Culver announces development grants

Photo by Russ Mitchell Then Iowa Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver was among the audience members for a luncheon at the Lakes Art Center as part of the August 2006 Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute. As Iowa's governor, Culver on Monday announced a series of regional economic development awards, including one to help the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation continue Institute efforts.

The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation was one of 10 economic development agencies to receive an award through the Grow Iowa Values Fund.

A total of $460,000 was distributed statewide, according to an announcement released Monday by Gov. Chet Culver. The Corridor received $50,000 to implement the Iowa Lakes Corridor Entrepreneurial Initiative in its service counties of Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet.

The Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute is a centerpiece of the initiative, which also includes other academic programming and entrepreneurship education at the K-12 level.

Corridor president Kathy Evert said the first Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute in 2006 was one of the most rewarding weeks of her 20-plus years in economic development.

"We really can impact the lives of young people in our state," she said prior to the 2007 institute. "They are a tremendous asset and resource for our communities. This is one excellent example of what our region can do to attract young people to our communities."

The second annual Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute was held Aug. 5-10 at the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on West Lake Okoboji. Thirty-two students from the state universities, Buena Vista University and Iowa Lakes Community College had a chance to participate in advanced study of entrepreneurship.

The college-credit institute is a joint effort of the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED), the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa, Buena Vista University, Iowa Lakes Community College, and the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation.

The schedule included an entrepreneurial simulation, seminars with successful entrepreneurs and community leaders, networking, and mentoring to enhance their understanding of entrepreneurship opportunities in Iowa.

"As governor, it is my goal to aggressively recruit companies to locate in Iowa and bring with them high quality jobs," Culver said, when announcing the grants on Monday. "However, we must also do all we can to maintain Iowa's strong workforce. According to current projections, Iowa faces a 'jobs surplus' of more than 150,000 highly-skilled positions within the next five years. These awards will help Iowa communities to aggressively recruit high-quality businesses to their communities, attract and retain skilled workers and keep Iowa's economy moving forward."

In addition to the annual institute, the Corridor's portion of funding will be used toward industry-specific entrepreneurial training and market research assistance for existing and start-up companies.

"This is a perfect example of 'united we stand, divided we fall,'" said IDED Director Mike Tramontina in the statement from the governor's office. "Instead of divided efforts to market individual communities with small populations, we are establishing a unified effort to market communities together as regions. A collaborative approach to economic development marketing benefits everyone.  Companies looking for locations to grow their businesses want to know that an area has the resources and amenities necessary to attract and sustain their employees.  By representing communities in the state as groupings, we show that resources and amenities are plentiful."

Also receiving $50,000 grants were:

* Prosperity Eastern Iowa, serving the counties of Cedar, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Jackson and Jones, plus the cities of Springville and Marion. The group will create a plan of action to shift the organization's dependency on grant funding to become a self-sustaining and self-funded organization. It will also develop a Web page dedicated to the recruitment and retention of the young "Gen Yers" in the region, and collaborate with the Accelerator and local colleges to recruit companies to the region.

* Region XII-Western Iowa Advantage serving the counties of Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Ida and Sac. It will implement a "Virtual Spec Building" project. The project involves the design of an expandable 25,000 square foot-frame building for marketing on "shovel-ready" sites throughout the region. The development group hopes to market several "virtual" spec buildings in the region that could be easily and quickly constructed.

* The River Hills Initiative serving the counties of Appanoose, Davis, Keokuk, Jefferson, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe and Wapello will develop an advanced manufacturing initiative with supporting materials including a 10-minute DVD on advanced manufacturing in the region. The DVD can be used for school presentations and be given to guidance counselors in area schools to encourage local careers in manufacturing. Rivers Hills officials also will develop written marketing pieces to compliment the materials. Web site development targeted at students is part of the proposal as well.

* Greater Cedar Valley Alliance serving the cities of Cedar Falls and Waterloo will apply the funding to attract and retain skilled workers in targeted business clusters including: information technology/financial and insurance services, advanced manufacturing and bioproduction/processing. The group also wants to create new entrepreneurial ventures by encouraging retiring skilled, technical and professional workers and business owners to start new businesses in the region.

* Greater Council Bluffs Region serving of Harrison, Mills and Pottawattamie will use its state marketing funds for Web site development and to develop business enhancement programs. The group wants to lay the groundwork for an economic gardening program, develop a resource manual (programs and incentives offered by local, state, federal; contacts for technical assistance, etc.); develop a virtual business incubator; collaborate with existing organizations to develop training seminars for existing small businesses and entrepreneurs, coordinate roundtable programs and to reshape marketing strategies.

* The Northeast Iowa Business Network serving the counties of Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek will expand recruitment activities and target key industries with a focus on cluster industries. It will expand recruitment efforts by establishing sell Northeast Iowa trips. The group will specifically target high school and college alumni who have moved away as well as the the age groups of 28- to 68-year-olds and further target those who are known to be in business. Marketing will be enhanced in Norway and Italy because Decorah has strong ties with Norway and Oelwein has a strong connection to areas of northern Italy. Hasidic Jewish business communities in New York, California, and Chicago will also be a focus because of a strong presence in Postville.

Receiving $40,000 grants were:

* The Chariton Valley Planning & Development serving the counties of Appanoose, Clarke, Davis, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne and contiguous counties. Chariton Valley Planning & Development will use their marketing funds for business workshops, entrepreneurial education and conduct training. Other strategies include networking emphasis and better lending practices.

* Off-Shore Iowa serving the cities of Algona, Harlan, Mount Pleasant, Oelwein and Osceola will implement targeted direct mail programs, regional advertising, and participation in trade shows and conferences.

The Southeast Iowa Great River Region serving the counties of Des Moines, Henry, Lee and Louisa received $30,000 to conduct marketing campaigns for residents in the Midwest metro areas for tourism and business relocation. Targeted cities include Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Omaha, Kansas City and Indianapolis. The Great River Great Region campaign would begin in the fall of 2007.