Cresco's Fitness Action Plan Approved

The City of Cresco was selected as one of 10 communities from across the state to participate in the Iowan's Fit for Life program sponsored by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH).  Cresco's Fit for Life Steering Committee, with significant input from community members, created an action plan of health-related projects that improve access to, or the use of, recreational assets and more nutritional food for all of its community members. 

The plan has recently been approved by the IDPH as supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommended strategies for obesity prevention and the community has been awarded $10,000 to help implement the projects. 

Cresco's plan identified several specific activities designed to help residents get Fit for Life:
•    Develop wayfinding signage to direct residents and visitors to the trail, parks and fitness center
•    Improve the marking of the trail on a section of city roadway for user safety
•    Support the updating and reprinting of the Howard County/Cresco Recreational Brochure
•    Obtain and install outdoor fitness machines in a city park and along the Prairie Springs Recreational Trail, creating a Strength and Cardio Circuit for residents
•    Upgrade the city's tennis courts
•    Relocate and create new signage for the local Farmer's Market
•    Offer healthier snack choices at the Fitness Center
•    Inform residents about the benefits of active living and healthy eating through a weekly newspaper column in the local newspaper

Cresco will spend its IDPH money to develop wayfinding signage for the community's recreational assets, for demarcation of the trail along a city roadway, to support the creation of a comprehensive recreation brochure, to purchase outdoor fitness machines, to purchase signage for the local Farmer's Market and to integrate more healthy food and beverage options at the Cresco Fitness Center.  The city, its business community and its volunteer network have committed to filling in the gaps, with additional pledges of outdoor fitness equipment machines, labor, materials, services, media coverage and fundraising to ensure that the community's Fit for Life action plan is fully implemented.

Upper Explorerland was happy to facilitate the process of gathering community input and creating the action plan for the City of Cresco.  Please contact Karla Organist in our Planning Department if your community is considering a planning project of any sort and are seeking facilitation services.