A Very Successful Pay It Forward Pella Program Concludes
THANK YOU, PELLA! The Pay It Forward Pella program was a great success. The PACE Alliance office received $354,680.97 in receipts over five and a half weeks from 491 residents who shopped, ate, or had services provided to them by 131 local businesses. As of Saturday,...
Child Care Gap Analysis & Strategic Plan for Marion County: Update
In September of 2018, First Children's Finance, in conjuction with the Marion County Development Commission as the PACE Alliance, began conducting a child care analysis for Marion County. First Children's Finance collected surveys from parents, employers, and...
Thursdays In Pella 2019 Themes Announced
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the snow is melting and that can only mean one thing...it's time to get excited about Thursdays in Pella! The themes for each night are as follows: June 6: Let's Play June 13: Game Night June 20: Manufactured in Marion...
Annual PACE Alliance Breakfast: A Year to be Proud Of
On February 28, we had the change to celebrate the second full year of operation for our still very young organization during our Annual PACE Alliance Membership Breakfast. We opened the event with a wonderful breakfast prepared for us by Central College Catering,...
A Pinch About Pella
Pella, Iowa is a small town located just forty miles southeast of Des Moines. As of 2017, Pella held a population of 10,225, and brings in approximately 6,841 workers from outside of the city limits. That’s a lot of commuters! Pella is widely known for the Tulip Time...
What’s the Deal with the Downtown Reconstruction Project?
There has been a lot of talk about a “Back-To-Brick” or Downtown Reconstruction project going around. Let's bring you up to speed with this project. For those who do not know, there are 100-year-old infrastructures beneath our downtown's streets that are in need of...
The Childcare Challenge
The PACE Alliance Workforce Development Council has been working towards the goal of making childcare more accessible in the Pella area. While we currently have high quality childcare, the number of children needing childcare outpaces the capacity we currently have....
Municipal Telecommunications Utility Update: Now what?
Remember that referendum regarding the Municipal Telecommunications Utility that we urged everyone to vote in? In case you didn’t hear, that referendum passed with an overwhelming 92% vote in support of the utility. So… now what? This referendum approved the City to...
It’s That Time of the Year Again: Thursdays in Pella!
Thursdays in Pella is a long-standing tradition for locals and visitors of all ages and backgrounds. Every Thursday of June and July since 1996 has been dedicated to enjoying the downtown space as a community. A typical Thursday in Pella includes a weekly theme paired...