Transit Development Program Update 1978: Region II prepared by North Iowa Area Council of Governments, Iowa Department of Transportation, 1978

Purpose of the Regional Transit Development Program Update The North Iowa Area Council of Governments (NIACOG) was established on April 12, 1973, in accordance with Chapters 28E and 473A of the Code of Iowa. The NIACOG organization is a voluntary association of local governments established for the purpose of promoting intergovernmental cooperation and strengthening local governments. NIACOG represents a population of 153,680, the total population of eight (8) Iowa counties of Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Hancock, Kossuth, Mitchell, Winnebago and Worth. The sixty-seven (67) incorporated city governments along with the eight (8) county governments within the region have all adopted the articles of agreement of NIACOG membership. The North Iowa Area Council of Governments was the first nonmetropolitan regional council of governments established in the State of Iowa. NIACOG is recognized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as the Areawide Planning Organization for the eight counties comprising Region II (refer to Exhibit 1). In addition, the Office of Management and Budget has designated the NIACOG organization as the A-95 Regional Clearinghouse. As a regional planning agency, NIACOG is involved with various functional planning activities (recreation, transportation, land use, etc.), as well as program planning. These planning efforts may be municipal, county-wide, or regional in scope. This is one reason why the North Iowa Area Council of Governments contracted with the Iowa Department of Transportation in December, 1976, to formulate a Regional Transit Development Program for North Central Iowa