MUSCATINE, Iowa – Three local businesses outperformed all others to claim the top spots after the first quarter competition in the #workingwellmuscatine wellness challenge. The Healthiest Businesses in Muscatine first quarter winners were: Iowa State Extension Office (small business); Ruhl and Ruhl (medium business); and, Muscatine YMCA (large business).

The City of Muscatine and other local businesses began a wellness challenge in January. Employees at each business who signed up for the challenge received a list of activities that the employees could accomplish to “eat well, move more, and feel better”. The activities are divided into the three categories of the challenge with challengers asked to complete at least nine of the 12 tasks in each category.

The winners are determined by having the highest percentage of people completing the activities.  About five weeks remain in the second quarter challenge for any company or business who would like to participate, and there is more fun to come later this year.

Registration for the challenge remains open and all businesses are welcome to join this friendly competition.

“Anyone company or business that would like to participate can go to the Registration site and follow the instructions to register,” Stephanie Romangoli, Human Resource Manager for the City of Muscatine, said.

Click HERE to access the registration site.

Part of the Healthy Hometown strategy, a successor to the Blue Zones Project, the wellness campaign highlights the need for healthy eating habits, increasing exercise levels, and participating in activities to help you feel better about yourself.

Among the activities in the #workingwellmuscatine wellness challenge “eating well” portion of the challenge is introducing a healthy food choice to your family or trying a new healthy option for yourself one time per week. You can check off an activity such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator in the “move more” challenge once or ditching the electronics for a day in the “feel better” challenge once you have completed the task.

The more tasks you complete, the better the chance your business will become known as the “Healthiest Business in Muscatine”. So come join in the fun, accept the challenge and remember to use the hashtag #workingwellmuscatine as you post about your challenge successes.

For more information, contact Stephanie Romagnoli ([email protected]) or Mel Steckel ([email protected]).