Dubuque's Public Information Officer Randy Gehl says a former Iowa League of Cities staff member made the Community of Character Award nomination.
"[In] his nomination he said that Dubuque is a great city without a lot of heart and city officials that care," Gehl said in a phone interview with WVIK on Wednesday. "Dubuque has a storied population loss followed by stabilization, recovery, and continued growth. Our city officials are passionate about the wide variety of residents we serve and what it takes to meet their needs."
Drake University's Robert D. and Billie Ray Center makes the annual award selection.
Gehl says the university's six pillars of Character Counts, which inform its selection process, include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship.
Dubuque city officials accepted the recognition in Altoona on August 2nd. The city is celebrating with a public event on Monday, August 19th, in Washington Park from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
The public celebration at Washington Park will include food and activities for kids, including bean bag tossing and the city's Rec-N-Roll trailer.
"There will be information shared about character and why Dubuque is the community of character," Gehl said. "There will also be a formal presentation at that evening's city council meeting by the executive director of the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center."
The council meeting is at 6:30 pm on the second floor of the Historic Federal Building at 350 W. Sixth Street.