The City of Knoxville received a visit from the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the City of Carroll on Thursday to discuss downtown revitalization.

The purpose of the visit was for Knoxville to essentially give the community of Carroll advice on ways to work on downtown revitalization and the steps they took to become a thriving community. Carroll is a town in west central Iowa and they brought their mayor, city manager, and a few council members to get a tour of downtown Knoxville, hear an overview of the city, and receive some downtown revitalization strategies. The City of Carroll was joined by Jim Thompson with the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Knoxville Mayor Brian Hatch, City Manager Heather Ussery, Economic Development Director Glenn Lyons, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Nathan Sage , Community Development Director Marilyn Arber, and City Council Member Dylan Morse all spoke at the Knoxville Public Library to the guests from the City of Carroll. 

Topics the speakers from Knoxville discussed during the visit included major priorities for the town, downtown revitalization, marketing, branding, and facade grants. In 2023 the City of Knoxville was designated as a thriving community by the Iowa Economic Development Authority.