● Forbes.com “America’s Best Small Cities for Business and Careers” 2010 (Metro areas under 245,000)
2.) Iowa City–87 mi from Clinton
13.) Waterloo–138 mi from Clinton
14.) Sioux City–352 mi from Clinton
15.) Dubuque–61 mi from Clinton
17.) Ames–185 mi from Clinton
● Des Moines is the Best Cities for Business and Careers for metro areas OVER 245,000
● Employment in Dubuque expected to increase 4.2% annually over the next 3 yrs. Tops in ALL U.S. Metro Areas

Also

CNBC’s list of “Best States for Doing Business” listed Iowa as number 6 overall. Besting Minnesota by 2 places, Wisconsin by 23,Illinois by 24, Missouri by 11, Nebraska by 7, and South Dakota by 1. Making it tops in the Upper Midwest!

Texas, Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina and Massachusetts were the 5 states above us. Still, optomistic numbers for Clinton if we can learn and borrow off of their ideas for success. And with so many good metros so close, how easy would that be!?

That being said, my biggest problem with Downtown, and I do mean BIGGEST, is the fact that only three blocks of Downtown Clinton is actually renovated. As a lifetime resident of the city, I find that a major bash on the rest of downtown. I think overall appeal in Downtown Clinton would greatly improve just by completing the renovations.

I completely agree with a Farmer’s Market. Although, take into consideration the fact that Clinton has the opportunity to have, essentially, TWO downtowns. The Lyon’s Shopping District can be, and really should be, the “small town downtown.” Gear the (lol) L.S.D. to compete with cities such as Le Claire, Galena, Marquette/McGregor, etc… That leaves Downtown Clinton to be competitive with larger cities. Clinton, being geographically nestled, quite nicely by the way, between Rockford, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, the Quad Cities and, to some regard, even Peoria, can quite easily become a regional center to Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Of Course, once we start talking regionally we stand to argue with the likes of Chicago, but that’s a whole different ballgame. Downtown Clinton should look to the likes of Dubuque, Iowa City and other cities of about 50,000 to 75,000 simply because that is where Clinton’s next couple of steps are after we turn the tide on our own recession. I’d also like to add that when looking into places like Iowa City, Ames, Champaign, etc… do not look at the fact that they are just a downtown full of bars, but a downtown that caters to a city with one particular age group, and then incorporates other ideas for the other age groups to level the field in entertainment and in retail, food, recreation, health, AND socialization.

Long story short, Clinton has immeasurable amounts of potential that, if realized, could bring it to the pinnacle of Iowa’s cities like it was once ago. And personally I don’t think I need a Bachelor’s in Planning to see that…