Dear Partners,

I had the opportunity to attend the Mid-America Economic Development Council’s Best Practices Conference last week, and there were a lot of great takeaways. There were several presentations from organizations that have implemented excellent programs in areas like business retention, recruitment, workforce/population issues and more.

It was encouraging to see that we have made good strides in many of the areas described, but it was also clear we have a lot left to do. To that end, we have had some great discussions at the office this week on ways to implement some of these ideas, especially things like more intensive/frequent interaction with existing business and more specific and detailed recruitment information for prospects.

We’re putting our framework for those things together right now and using some strong case studies as our base. We also met with a brochure/marketing designer to discuss potential marketing/informational materials to better spread our message. I’m excited about the potential of our organization to continue to grow our impact in our communities.

Here’s some of the things our staff has been up to the last two weeks:

Business Recruitment/ Entrepreneurship

·         Provided Adair couple looking into purchasing and reopening the grocery store that closed last year with some more business resources/contacts that specialize in small community grocery stores. They continue working through financing possibilities, business planning and other resources.

Existing Business

·         Met with Scranton MFG to get more details on the drainage issues and possible projects moving forward. We are working towards the decision on what the ultimate project will look like, and will be able to move forward with grants and funding options once that is finalized. In the meantime we are putting the main information together for applications so we can finish it quickly when the project is identified.

·         We were asked to identify professional trainers for team building and planning by DICA in Panora, and were able to identify and contact three strong candidates for them so far. The company will be talking with each to determine the best fit and go from there. If anybody knows of any companies that would like help finding these types of services, please let us know and we’re happy to do the initial screening.

·         Continuing background work on road paving project for Puck Custom Enterprises of Audubon County. We worked with Region XII and the Supervisors to TIF the area last year and will be able to use revenue from that to fund the project. We are also looking into Region XII’s RLF to fund the upfront costs and reduce the county’s need to bond for it.

·         Had further discussions with Mediacom about bringing high speed internet to Quality Machine and a few other Audubon businesses. Things seem to be moving ahead very well and we anticipate that this will be done and bring significantly better service to them.

Public Relations/Partnership

·         Attended the WIAD monthly meeting at VT Industries in Sac City, where they manufacture countertops (Make all the countertops for Lowe’s, Home Depot, and others)

·         Attended GCDC monthly meeting

·         Attended SEED monthly meeting

·         Had lunch with our contact at the Iowa Interstate Railroad, and discussed how we can better work with them to serve our businesses, and hopefully attract new ones along their line. They are very open to aiding our efforts and can be a great partner for us.

·         Working with Warren Cultural Center restaurant committee to develop plan to attract a restaurateur for a great space they have.

The Week Ahead

·         Adair County Hospital Board meeting

·         Meeting with Iowa Area Development Group rep to discuss various regional projects, but focusing on Adair County

·         Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham will be visiting Crawford County Friday, and we have been invited to meet with her and hope to take advantage of that.

·         Everything else that comes at us…

As always, please let us know if there is anything we can do for your business or community. Also, be sure to “like” us on Facebook, lots of great updates from around the region, as well as business resources. Have a great Memorial Weekend!

Sincerely,

Dear Partners,

I hope everybody survived our weird weather over the past week, definitely threw me off a few days there. It’s great to finally see the weather coming around though, seems to get people excited to make things happen again. We’re definitely seeing some more action out there, and are looking forward to a busy summer.

Here’s some of the things our staff has been up to the last few weeks:

Business Recruitment/ Entrepreneurship

·         The regional company we toured through the Trausch Building in Adair last month has moved forward with plans to purchase the facility. They are putting an option to buy together on the property and the parties are working out the details. It will most likely be used for storage and distribution and unfortunately will not create many new jobs at this time, though there will be new construction and the benefits that brings.

·         Met with an Adair couple looking into purchasing and reopening the grocery store that closed last year. We began working through financing possibilities, business planning and other resources to help get things moving. Referred them to the SBDC contact as well, who will help them to write the business plan and work through other key details.

Existing Business

·         Facilitated a meeting with Puck Custom Enterprises of Audubon County and County officials to begin discussions on paving the gravel road out to their business. They currently have 4-8 trucks coming in and out daily and expect to continue to increase that. They also have a large number of potential customers visiting regularly along with a growing workforce. We worked with Region XII and the Supervisors to TIF the area last year and will be able to use revenue from that to fund the project. We are also looking into Region XII’s RLF to fund the upfront costs and reduce the county’s need to bond it out. We hope to make this happen by the fall.

·         Working with Quality Machine and a few other Audubon businesses to bring a better internet service to the south side of Audubon. Have spoken with the internet company and are looking to set up an initial meeting with them and the interested businesses soon. If we are able to get enough businesses involved, the internet company will do the build out for not charge.

·         Attended a meeting with Region XII and Audubon businesses to discuss a RISE grant application for road improvements that will aid the development of several business expansions occurring along one road.

·         MWP cosponsored an application with our partners at IADG for the Renew Rural Iowa Entrepreneur of the Month Award. We’ve been told they are likely to receive the award in June or July of this month and will get the word out as soon as it is official. It’s a great way to bring recognition to an excellent business in our region, and will be our 3^rd successful nomination following AgriDrain of Adair and AMVC of Audubon last year.

Public Relations/Partnership

·         Sarah and Monica attended the annual Iowa SMART Conference

·         Attended the RIADA monthly meeting

·         Attended the ACED monthly meeting

·         Sarah attended the Western Iowa Tourism meeting

·         Participated in a pilot project for Region XII for a potential new way of awarding Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). The plan would give regions the ability to rate and prioritize their key infrastructure projects and determine where the money would go, rather than the state.

·         Attended the PRIDE monthly meeting

·         Spoke with our contact at the Iowa Interstate Railroad, we plan to meet soon and see how we can better work with them to serve our businesses, and hopefully attract new ones along their line.

·         Working with Warren Cultural Center restaurant committee to develop plan to attract a restaurateur for a great space they have.

·         We want to ensure our records and listings for sites and businesses around the region are accurate and up to date. For available buildings in the region visit http://www.midwestpartnership.com/available-buildings.cfm, and for sites visit http://www.midwestpartnership.com/available-sites.cfm. Please be sure to let us know any time you are aware of a good building/site that comes available.

The Week Ahead

·         Western Iowa Advantage monthly meeting in Sac City – Touring VT Industries

·         GCDC monthly meeting

·         Adair County Pictometry demonstration

·         Stuart Economic Development group meeting

·         I am heading to Sioux Falls Wednesday-Friday for the Mid-American Economic Development Best Practices Conference

·         Everything else that comes at us…

As always, please let us know if there is anything we can do for your business or community. Also, be sure to “like” us on Facebook, lots of great updates from around the region, as well as business resources. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Dear Partners,

This week Midwest Partnership had the privilege of arranging an afternoon of events for Congressman Steve King's visit to Greene County. Mr. King added Greene County to his district for the new term and is dedicated to getting to know the new territory, and to make himself available to his constituents.

Our first stop was at Bauer Built Manufacturing in Paton, where we toured and met with officials of the company to learn more about their operations. The company builds custom John Deere planters and over the past 10 years has grown from 3 employees to over 150 in a facility that spans over 7 acres.

Following that stop, Midland Power in Jefferson hosted a roundtable event for county and business leaders. Mr. King provided an update on what is happening in Washington D.C., and gave his insight into what he believes are the key issues ahead. There was also a questions and answers segment to address concerns of the attendees. Some of the core concerns addressed were burdens of regulation on business, healthcare and the outlook for the economy and government moving forward.

Building connections with our elected officials will continue to be a primary focus of Midwest Partnership, it is essential for them to be aware of our business and community concerns. 

Here’s some of the other things our staff has been up to the last two weeks:

Business Recruitment/ Entrepreneurship

·         This week we had a potential buyer visit the Cargill facility in Panora. It was a very positive visit from a central Iowa company that processes value added ingredients derived from egg shells. They are in a hurry to find a new facility because their lease at their current site is running out in November, and any facility they get will require modifications to suit their needs. Their initial feedback was very positive, and coupled with Cargill ending operations at the plant April 12^th really may make this a perfect match. We hope to have a firm response from the company in the next week on whether they will make an offer, and are putting together community information they requested.

·         Set up a visit for a regional company to tour at the Trausch Building in Adair next week. They have not yet indicated what they may use it for yet, but we will learn more when they come in to view the site. It is over 70,000 sq/ft and has a lot of potential uses.

·         Spoke with a woman exploring the possibility of opening a service-oriented business in Stuart. We are providing information about the current businesses in the community, and potential need areas that she could fill. One idea she mentioned was a Caribou Coffee style coffee shop, but let me know if you have any thoughts on what would be a good fit. (I’m pulling for the coffee shop J).

Existing Business

·         This past week we participated in the Greene County Manufacturer’s Roundtable which is held a few times a year. It is a great opportunity for the major employers of the county to discuss the things they are working on, as well as to discuss common issues and ways they have dealt with them. We learned that many of them have created new positions in the past year, and those on hand combined anticipated needing around 20-30 new positions in the next year. We also had several great resource partners attend, such as the County Hospital, Genesis Development, ISU, Iowa Central Comm. College, DMACC, Iowa Workforce Development, Region XII, etc., to share services they can provide and work with the businesses on.

·         Continued developing potential resources/funding options to help Scranton Mfg with some recurring drainage/flooding issues at their site. An engineering study presented last month showing that alleviating the problem was going to be a very expensive project, but not addressing it will effectively make any future expansion at the site unlikely. We have identified a couple of possible grant opportunities, as well as low interest loans that may help to make the project happen and will present them to the company for consideration. If they choose to move forward, we will work with Region XII on the applications.

Public Relations/Partnership

·         Participated in the Greene County Manufacturer’s Roundtable

·         Working with Warren Cultural Center restaurant committee to develop plan to attract a restaurateur (someone that runs restaurants, to the lay person)

·         Attended the GCDC Exec Board monthly meeting

·         Attended the Greenfield Development Group monthly meeting

·         Attended the RIADA monthly meeting

·         Attended the PRIDE monthly meeting

·         Attended the Greenfield legislative coffee held by Representative Clel Baudler and Senator Jake Chapman

·         We are constantly working to ensure our records and listings for sites and businesses around the region are accurate and up to date. For available buildings in the region visit http://www.midwestpartnership.com/available-buildings.cfm, and for sites visit http://www.midwestpartnership.com/available-sites.cfm. And please be sure to let us know any time you are aware of a good building/site that comes available.

The Week Ahead

·         Western Iowa Advantage monthly meeting

·         Western Iowa Advantage Annual Dinner – This occurs Tuesday night at 5:30 at the Carrollton in Carroll. We still have a couple of free tickets (usually $20) for anybody in our counties that would like to attend. It is a great opportunity see what is happening around the region, and to meet a lot of business and company leaders in the region.

·         GCDC monthly meeting

·         ACED monthly meeting

·         Southern Iowa Council of Governments CDBG review committee

·         Warren Cultural Center restaurant committee meeting

·         Taking company on a tour of Adair building

·         Meeting with a Greene County business to discuss expansion financing options

·         Region XII RLF loan review committee

·         HUBZone informational webinar from SBA

·         Meeting with Greenfield/Warren Cultural Center Restaurant committee

·         Southern Iowa Council of Govt CDBG review committee meeting

·         Everything else that comes at us…

As always, please let us know if there is anything we can do for your business or community. Also, be sure to “like” us on Facebook, lots of great updates from around the region, as well as business resources. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,