Corridor communities like Marion and Coralville are learning the keys to creating a a vibrant downtown after the pandemic. Having a variety of uses in the heart of a city is key to attracting people to want to spend time in the central business districts, their leaders say.
Of Iowa’s 940 cities, about 200 have city managers or administrators. In many cases, these managers are the highest-paid, or among the highest-paid, city employees. But what do they do and how do they run a city? Here’s a look at a day in the life of several Iowa city managers and how they balance everything from disaster response to patching potholes.