Students from the University of Iowa will be helping Manchester with several projects over the next nine months. Manchester was one of two cities in the state chosen for a program called the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities. Travis Kraus, director of Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities and an assistant professor at U of I, explains. Kraus says the goal is to work on fifteen projects for the Manchester community in eight different departments. One of those projects is the Maquoketa River Watershed. On Wednesday afternoon, a small group of students spent time at the Manchester Whitewater Park to learn more about the river, with hopes to help the Watershed Management Authority in several ways. And Manchester City Manager Tim Vick says he’s glad they’re here. The University of Iowa students will occasionally be in Manchester over the next nine months to meet with local officials and stakeholders and, as the year goes on, they’re hoping to engage the public in their projects too.