Ames Named Healthy Iowa Community

The City of Ames might not have been named a Blue Zone, but they have been selected as one of the healthiest communities in the state.

The 2012 Healthy Iowa Community Award will be presented to the Ames City Council at the start of its council meeting Tuesday. The meeting takes place 7 p.m. at council chambers at Ames City Hall.

The Academy for a Healthy Iowa, a collaboration between the Iowa Department of Public Health, Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Nutrition and Wellness Council of Iowa chose the city during the Healthy Iowa Awards annual dinner last week in Des Moines.

The Healthiest Ames Initiative, a group of more than a dozen Ames organizations, businesses, and individuals that formed as the Ames Blue Zones Project Team applied for the award.

Criteria for the award includes: providing access to wellness, programming, financial commitment, measurability and sustainability.

Though Ames was not chosen as a Blue zone in the first round, the healthiest Ames Initiative has continued working together and will encourage residents to participate in the Iowa Healthiest State Walk which takes place noon Oct. 3 at several locations around the city. More information is available at http://www.iowahealthieststate.com/