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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- The May 1 deadline is quickly approaching! The Ottumwa Blue Zones Committee is urging those to make their Blue Zones Pledge if you haven’t done so already.

Ottumwa’s Blue Zones Committee had its site visit last month and was given the criteria they would need to meet in order to be chosen. Community engagement is one of the main factors when the demonstration sites are decided upon.

“Community engagement right now is low. If you look at the 11 communities that have been selected as finalists right now, we're ranking closer to the bottom than we'd like to be. Our community is about seven percent and we'd like to be at least 20 percent,” says Kim Hellige, a member of the Ottumwa Blue Zones Committee.

Hellige said that the committee plans to push forward even if Ottumwa isn’t selected this round.