Fort Madison Population Growth Group Holds First Meeting

FORT MADISON (WGEM) – The plan to add 1,000 people to Fort Madison’s population over the next four years is officially underway after community members held their first meeting.

Mayor Matt Mohrfeld said their vision group met on Tuesday evening.

He said about 30 people attended the meeting, and those who showed up represented a wide cross-section of the Fort Madison community, from teens and young professionals to city officials and leaders. and industry developers.

Mohfeld said their goal was to come up with their ideal vision of what Fort Madison would look like with respect to their seven priority areas: housing, jobs, infrastructure, appeal, public safety, quality of life and targeted marketing.

“We know that if we want growth, we need to be as close to the ideal Fort Madison as possible,” he said.

Mohrfeld said the group will use their ideal vision and consider how their expectations compare to the reality of life at Fort Madison, as they plan how to turn their ideals into reality.

“When it comes to public safety, there won’t be much of a gap because we’re doing a great job,” he said. “But when it’s in housing, there’s a gap, so we’re going to identify not just the gap in housing, but what the gap is in what type of housing, and then that turns into action steps to develop further.”