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Heartland 2050 Draft Action Plan Open for Public Comment

The Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, is accepting public input on the Heartland 2050 Draft Action Plan through the end of the month.

Heartland 2050 is a regional vision for five counties in Iowa and three counties in Nebraska. Karna Loewenstein, Project Coordinator for Heartland 2050, explains the plan will inform how the community will live, grow and play into 2050. 

Loewenstein says it’s anticipated that the population will double by 2050 so it’s important to have a strategic growth plan in place that makes sense. 

She says the final piece of the plan is working on the actual steps to make that growth happen.

"We’ve got to take incremental steps between now and then to make that happen and so those action steps are the execution piece.  So, for instance, we’ve talked about that we want to make sure this community is healthier but what steps are we going to take?  What areas have we identified where there might be gaps or opportunities for improvement?  Or if we see a shift in demographics and there may end up being a bigger need, then what steps do we need to take to make that happen?”

Loewenstein says there are action steps for each of the six goal topic areas: economic development, education, health and safety, housing and development, infrastructure, natural resources. 

The public is invited to comment on the Draft Action Plan via email to heartland2050@mapacog.org.

The plan is available to view at heartland2050.org.