Ice Cream Days: Saturday’s parade headlines weekend events
It’s the final day of the Ice Cream Capitol of the World’s signature summer celebration, with the annual Ice Cream Days Parade headlining a day full of fun events and activities.
The parade starts at 9:30am, and features a fun mix of colorful floats, local organizations, classic cars, energetic dance teams, and plenty of candy for the kids. Prior to the parade, the Frozen Fun Run 5K started at 7:30am at the Olson Cultural Events Center, with a route winding through a Le Mars residential neighborhood & onto a paved trail, with awards given out for all age groups.
The carnival opens to the public starting at 10am today, with rides and games for all ages from gentle spins to thrilling adventures. Two new events for this year are the 65-foot-long Waffle Cone Warrior Course in the KC Hall Parking Lot and rock painting, in addition to pony rides, caricatures, the Ice Cream Train, and more.
On the Olson Cultural Events Center stage, performances from the Turn Around Dance & Gymnastics team and the Central Dance Academy will take place, which will be followed up later in the evening with Saturday’s Ice Cream Bash Concert, featuring the Schmidt Brothers performing from 7-10pm.
For more information on today’s events, or for the full event schedule, visit icecreamdays.com.
++++++++++
Creighton’s Rural Mainstreet Index for Iowa up eight points
A monthly survey of rural bank C-E-Os in the Midwest finds nearly 58 percent see stable or modest growth in the small businesses in their area. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says that and other survey responses pushed the “Rural Mainstreet Index” to its highest level in three years.
Goss says survey results indicate there’s been recent jump in hiring in rural Iowa and a nearly five percent increase in exports of agricultural goods and livestock from Iowa.
Iowa’s rural economy is much more dependent on ag equipment sales than other states in the region, according to Goss, and he says that’s another restraint on Iowa’s economy.
Every month, Goss surveys bankers in 10 states who serve customers in communities with a population below 13-hundred to come up with an overall estimate of the economy. Iowa’s index for June is up eight points from May.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
++++++++++
