As we move through the summer season, one thing remains clear: communities that win are the ones that are prepared.

And in today’s economic environment, preparation starts with housing. One of the biggest barriers to the workforce is housing availability.

Across the country, we are facing what many are calling the “missing middle” housing crisis. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable and available rental homes for the lowest-income renters. It impacts our workforce. The teachers, nurses, first responders, and skilled employees who are essential to our communities are increasingly caught in the gap, earning too much to qualify for assistance, but not enough to comfortably afford market rate housing.

That is not a national issue alone. It is also a regional one. And it requires a local coordinated response.

Here in the Fort Dodge region, we’ve made a deliberate decision to lead, not react. And this approach also included housing.

Over the past year, through strong collaboration with our city, county, developers and state partners, we’ve helped advance $26 million in workforce housing investment, supporting nearly 175 new homes. That’s not just a number, it’s capacity. It’s an opportunity. It’s the ability for a business to say yes to growth because its workforce has a place to live.

But housing alone is not enough.

People choose communities for more than a job; they choose them for quality of life. That’s why our work continues to extend beyond rooftops and into the full experience of placemaking.

From advancing the Northwest River District and supporting the Downtown Central Village Investment District, to coordinating communitywide efforts that enhance our retail corridor and shared space, we are intentionally building an environment that attracts, retains, and engages people.

This work does not happen in silos.

It happens because of partnership.

At the Growth Alliance, our role is to bring people to the table, both public and private, align priorities and execute with the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in our region. Whether it’s housing, workforce, business attraction and expansion or quality of place initiatives, we are focused every day on driving outcomes that matter.

Because the reality is this: you cannot recruit jobs without housing. You cannot retain talent with a quality of place.

And you cannot move a region forward without an atmosphere of authentic collaboration.

Prepared communities win. In the Fort Dodge region, we are doing the work to ensure we are one of them.

The momentum is real. The partnerships are strong. And we are just getting started.

May your summer by successful and full of prosperity.

Astra Ferris is the chief executive officer of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance.