Central Iowa community finds strength in diversity
“Marshalltown, in my opinion, is Iowa’s largest hometown,” said Dylan Does. “With a population of 30,000, we’re big enough to do anything and small enough that we collaborate on everything.”
As director of tourism for the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce, Dylan is rooting for the revitalization projects that are helping his community recover from back-to-back natural disasters. After a tornado in 2018 and the 2020 derecho, he believes Marshalltown’s diversity has played a key role in helping it bounce back and become even better.
Recognized as one of the most ethnically diverse cities in Iowa, Marshalltown is home to six different grocery stores that cater to residents from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who speak more than 50 different languages. Throughout their rebuilding efforts, Marshalltown made it a priority to add even more amenities that put its resident’s cultural needs and traditions at the forefront.
“Maybe the melanin in our skin and our first language has changed, but our principles have not,” Dylan said. “We’re highly collaborative. It’s about hospitality. It’s about civic community pride and innovation.”
Creating Belonging for Everyone
One of the biggest strides in this initiative materialized as the Water Plaza project, a new placemaking effort planned along the popular Linn Creek recreation trail. While it will have water elements similar to a splash pad, a traditional playground and a children’s discovery garden, the Water Plaza will also serve as a space where the community’s Southeast Asia population can hold their annual Water Festival and the Latino population can gather with their families.
Set to be completed in 2025, it’s just one example of combined efforts to create an active community space that serves and celebrates all who call Marshalltown home.
“From a community perspective, I think of Linn Creek as a common gathering space where you see absolutely everybody from any walk of life,” Dylan said. “It’s going to be this incredible project about adding amenities and telling our authentic story of who we are, what makes us unique.”
It’s not uncommon for Dylan to meet visitors, prospects and recent transplants who tell him they are impressed by Marshalltown’s unexpected diversity. He recently went to dinner with a new Emerson Solutions Center employee who exemplifies the profile of newcomers.
“This person graduated from Penn State and has been working in the Cincinnati area but is originally from Thailand,” Dylan said. “He’s moved here because of that [job] opportunity and the access to different cultural pieces he can find here.”
Opening Doors with Market Housing
As the community continues to grow, local leaders are also pushing for new housing projects and reinvestment in the historic downtown as the magic combination for cultivating exciting initiatives and attracting a skilled workforce. Global companies are recruiting here and collaborating with Marshalltown Community College to encourage a pipeline of tech-savvy talent with premiere esports programs. But for a long time, Marshalltown was missing the housing stock to support real growth.
Janelle Carter, a developer reinvesting in the city, saw employers’ struggles with housing options firsthand. She and her husband, who’s the president and CEO of the tool manufacturer Marshalltown Company, have lived in the community for more than 30 years. Solving the housing problem and preserving some of the city’s historic Main Street became Janelle’s mission. The couple put some of their assets toward projects they thought could make a difference.
Development investments such as the $5 million Willard-Hopkins project transformed neglected landmark properties into desirable and affordable apartments in the downtown district. These apartments offer market-rate and reduced-rate housing for service industry workers and young people moving here for entry-level positions.
Their new-build Crosby Park townhomes are also fit for newcomers and boomerang Iowans who land roles at Emerson, Lennox and the technology company Mechdyne.
“Iowa has always been good to us,” Janelle said. “Our belief was, rather than invest in Wall Street or across the country, we would try to invest in our community.”
