A forum on building sustainable and vibrant communities was held at Simpson College Thursday evening, covering a range of topics from renewable energy to city efficiency planning. Guest speakers at the event included Indianola Mayor Kelly Shaw, Indianola City Manager Ryan Waller, Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy, and Kari Carney with 1,000 Friends of Iowa. Mayor Shaw tells KNIA News building a sustainable community will take a joint effort from young and old, and public and private entities.

“Someone from my generation and older don’t tend to take a look at the environment and the impact we can have upon it. One of the things that we can learn from tonight is that the public sector and private sector in terms of public/private partnerships can have a lot to do together to help with sustainability, and not only to help with sustainability to make it a moneymaker to benefit all.”

City Manager Ryan Waller spoke during the event about the upcoming Indianola Master Plan, and how that is the communities voice on how to move forward, and says that process will be key in building the community we want to see.