Some small towns continue to thrive even as their populations drop and those towns are the subject of research by a team from Iowa State University. Kimberly Zarecor (ZARE-core), director of the interdisciplinary design program in the I-S-U College of Design, says the outlook in these towns is overwhelmingly optimistic. “We are looking at communities that are losing population, which is a common thing among rural communities all over the country,” Zarecor says. “We want to look at communities that, even if they’re losing population, they seem to have stable or improving quality of life perceptions among the people in the town.” The communities are being referred to as “shrink smart” towns. “This means people still feel like it’s a great place to live. When they’re asked questions about their neighbors and their community and the support system and the services, they feel they’re all good and possibly improving, even while they’re losing population in the community,” Zarecor says. “We think these places are special.”

I-S-U has won a one-year, $100,000 planning grant from the National Science Foundation to study these “shrink smart” communities in Iowa. She says, “What we’re really interested in is quality of life and how their towns can deal with the issues of being small, being rural and losing population.” Work is underway to identify some of the communities. Since 1994, I-S-U has polled residents in 99 small Iowa towns, one in each county. Researchers hope to chose a half-dozen or so towns from that list. “There’s a certain perception that small towns aren’t doing well or that they’re on their downward swing,” Zarecor says. “For us, we want to think about what are the ways in the cycle where more people are moving into metro areas, what’s the future cycle for small towns. Maybe we’re going to see people moving back to small towns and what draws people to those towns.”

An advisory board for the study includes representatives from the Iowa League of Cities, Iowa City and County Management Association, small-town government officials and the Iowa State University Extension.

(Radio Iowa)

The vast majority of eligible state and local government workers in bargaining units have voted to retain their union representation. Danny Homan is president of the Iowa local for the American Federation of State, Countil and Municipal Employees — the AFSCME union. “I’m elated,” Homan says. “…I think this speaks volumes. People want to have their union.”

A new state law requires “recertification” votes before each round of contract talks with public sector workers. Over the past two weeks, members of 436 local bargaining units have voted to remain in their union. State officials say 32 bargaining units will be dissolved as a result of the balloting. Ninety-eight percent of the “locals” represented by the Iowa State Education Association retained the union.

The AFSCME union faced recertification votes in 42 bargaining units. One of those 42 units will no longer be represented by AFSCME. Two of the four eligible Carroll County Conservation Board employees voted yes and a third cast a void ballot. Homan, though, is challenging the decision on that ballot.

“With all the problems there were in this voting process, I’m ecstatic,” Homan says. “This proves what we’ve been saying all along. Folks want to have a say at the table. Folks want to have a say in their terms and conditions of employment. Most of our elections, all but one of them, they weren’t even close.” As a result of this month’s voting, the Service Employees International Union will no longer represent nearly 200 nurses at Broadlawns Hospital in Des Moines.

About a third of the 32 bargaining units that will be dissolved were part of the Teamster Union, representing bus drivers, county jail employees and road crews. The Iowa State Education Association will no longer represent teachers in Glidden-Ralston, North Linn and Sigourney School Districts.

A majority of teachers who voted in those districts cast ballots to stay in the union, but teachers who did not cast ballots were counted as “no” votes under the new state rules. Iowa State Education Association president Tammy Wawro (WAR-oh) called that an “unreasonable standard.” Homan, the AFSCME union’s Iowa president, says it’s an unfair hurdle.

“I think people are just mad as heck at the Republicans that did this to them,” Homan says. More than 28-thousand Iowans cast ballots over the past two weeks in these recertification elections. If their public sector employers negotiate one-year contracts, there’ll be another round of voting like this a year from now.

(Radio Iowa)