I've given three special tours of Grinnell to visitors in the past two weeks and it was so much fun to show them around our city. Amy from the Iowa Tourism Office, JayJay and Monica with the Iowa Gallivant Blog (see blog post here), and Kiran with the Cedar Rapids Gazette (story coming soon) all came to learn about things to do and see in Grinnell. 

Our first stop on each tour was the Jewel Box Bank, the crown jewel of our downtown that's now 100 years old. Everyone was stunned with the beauty and intricate detailing of the building. We toured downtown, admiring the historic buildings and checking out our downtown arts center and many of the shops. We drove around the college campus, stopping Faulconer Gallery, the Bear Athletic Center, and the Gallery of Flags in the student center. We took a peak at the Iowa Transportation Museum and the Hubbell's apartment construction project. And we had no problem finding plenty of great food and drink! We certainly couldn't make it to every restaurant, but I know they'll all be back again to try out the ones they missed.

I also joined Russ from the City and Laura from POW I-80 to give a driving tour to Debi Durham and Beth Balzer with Iowa Economic Development Authority. We toured the Industrial Park, talking about the number of fantastic companies that are located here. We pointed out the site Key Co-op will be constructing a new facility, drove around the new Brownells distribution center, and checked out the construction of Grinnell Mutual's new training center. We also told them about all of the new things on the horizon here, including several downtown buildings receiving facade improvements through the CBDG grant, the proposed school building project, the potential of the Community Center being repurposed into a boutique hotel and event center, the completion of the downtown streetscape project this summer, Central Park improvements next year, and Grinnell College's new building plans.

All in all, there are so many things going on in Grinnell to be proud of and excited for. My visitors made many comments about all of the energy here and how Grinnell seems to be gaining momentum.

~Emily Counts

P.S. Don't forget about the Spring Fling tonight! Several retailers are staying open until 8:00 tonight just for you with specials and refreshments. Photos with the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt will be from 5 to 8 at the Mason building on Main Street tonight. Hope to see you out and about!