Hubbell Realty Co. chief Rick Tollakson will receive the American Planning Association’s National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Advocate for work to improve Central Iowa waterways. Tollakson has led a committee that is pushing for improvements along a 150-mile network of rivers and creeks to improve recreation and to attract and keep workers in this market. The committee and partners developed the Water Trails and Greenways Master Plan. The award recognizes strong planning efforts. “One of the smartest moves we ever made was asking Rick to chair the Water Trails Steering Committee,” said Todd Ashby, executive director of the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which developed the plan. “Because of his leadership, we are years ahead of where we otherwise would have been.”