A 1-K walk is planned for the opening day of the Iowa State Fair Thursday in Des Moines. Jami Haberl, executive director of the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, says the event also involves the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. “We’ll have fans available that have information about cultural sites, as well as promoting the Healthiest State Walk on October 7 throughout the state of Iowa,” Haberl says. “We’re encouraging people to register their walk on our website.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds and other state officials plan to take part in the walking tour of historic sites at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. It’s open to the public and will begin at 8 a.m. near the DNR Pavilion on the Grand Concourse.
Haberl says other exercise activities are planned for all 11 days of the fair. “Everyday from 9:30 to 10 a.m., we’ll be hosting different instructors to do fitness-type activities with all fairgoers,” Haberl says. “They’ll be held on Expo Hill. It’s going to be just kind of a fun, interactive way to get people to kickstart their day by doing some different types of activities before they go out and enjoy the fair.”
The Iowa Healthiest State Initiative is a privately led, public initiative with a goal of making Iowa the healthiest state in the nation by 2016. According to last year’s Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Iowa was ranked 16th in the nation.