With trust comes change: Heart & Soul leads to action in Postville

Visit Postville on a Thursday evening in the summer, and you will find a bustling farmer’s market: live music, homemade treats, fresh produce, handmade crafts, a food truck, and something you can’t buy – a strong sense of community. 

Local leaders are working to build on this sense of community as they move forward with a new action plan from Our Postville, their Community Heart & Soul® project. Facilitated in Northeast Iowa by the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, Heart & Soul leverages an innovative model for community development that has been put into motion in rural towns across the country. Jason Neises, community development officer for the Foundation, guides small-town residents through this process to figure out what matters most to them and their neighbors.

In Postville, and in rural towns across our region, that means leaders have worked to make connections, build trust, and ultimately hear from all pockets of the community to collect data and gather stories. Recognizing the cultural and ethnic diversity of their town, Our Postville leaders were intentional in their outreach. They hired translators, distributed surveys at parades and attended shabbat meals.  

“The Heart & Soul process isn’t about what we need to fix or do differently – it’s about focusing more light on what’s great,” says Crystal Duffy, Our Postville coordinator and director of the local library. Duffy’s role at the library meant that many residents already knew and trusted her, and she was accessible. She gathered valuable insights as she built relationships. “Every group we went to gave us something we wouldn’t have heard otherwise. For example, the Jewish and Somali women would appreciate separate swimming times for men and women at the Wellness Center,” Duffy says. 

Duffy, like many locals, isn’t from Postville – or even Iowa. She grew up in a small town in California and relocated with her family to Northeast Iowa during the pandemic to fulfill her dream of becoming a seed farmer. Other residents come from even farther away, as reflected in the non-English languages seen in the Our Postville survey responses: Spanish, Hebrew, Somali and Ukrainian. 

“Overwhelmingly, no matter who you talk to, no matter where they were from or what they’re doing, people love the diversity of the town and wanted more community events,” says Duffy. That response rose to the top and became one of seven Heart & Soul “value statements” the team created based on local feedback. Through the process, leaders learned that residents: 

• Value events that build cohesion and celebrate the town’s diversity .
• Appreciate the diversity and safety of the community.
• Value vibrant local businesses and educational opportunities.
• Pride themselves on being welcoming and having strong volunteer leaders. 

These statements form the backbone of the action plan, and a list of action ideas stemming from it. Bringing back Taste of Postville, an event that celebrates local diversity, is at the top of the list. Residents have formed a welcoming committee called Heart of Postville and are developing avenues for providing resources to newcomers and helping them get settled. In-person ESL classes have been brought back, and the city council will support a new position to continue this community development work. 

“What’s so cool about this action plan is that all these ideas came from the community. We collected thousands of stories from residents and made piles by theme, and the ideas were physically obvious,” says Duffy. “Every step of the way you’re presenting this back to the public, so they can see it happening.” 

Another benefit of the Heart & Soul process is the strengthening of local leadership, especially by empowering new leaders. The library has hired translators; schools and child care providers have built new partnerships, and staff at the local wellness center has stepped up to support teens. Postville leaders have strengthened relationships across city borders, such as with a Decorah nonprofit that helps meet needs in Postville. Progress continues toward engaging newcomers in roles on the city council and other committees. 

“It takes time, but people from across the community find areas they can grow in and see a role for themselves on a board or a council or a committee,” says Val Reinicke, Allamakee County Economic Development director and member of the Our Postville leadership team. She joined the effort because she sees Postville as critical to the economic success of the county. 

“When you look at their median age and the size of their elementary school classes, they’re the only community in the county that’s growing,” she says. “They’re our next workforce.”

Heart & Soul has helped Postville gain positive recognition across the county. “People are really interested in Postville and knowing the story. Not about 2008, which is an important part of the story, but what is special about a small town like this,” says Brenda Hackman, Manager of Economic Development and Community Relations at Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative. 

Hackman was referencing a 2008 immigration raid, during which hundreds of federal officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies seized company records and arrested 389 individuals employed by Agriprocessors, Inc. While those events still loom large in Postville’s history, Heart & Soul has helped people outside the town see more facets of the community – and residents in the town reconnect with what they love about it.

Today, Crystal has represented Our Postville at many national conferences – sometimes with standing room only – and has been interviewed by media outlets like Iowa Public Radio. “Folks have heard of Postville because of Heart & Soul and the things our team has worked on. They are fascinated by what we’re doing,” she shared. “With trust comes change.”