Hello, I’m Debi Durham, Director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. It’s no secret that Iowa needs more skilled workers. A 2014 report on Iowa education and workforce trends through 2025 finds that 68 percent of all Iowa jobs are expected to require post-secondary education and training beyond high school. ...
By: Lea Hensel, Business and Community Services Brian Gumm Founder, Director of Product Development & Roast Production Ross Street Roasting Co. Tama, IA Like many businesses, Ross Street Roasting Co. has the humble beginnings of starting in a basement shortly before that inevitable move to the garage. A garage that faced Ross Street...
By Amy Kuhlers, IASourceLink, with Zachary Mannheimer, Principal Community Planner with McClure Engineering Co. Creative placemaking isn’t a new concept, but it is still a notion that is unfamiliar to many community developers. Per the National Endowment for the Arts, “In creative placemaking, partners from public, private, nonprofit and community sectors...
By Amy Kuhlers, Iowa Economic Development Administration - IASourcelink Does Your Organization have a Niche? Does your organization specialize in serving certain demographic clients or excel in a particular area of service? If so, we can now better showcase those unique capabilities through the IASourceLink Resource Navigator! While selecting special focus areas...
By Amy Kuhlers, IASourceLink, with Lisa Oetken, Director, Main Street Mount Pleasant Iowa Main Street Challenge Grants have been helping Iowa’s Main Street communities revitalize downtowns for over fifteen years. These dollar-for-dollar match grants leverage four times the state’s investment into rehabilitation projects that help bring life back to underutilized and...
Having the right connections and resources, as well as financial backing, is crucial when bringing a business idea to life. Unfortunately, this keeps many ideas from success. That’s the reason the Center for Business Growth and Innovation (CBGI) at the University of Northern Iowa is hosting its first annual statewide...
By Joe Bolick, UNI Business and Community Services Green seems to be the unofficial color of March. From the shamrocks and leprechauns of St. Patrick’s Day to the grass and foliage starting to wake up from its winter slumber, the color green will soon be everywhere. So why not add to...
By Lea Hensel, UNI Business and Community Services With over 350 public organizations spanning a vast array of services, it’s no wonder the Resource Navigator is a top choice for Iowa businesses when they need assistance. For March’s Resource Partner, we thought green - St. Patrick’s Day, spring is coming, Earth...
By Lea Hensel, UNI Business and Community Services I have been working from home for almost eight years. I have a very love/hate relationship with the situation. And I’ve learned that giving advice about working from home is very similar to giving advice about parenting. What works for me, may not...
Coworking locations have been growing across Iowa over the past few years. These facilities offer community, convenience and a flexible workspace for entrepreneurs and remote workers, but they require some tender loving care to become sustainable and to thrive. In this quarter’s Resource Partner update, we called on Darcy Swon,...
