Gazette business panel to discuss Corridor city planning, community engagement

The economic pressures this year on the Corridor, as well as on Iowa and the nation, have been enormous. From flooding on the eastern and western borders of the state to the fiscal constraints on governments, businesses and schools brought about by a nationwide economic downturn, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent closures.

In light of these challenges, The Gazette on May 21 will relaunch its business panel series for 2020 with an online discussion on city planning and community engagement. Panelists not only will look at some of what's in the pipeline but also the bigger picture of how we can move forward.

For-profit and not-for-profit organizations are cautiously eager, but are consumers willing to go out and spend? And as development projects ramp back up, how can residents make their voices heard?

Participants for the recorded online panel, 'The Gazette Business Breakfast Series: Community Engagement and City Planning,” will be Nick Glew, Marion Economic Development Corp. president and Professional Developers of Iowa board member; Kelly Hayworth, Coralville's city administrator since 1988; and Anne Villamil, University of Iowa economics professor and Henry B. Tippie Research Fellow. The conversation will be moderated by Michael Chevy Castranova, Gazette business editor and Iowa Ideas magazine editor.

Questions for the panel as well as ideas and concerns readers would like to have addressed can be posted ahead of time at thegazette.com/businessbreakfastmay21. Or they can be emailed to michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com.

Then on May 21, bring your coffee and a bagel, and go to thegazette.com/businessbreakfastmay21 to watch the discussion.