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Fairfield celebrates Main Street Iowa induction
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD – The Main Street Fairfield Steering Committee hosted a ceremony in Central Park Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the town’s recent achievement of becoming the 54th Main Street Iowa Community.
A giant and colorful balloon display representing the city’s logo adorned the Ron Prill Bandstand. The display was made by Soarin' Soirée and paid for by TrafFix Devices. Local and state dignitaries spoke about the significance of Fairfield becoming a Main Street Community, and how it will benefit the city and especially the downtown.
Among the featured speakers that afternoon was Debi Durham, Executive Director of Iowa Economic Development Authority, who said that Fairfield’s induction into the Main Street Community represented a long-term commitment to economic vitality and community pride. She spoke about how Fairfield’s Main Street Iowa application fell short in 2024, but the local steering committee didn’t give up, and got to work right away to create an even better application in 2025.
Durham spoke about the great things happening in Fairfield such as the restoration of the former armory into the Blue Rose Ballroom opening soon, the renovation of Louden Lofts, Bountiful Bakery sprouting in a former home, and the creation of the Fairfield CoLab and its move into the former Iowa State Bank building. She said Fairfield’s entrepreneurial spirit draws people in, and is the reason Smithsonian Magazine named Fairfield one of the “Best Small Towns to Visit,” and why the town was just included in the Intelligent Community Forum’s Top 7 list of intelligent communities in the world.
After the ceremony, Fairfield’s leaders took Durham on a tour of the downtown that included stops at the Blue Rose Ballroom, Fairfield CoLab, and Najah Dawaji’s new apartments on the north side of the square.
Carol Lilly, Main Street Iowa State Coordinator, said Fairfield was joining a powerful network that has invested $2.8 billion into Main Street communities. Joining Main Street Iowa means that Fairfield will have access to small business support, technical assistance, design services, training, and strategic planning.
Denise Hall will be the first president of the newly created Main Street Fairfield Board of Directors, and she said at Tuesday’s ceremony that her organization will work on improving the downtown’s aesthetics, fostering volunteerism, and recruiting new businesses.
Fairfield Mayor Connie Boyer said Hall and Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mendy McAdams were the driving forces behind Fairfield’s successful Main Street Iowa application, partnering with the Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, Grow Fairfield and the City. She said that transforming Fairfield won’t happy overnight, but Fairfield’s new designation as a Main Street Community is a great start, reminding the crowd that “well begun is half done.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
