Des Moines River Watershed
¨ Iowa has less than 1% of land in public ownership
¨ The Des Moines River Watershed affects 1/3 of Iowa land
Des Moines River Greenbelt
¨ In 1985 under the leadership of Congressman Neil Smith, the U.S. Congress authorized the Des Moines River Greenbelt legislation
¨ The Des Moines River Greenbelt includes 9 counties and approximately 410,000 acres of public and private land along a 200-mile corridor of the Des Moines, Boone and Raccoon Rivers
¨ Prior to 2003, the Des Moines River Greenbelt had not received federal funding since 1995. Projects constructed at Lake Red Rock with Des Moines River Greenbelt funding can be constructed with 100% federal funding
Lake Red Rock
¨ Each year over 9,000 children and adults participate in environmental educational programs at Lake Red Rock
¨ Lake Red Rock is Iowa’s largest lake
¨ Four lane highway163 runs just north of Lake Red Rock and four lane highway 5 runs just south of Lake Red Rock
¨ Lake Red Rock was created in 1969 and has a 12,000 square mile drainage area
¨ Lake Red Rock has 15,250 surface acres of water
¨ Lake Red Rock has the largest flood storage capacity of projects in the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
¨ Lake Re Rock is Iowa’s largest contiguous public land base with approximately 50,000 acres of land and water
¨ Camping nights at all Lake Red Rock area parks total nearly 50,000 annually. A camping night is one unit staying on one site. That translates into an estimated annual visitation of over 200,000 people staying at area campground facilities.
¨ Wildlife in the Red Rock area include white pelicans, river otters, soft-shelled turtles, blue-spotted salamanders, scarlet tanagers, bald eagles and trumpeter swans just to name a few
¨ Dragoons first explored the Red Rock area in 1835
¨ The Red Rock dam is 5,676 feet long and 110 feet tall. The total structure contains 200,000 cubic yards of concrete, which is enough to build a road 66 miles long, 24 feet wide and 8 inches thick.
Cordova Park
¨ Within 100 miles of Cordova Park, there are just over 1.6 million residents
¨ Cordova Park is located 40 minutes southeast of Des Moines
¨ Cordova Park lies less than 50 miles from both Interstate 80 and Interstate 35
¨ Cordova Park is 1,100 acres
¨ Cordova Park currently has 7 rental cabins, observation tower, nature trail, butterfly garden, picnic areas and boat ramp
¨ The Cordova Observation Tower features 170 steps to the top and the observation platform measures 106 feet tall. The Cordova Observation Tower is the tallest observation tower in a public park in the Midwest.
¨ Marion County has invested over $1.3 million in facilities at Cordova Park since 1995
Pella
¨ The Vermeer Mill is the tallest working windmill in the United States
¨ The Bos Landen Golf Resort was rated Iowa’s #1 public golf course from 1997-2001 by Golf Digest Magazine
¨ Pella was selected as the Iowa Tourism Community of the Year in 2003
¨ Pella’s population grew by 6.1% from 1990 to 2000 according to the US Census
¨ Pella has over 400 hotel rooms with 3 conference centers. The largest conference center has the capacity to handle groups as large as 5,000.
¨ Central College has an enrollment of over 1,600 students
¨ The Pella Community School District was selected as one of 38 Blue Ribbon School Districts in the United States
Knoxville
¨ Knoxville is home to the Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals each August
¨ Dixie Cornell Gebhardt, a resident of Knoxville, created the Iowa flag and her original design is on display at the Marion County Courthouse in Knoxville
¨ Iowa Governor William Stone was from Knoxville and present at Ford’s Theatre the evening President Lincoln was shot
¨ The Hall of Fame to honor legends in sprint car racing is located at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum
Economic Development & Tourism
¨ Over 18,400 people work in Marion County each day.
¨ The Red Rock area is known across the globe for two major annual events: Pella Tulip Time festival and Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals
¨ Over the past ten years, the Red Rock area has seen over $30 million invested in new tourism attractions
¨ According to the County-by-County study prepared by the US Travel Data Center, annual traveler expenditures to Marion County were $31 million in 2003.
¨ Marion County has been honored as the Iowa Tourism County of the Year by the Iowa Tourism Office and Travel Federation of Iowa in 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2003
¨ The Cordova Center on the Rock project was identified in the 20-year Marion County Recreation Plan that was developed in 2001 by the Marion County Development Commission with assistance from the UNI Institute for Decision Making
¨ US Census data comparison from 1990 to 2000 indicates Marion County has seen a 12.4% increase in working age adults 20-64 and the median household income has increased by 51%.
¨ According to the Iowa Regional Economic Atlas prepared by Iowa State University, the Marion County economic region ranks 16th in the state for non-farm employment and second in the percentage of advanced manufacturing employment.