Some of the headlines you can read about this month include:

• Revolving Loan Fund to Assist the City of Fayette
• UERPC Planner Achieves National Certification
• Career Learning Link Proud
• Lunch and Learn - Unemployment Insurance Lunch
• Safe Routes to School
• Hot Diggity Dog! Our Bus Got a Brand New Set of Wheels!
• Invitation for the Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival
• Community Meetings for Long-Range Transportation Plan

Public invited to community meetings for 5-county Long-Range Transportation Plan

Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission (UERPC) has begun development of an update to the Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) for the region consisting of Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek Counties in northeast Iowa. The Iowa Department of Transportation requires that our region’s LRTP be updated every five years. The current plan was adopted by the Upper Explorerland Transportation Policy Board in March of 2014.

The LRTP has a 20-year planning horizon and is intended to guide transportation investments in the five-county region in support of a transportation system that is safe for all modes and users, and that facilitates the efficient movement of people and goods. The plan includes a description of the region's existing conditions; identifies current transportation challenges; anticipates potential future needs; and explores various strategies for addressing those challenges and needs.

To ensure that the LRTP reflects the priorities and goals of the people who live in and visit our region, the public is invited to participate and give feedback in various ways. Community workshops have been scheduled in each of the five counties in the coming weeks. Residents of the region may attend any of the workshops, regardless of where they live.

All workshops begin at 5:00 p.m. and will last about an hour and a half. There will be a brief presentation at the start followed by interactive feedback activities. Members of the public are free to come and go at any time during the meeting, even if they miss the beginning. The schedule of community meetings is below.

• Cresco: Monday, September 10^th at NICC Cresco Center, Room 102, 1020 2^nd Avenue SE
• Fayette: Wednesday, September 12^th at UIU Student Center, 2^nd floor, Student Life Conference Room, 603 Washington Street
• Calmar: Thursday, September 13^th at NICC Wilder Business Center, Room 106, 1625 Highway 150 S
• Elkader: Thursday, September 27^th at Clayton County Office Facility, 600 Gunder Road NE
• Waukon: Thursday, October 4^th at the Senior Center at Waukon Wellness Center, 1220 3^rd Avenue NW

All residents of the five counties, as well as those who visit this area, are invited and encouraged to complete an online survey about transportation in our region. Survey responses are anonymous and the more people that complete it, the stronger and more representative of the region the final plan will be.

The survey can be accessed at www.tinyurl.com/ybfo4epe. Information on the LRTP, as well as a link to the survey, are also available on UERPC’s website, www.uerpc.org.

Those interested in being notified of updates and events related to the LRTP, and anyone wishing to request a paper copy of the survey, may contact Aaron Detter at adetter@uerpc.org or 563-382-6171.

Some of the headlines you can read about this month include:

• The UERPC office will be closed Labor Day
• Healthy HometownSM Visits Northeast Iowa
• 5-2-1-0 Campaign in West Union
• 5-2-1-0- Childhood Health Campaign Expands in Iowa
• WalkNEIowa.org Releases Social Media Report
• Iowa DOT seeks public input on bicycle and predestrian plan
• August 2018 IoawWORKS Decorah Workshops
• All in Allamakee: Allamakee County's Comprehensive Plan
• Start Planning for the October 3rd Healthiest State Walk
• Interships Make a Difference
• State Safe Routes to School Scorecards Released
• Northeast Iowa Family STEM Festival
• School is back in Session - Drive Safely!

All In Allamakee: Allamakee County’s Comprehensive Plan

Allamakee County is partnering with Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission to develop a new comprehensive plan for the County. Dubbed All In Allamakee, or the "All-In Plan" for short, the plan will consider a host of issues related to economic development, housing, transportation, parks, infrastructure, etc., all of which have an impact on residents' quality of life.

The All-In Plan will be in development through the rest of 2018 and much of 2019. During this time there will be several opportunities for residents to get involved. Public meetings will be held in Lansing, Waukon, and Postville where attendees will help create a countywide vision for Allamakee County’s future. Later in the process, topic-specific focus groups will be held to help create goals and strategies to achieve that vision.

Residents and visitors to Allamakee County are invited to complete a very brief questionnaire on how they feel about Allamakee County. We also invite and encourage all residents and visitors of Allamakee County to give input on a broader array of issues in Allamakee County by taking a more detailed survey. Visit the web addresses below to fill out the brief questionnaire and take the survey.

www.surveymonkey.com/r/All-InPlanQuestionnaire

www.surveymonkey.com/r/All-InPlanSurvey

Finally, we invite Twitter and Instagram users to tweet and share photos of everything you love about Allamakee County by using #AllInAllamakee. We may contact you for permission to use your tweet or photo in the final plan!

If you’d like to be added to our contact list so you can be notified of updates and events related to the All-In Plan, and/or if you are interested in being in one of the focus groups, please contact Aaron Detter at adetter@uerpc.org or 563-382-6171.