By now I’m sure you’ve heard some of the buzz surrounding the Inter-City Visit to Des Moines, organized by Greater Fort Wayne Inc. (GFW). If you haven’t, I’ll briefly explain.

“Greater Fort Wayne Inc. is the new organization that unifies the Fort Wayne – Allen County Economic Development Alliance and the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, serving as a single point-of-contact for economic growth in Greater Fort Wayne.” –greaterfortwayneinc.com

The GFW Inter-City Visit sent Fort Wayne community leaders to Des Moines, Iowa, a Midwestern city that was recently rated #1 in GFW’s Competitiveness Index. The group of nearly forty individuals was charged with finding out what makes the city so successful and to bring some of that success back to Fort Wayne in the form of ideas and inspiration.

I’m going to spare you the conversation of economic development, public-private partnership, investment, foundations, etc. (all of which is very important, but can be found in a slew of other local coverage) and give you the perspective of a 30-something young professional seeking a vibrant culture.

My first impression of Des Moines was captured as the plane descended on the city. It wasn’t really that big, actually its city limits are nearly 30 square miles smaller than Fort Wayne’s, however their urban landscape sprawls much further than our own handful of downtown blocks. We received another brief glimpse of the city as we were bussed back to our hotel, but the real exploration would come later.

Downtown View from the Capital Building

The first day consisted of some discussions with a couple of Des Moines community leaders over lunch and dinner, interjected with a bus tour of the city in between. The bus tour drove us through their sprawling downtown, past sculpture parks and many examples of public art, brownstone-style housing with doors walking out directly to the sidewalk, through the East Village district full of boutiques and nightlife, and all the way out through their suburbs. Downtown housing was impressive with around eight thousand residents in lofts converted from old warehouses, townhouses with rooftop terraces, and apartments above boutique-style shops.

The Capital Building. ready for the World Food Prize

After the first day I had been instilled with a wanderlust (thanks to a friend for that word). However, day two was for listening and conversation, not for wandering. We spent Friday on the 33rd floor of the Raun Center (which by the way, has a beautiful view of the city) learning about the success of Des Moines. I will admit, at first I felt a little trapped as I stared out the window imagining the pavement begging me to explore more, but I soon became engrossed and inspired by the discussion.

As promised I won’t drown you in the details, but I want to provide some key takeaways from the discussion that day. Capital Crossroads, something similar to Fort Wayne’s Vision 20/20, was their vision of tomorrow’s continued success and growth, complete with execution and accountability. It covered plans for inspiring health and wellness in the community, focusing on downtown development, cultivating arts and culture, and promoting diversity and inclusion.

We learned about DART, their public transit system, which is not only widely used by downtown workers and/or residents, but also integrated into the public school system to allow students to bus to and from school.

View from the 33rd floor of the Raun Center

We listened to the president of their Downtown Des Moines organization (think an Iowan Bill Brown) talk about topics on the development of their downtown, from public art being an automatic inclusion in every project they implement, to their Principal River Walk, also called The Loop, which entailed 1.2 miles of riverside trails connected to 550 miles of existing regional trails.

One of my favorite things we learned about is the Des Moines Music Coalition which is a “501(c)(3) non-profit organization and collaborative movement committed to building a stronger and more diverse music community in greater Des Moines.” –desmoinesmc.com. Simply, the organization is a cultivator and supporter of the Des Moines live music scene with an ultimate goal of retaining the youth in their region. They also put on a great event called the 80 35 Music Festival. If you ever had a reason to go to Des Moines, that might be it.

Once the day of discussion was through I found myself pretty spent. Eight hours of discussion and presentation will do that to any person. At the same time I felt inspired and I was excited because that evening and the entire next day was open to fulfill my newfound wanderlust.

The East Village, Des Moines, Iowa

Friday night, after an amazing dinner at a place called 801 Chophouse, some of us set out on the town and headed straight for the East Village where we found a bar called Up Down. As you descend a set of stairs to a basement-level establishment you are greeted with indie and alt rock intermingled with the sounds of 80s and 90s arcade machines, pinball machines, and Nintendo and Sega gaming consoles. The TVs above the full bar were playing classic horror films while the taps offered local and not-so-local craft brews. The place was busy, people were having fun, and the best part was that every person I approached was completely inviting. I met some amazing people that night, Iowans and out-of-towners, and they were all genuinely interested in not only me but our purpose for being in Des Moines.

This general acceptance and excitement for meeting new people continued throughout that evening and the final day. It had a very welcoming Midwestern feel while at the same time it had the same small-town feel that reminded me of home in Fort Wayne.

Downtown Farmer’s Market, Des Moines

The next morning was Saturday and I made the decision to start off my morning separate from the group and the guided activities. I had an overwhelming desire to plug my headphones in, wrap in my favorite sweater, and set out onto the sidewalks without any real direction or destination. The first place I found myself at was the Downtown Farmer’s Market which was thirteen city blocks of vendors and patrons. They get an impressive 20,000 patrons every Saturday and have somewhere around 300 vendors selling every good from produce, to arts and crafts, to an amazing little food cart where they made the best stir fried rice I have eaten to date. To top it all off there was live music on every street corner, which gave me a good reason to unplug my headphones for a while.

I spent the rest of the day wandering the streets, taking photos, visiting boutiques, stopping into bars for drinks, and talking to locals. I ran into people I had seen before, exchanged hugs with people I had just met, awed at murals three stories tall, and sat in parks surrounded by landscaping and public art.

A mural located in downtown Des Moines

There is a certain amount of emotion that comes from the feeling of exploring something new, something exciting, and I experienced it that day. The feeling of such a vibrant culture in their downtown, heavily supported and promoted by their community leadership, created a sense of attachment in me. I knew that if I were to move there (don’t worry I’m not going anywhere) that the culture and vibrancy would inspire a love for Des Moines in me.

This is why I volunteer. This is why I serve. My sense of attachment in Fort Wayne comes from the feeling that I really can make an impact with my opinions and my actions. My love for Fort Wayne inspires my desire to see Fort Wayne grow into something that creates a love for community within all of its citizens. I know we can get there, but it ultimately comes down to you. Fort Wayne needs fresh perspective. Fort Wayne needs its youth to rise up, voice their opinions,

What are you going to do today to better your city?

and take action. We should be supporting our local music scene to see it flourish, we should be creating an environment that the youth wants to explore and experience, we should be enabling young entrepreneurs to thrive. There are so many opportunities to make a difference in your community. What are you going to do today to better your city and make it a place to inspire a love for community?

Finally, I have to say thanks to Greater Fort Wayne Inc. for the opportunity in Des Moines. Not only did I get to network with some of our very own local community leaders, but I got to experience an inspiring vision of success that has further cultivated within me my own love of my community and my city, Fort Wayne.

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