OPINION: Make it happen [The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa]

Feb. 02--I know I wasn't the only one disappointed that Burlington wasn't selected as a Blue Zones community.

If you've been paying any attention, you know Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad made a call on Iowans a couple years ago to jump start our bodies into motion so we could go from being the 19th healthiest state in the nation to the healthiest.

He did it in conjunction with an initiative sponsored by Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa, the state's largest private insurer, that pledged millions to designated communities to adopt Blue Zones practices.

Actual money would not be pumped into selected communities. Instead, the money would be used to fund health initiatives that meet Blue Zones standards.

About the same time the statewide Blue Zones effort was announced, the local Imagine committee was meeting to identify projects of community interest that would help improve the quality of life for us.

The Imagine committee whittled more than 100 suggestions supplied by residents down to 30, then a committee pared that list down to the top five, which are:

--Begin programs to ensure every young person has the opportunity to succeed.

--Create an indoor recreation facility to enhance community needs and to attract more convention and tourism activity.

--Improve the appearance and attractiveness of Greater Burlington.

--Increase the use of the riverfront as the community's No. 1 geographic asset.

--Become Iowa's healthiest community.

It was a match made in heaven. The Imagine steering committee (full disclosure: I'm a member) selected five visions, three of which would have benefitted from a Blue Zones designation.

There was some overlap on the Imagine steering committee and the Blue Zones committee, which only made sense, since both were geared toward the same goal.

The Blue Zones designation would have boosted Imagine's effort toward achieving its goals. And an indoor facility would have helped achieve Blue Zone goals.

But it didn't happen. While the governor wants residents of the entire state to become healthier, the selections of Blue Zones communities appear concentrated.

The communities in the first selection all were in the northern part of the state. And they included Waterloo and Cedar Falls, which rub elbows with each other. The others were Spencer and Mason City.

The most recent choices include Cedar Rapids and Marion, two adjacent cities in Linn County. The closest community to us is Muscatine.

Southern Iowa has been bypassed on this initiative.

Sour grapes. A little, knowing the amount of effort that many committed people put in to meeting Blue Zones criteria.

That we weren't selected is unfortunate. But it won't shelve the effort to achieve the Imagine committee's goals.

Here's why: Des Moines County ranks 97th in health factors -- out of 99 counties in the state. We've got nothing to brag about.

We also rank 87th in morbidity and 81st in health assessment.

Clearly there is work to do.

Some local officials in the health-care field have noted that even if we don't receive the Blue Zones designation, resources should be directed to make this a healthier region.

Employers should embrace that. And help fund it. Healthier workers are good for business. They keep health-care costs in check. They reduce absenteeism. That, logically, improves productivity. That, logically, improves the bottom line.

The Imagine committee adopted the healthy initiative before the Blue Zones opportunity presented itself. It did so at the behest of residents in the community.

For whatever reason, the decision makers for Blue Zones didn't pick us. They say they'll visit with local folks to discuss why in a future meeting. At this point, what does it matter? Seems to me it's a moot conversation.

Now unhinged from the specific requirements from the Blue Zones program -- and they were significant -- we can craft our own initiatives to help improve the health, and subsequently the quality of life, for the people who call this place home.

We shouldn't just imagine it, we should make it happen.

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