Cedar Falls a Vibrant Community

You have to admire Cedar Falls and its downtown. Many Iowa communities have tried (unsuccessfully) to 'revitalize' their downtown areas- make them into destination spots full of restaurants, bars and businesses for people to visit. Of all the communities in Iowa I have visited, only Des Moines compares favorably to Cedar Falls (although I have heard that Sioux City is pretty happenin').
When driving into Cedar Falls, take a stroll down Main Street. It is only about 6-8 blocks, but it is loaded with restaurants, bars, clubs and lots of trendy small businesses. Everything is packed into a small area which makes it easy to walk from one place to another. Many of these restaurants and bars have live music, something hard to come by in much of Iowa. There's plenty of parking too. Most of the people in the area are very friendly and courteous. Granted, with a large college population, Cedar Falls has an advantage over other towns. But I believe they went about this in the right manner: Keep it hip, trendy and affordable and people will come in.