Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute is seeking proposals for its Community Leadership Program class projects. Each year, the Community Leadership Program partners with local nonprofits on projects that provide meaningful leadership development opportunities for Community Leadership Program participants and help local nonprofits address critical needs. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit projects that align with our work at Capital Crossroads. An informational session will be held this afternoon.