Allamakee ranks third in the state of Iowa for 100 Day Wellness Challenge participation

According to Live Healthy Iowa Outreach Coordinator John Stevens, 1,713 Allamakee County residents are participating in the Governor’s 100 Day Wellness Challenge. The 1,713 adult and youth participants represent 12.8% of the county population (age five and above), and that percentage places Allamakee County third among all counties in the state of Iowa participating in the Challenge.
“I am so impressed with the wellness champions I have had the pleasure to meet in Allamakee County," remarked Stevens. "The newly-formed wellness coalition is making a difference, while demonstrating the power of collaboration between towns, school districts, business leaders, health experts, fitness providers and concerned citizens.”
Allamakee County formed a countywide wellness coalition to work toward improving the health and vitality of county residents. Participation in the Adult and Youth Live Healthy Iowa 100 Day Wellness Challenge has become a statewide metric as Iowa works to become the healthiest state in America. The newly-formed wellness coalition is using the Governor’s 100 Day Wellness Challenge as an annual event to help change the landscape of wellness for Allamakee County.  Getting people to manage their own health is critical and the 100 Day Wellness Challenge provides the support structure in a team-based format.
“Our wellness coalition’s goal was to have 10% of Allamakee County participate in this challenge, we are so excited to be at 12.8% and to represent northeast Iowa in a healthy way with the third highest participation rate in Iowa," said Dani Bucknell, co-leader of Get Active Allamakee Wellness Coalition. "I’m so proud to live here and be a part of Allamakee County getting active, it’s awesome!”
Allamakee County trails only Union County (22.55%) and Appanoose County (21.09%) in the state's participation rankings. Both counties have smaller populations than Allamakee, but both also have more than 2,500 adults and youth participating in the Challenge. Results of activity minutes recorded weekly by Allamakee County adults participating in the Challenge are printed each week (at right) in The Standard.
Statewide, Live Healthy Iowa adult and youth participant numbers have broken their all-time participation record. The adult 100 Day Wellness Challenge has a total of 33,420 participants. The youth Governor’s Challenge has nearly tripled its numbers from 2011 with 30,774 participants.
“We are thrilled about the number of Iowans who have joined this year’s 100 Day Wellness Challenge,” said Nicole Bruce, health initiatives director of Live Healthy Iowa. “It shows that Iowans are willing and ready to change the culture in our state. This is another exciting step toward the goal of making Iowa the healthiest state in the nation."