Creative Hub, Hidden Gem

After living in Fairfield, Iowa, for 22 years, I decided to write a blog about a few unique aspects of our international community of 10,000.

If you're familiar with Fairfield, you know it's unlike any other Midwestern city.  For starters, it hosts a one-of-a-kind university, Maharishi University of Management, where inner development through meditation is central to the curriculum. The university and its private school for children, from pre-school age through high school, attract families from around the world.

Many bring with them, or create from scratch, businesses that have generated jobs and made the community an economic model for Iowa. Over the years, journalists have dubbed Fairfield "Silicorn Valley," because of its thriving high-tech industry.  But high tech represents a small slice of this vibrant, resourceful, diverse community.

This blog will explore a range of Fairfield's creative endeavors, from the visual and performing arts to organic farming and culinary arts to architecture to sustainable development/environmental projects to alternative healing to business.

Outside Perspectives on Fairfield

What spurred me to write this now?  A study published in September by John Solow of the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business ranked Iowa's 99 counties using the Creativity Index developed by economist Richard Florida. According to Solow, Jefferson County, the home of Fairfield, ranks highest of all rural counties in the state on the creativity scale, which he relates to economic health.

When Barack Obama visited Fairfield in July 2007, he spent an afternoon touring various businesses and Eco Village, a housing development built off the energy grid.  At his nationally televised talk in the town square that evening, he spoke enthusiastically about several progressive initiatives in Fairfield, calling the city a model for the nation.

By showcasing various facets of Fairfield's creativity and community-building, I hope others will draw inspiration and revitalize their own communities.