Waterloo Times

City of Waterloo recently issued the following announcement.

Mayor Quentin Hart invites Waterloo residents and workforce to join him for the annual Walk Waterloo and Iowa Healthiest State Walk on Wednesday, October 6 starting at noon. 

The event will kick off at the Riverloop Expo Plaza where Mayor Hart, Lutienant Governor Adam Gregg and leaders of the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative will encourage participants to add 30 minutes of walking to their daily routine. 

Iowa Healthiest State Annual Walk is presented by Delta Dental. The 2021 theme “Walk More. Connect More.” highlights the social benefits of walking. Being physically active is one of the most important steps that people of all ages and abilities can take to improve their health and integrating exercise with social activities is shown to have a positive impact on our overall health.

Food trucks, live music and a host of vendors will also be on hand at the Expo Plaza to celebrate the annual walk and state initiative.  Waterloo Leisure Services and the Healthy H2Loo initiative are sponsoring the event locally. Main Street Waterloo, Waterloo Center for the Arts, Waterloo Public Library, INRCOG, and Irving Elementary are also event partners.

To participate, register your company team, family, or group of friends as a Black Hawk County Walk by going to http://www.iowahealthieststate.com/events/annual-walk/.

Individuals may join the Walk Waterloo Walk already established on the website.

Those who register with the State Walk by September 6 may order Iowa Healthiest State tee shirts.

Gates open at 11:30am

11:45am River Renaissance and History & Culture Walk begin

12:00 Program with Mayor Hart and Lieutenant Governor Gregg

12:10 -12:40 Walk with Mayor & Lieutenant Governor Gregg

Food and entertainment will continue until 1:30pm.

In order to accommodate as many teams and individual walkers as possible, three themed routes with separate starting points have been created.

River Renaissance Walk – Participants will park at the TechWorks Campus and begin their walk no later than 11:45 in order to arrive for the noon program at the RiverLoop Expo Plaza.  Participants may enjoy lunch at one of the food trucks before making the second half of their loop back to TechWorks. This route highlights the recent streetscape projects, redevelopment, and public art along the Cedar River recreation trail.  Estimated time: two 15 minute walks (1.6 miles total) looping to and from parking.

History & Culture Walk – Participants will park in the former Hawkeye Community College lot on Wellington St. in Church Row. and begin their walk no later than 11:45 in or in order to arrive for the noon program at the RiverLoop Expo Plaza.  Participants may enjoy lunch at one of the food trucks before making the second half of their loop back to the parking lot in Church Row.  This route highlights plans for the Church Row Neighborhood, Grout Museum District sites, new and existing public art, as well as redevelopment in the downtown. Estimated time: two 15 minute walks (1.7 miles total) looping to and from parking.

Waterloo Veterans Way Walk – Participants will park under Hwy 218, between Park Ave. and W. 4th St.

This walk will begin after a brief program by Mayor Hart and Governor Reynolds. This 30 minute loop will highlight redevelopment of downtown and the vision for Veteran’s Way, an art & history walk linking existing sites which honor the service of Waterloo Veterans and new artistic features to create an attractive destination for visitors and residents.  Food trucks will be available upon return to the Expo Plaza. Estimated time: 30-minute loop starting from Expo Plaza and back again (1.5 miles).

For descriptions of focal points along each route, go to www.CityofWaterloo.com/walkwaterloo.

Original source can be found here.