Dike • Hudson • Readlyn • Fairbank
The Get Energized, Iowa! competition will see which of the four towns can do the most to reduce their energy consumption the most in 2012.
Join us for the Green Bike Tour through the participating communities on October 6 and 7. For more details click on "Green Bike Tour" in the menu bar above.
Scoring update
Temperatures might be cooling off slightly from the heat we’ve had for much of the summer but the Get Energized, Iowa! competition shows no sighs of cooling. Updated scoring shows the competition is fierce between Dike and Wapsie Valley while Hudson remains in third.
What will you do to help your town win? Check in with your town’s community guide team to see what you can do!
(Note that not all actions are worth the same number of points. For example returning a survey was worth 1 point while having Green Iowa Americorps weatherize a house was worth 5. All point totals are adjusted to account for the different sizes of the towns. Also, actual electricity reductions have not been incorporated into this round of scoring.)
Energy competition tight among NE Iowa towns
Competition is tight among four Northeast Iowa towns halfway through the Get Energized Iowa contest to reduce the most electricity use in 2012.
All communities are showing energy reductions with Dike and Wapsie Valley running neck and neck and Hudson not far behind, according to David Osterberg, executive director, Iowa Policy Project (IPP), the lead organization of the friendly energy challenge.
“This isn’t just an academic exercise,” Osterberg said. “The winning community will have a solar electric (photovoltaic) system installed on its local school.”
Guide teams leading the effort in each community recently met to describe events and activities they’re offering to help residents reduce electrical usage, even during a hot summer.
Dike City Clerk Patti Freese said the city and the Dike Community Development Corporation have given away compact fluorescent lamps to residents. During Watermelon Days in early August, residents generated electricity on the Pedal Power bicycle display.
In Readlyn and Fairbank, competing together as Wapsie Valley with a shared high school, both towns’ summer festivals featured Get Energized Iowa displays. Readlyn’s Community Club adopted “Grumps Gone Green” as its celebration theme at Grump Days and built a Green Metro Bus for its parade entry.
The Wapsie Valley team also attracted crowds with the Pedal Power display and a huge inflatable CFL from the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU). City Clerk Lois Buhr reports the team has given away 277 CFLs at events, had 19 homes weatherized/air sealed, and 51 homes audited by Green Iowa AmeriCorps staff, a project partner.
Fairbank participants gave away Get Energized Wapsie Valley T-shirts at its summer festival, according to Jason Kayser, Fairbank Economic Development Corporation member. They also used the Pedal Power bike, are giving away CFLs, and went door to door in much of the community to get people to complete a survey about how they use energy in their homes.
Hudson’s guide groups — Chamber of Commerce and Hudson Municipal Electric Utility — chose “Lights Off, Party On” for a Hudson Days theme. They made a big splash with the Pedal Power display as 80 participants competed to create the most kilowatt hours and win a bicycle. They gave away 150 CFLs at Hudson Days alone and got 24 more residents to sign up for a weatherization audit to locate air leaks in their homes. Hudson Library director Mary Bucy plans to display books on home energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Residents in all communities are sharing the many steps they’ve already taken to reduce electric usage and planning next steps. Communities can also distribute SWEAT Tips — Summer Weather Energy And Temperature Tips — for residents to stay cooler and save energy, said Carole Yates, community organizer, Center for Energy & Environmental Education (CEEE), University of Northern Iowa.
In addition to IPP, CEEE, IAMU and Green Iowa AmeriCorps, other project partners include the Butler County Rural Electric Cooperative, and the municipal utilities and community groups in each town.
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News release Monday, August 6, 2012
Get on the bus in Fairbank
Members of Readlyn’s Community Club and IPP’s David Osterberg walked inside the bus in the June 23rd parade in Fairbank. Osterberg presented a check to the Community Club to help their energy efficiency efforts.
- Readlyn’s energy efficiency bus in Fairbank’s Island Days parade
It’s what’s inside that counts…
Electricity usage through May
It appears like the Get Energized, Iowa! competition is making a difference! In the latest analysis of each town’s electricity usage done by staff at the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities each town has shown a decline in electricity consumed in the first four or five months compared to previous years. This data takes into account each town’s size and the temperatures for an accurate comparison.
Early June scoring update
School may be out for the summer but the Get Energized, Iowa competition is
Readlyn’s Grump Days is just around the corner and the Grumps are going green!
still going strong! Each community has events planned this summer to help residents join the fun and take steps to reduce their energy use. We’ll highlight a few of those events in upcoming posts.
For now, though, let’s get to what people really want to know… who is winning?
Through today the scores are as follows:
1) Dike – 1205
2) Wapsie Valley – 931
3) Hudson – 602
As the temperatures rise this summer the competition will heat up, too! Stay tuned, stay cool… and “get energized!”
Updated Scores – We Have A New Leader!
A new leader has emerged after scores were updated this week. Dike has taken over the top spot and leads the Wapsie Valley team of Readlyn and Fairbank 766 to 736. Hudson is in third with 261. Nice job everyone!
New Iowa Energy Center website – a great resource!
The Iowa Energy Center, one of the main supporters of the Get Energized, Iowa! competition, has launched their newly redesigned website with lots of information available about energy efficiency, renewable energy and other exciting topics. Check out the “Ask an expert” feature available where you can submit an energy related question and an expert in the state will respond. There’s so much to learn about energy and the Energy Center’s website is a great place to start!
