Main Street Iowa hosted the annual Main Street Iowa Development Awards celebration last week at Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines. The program honors the efforts of those who work tirelessly to revitalize Iowa’s downtowns and to make a difference in the state’s Main Street districts. This year, 14 projects were recognized and 47 leadership award recipients were honored for significant leadership and volunteer contributions to their local Main Street programs. During the event, 10 communities were recognized for reaching new milestones in the amount of private investment in their commercial districts, Washington was recognized for hitting the $20 million benchmark. In 1985, the Iowa Legislature adopted Main Street America’s Four Point Approach® to district revitalization by establishing Main Street Iowa within the agency that is now the IEDA. Since then, the Main Street Iowa program has had a significant impact on Iowa’s economy, including more than $2.6 billion in private investment, more than 3.7 million volunteer hours, more than 5,300 new businesses, and more than 16,000 jobs.