Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Strong exports, hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment and a robust manufacturing base are buoying the Iowa economy, the state’s top economic-development official says.
What’s more, farmland values have jumped 50 percent in the last three years, which has had a number of positive effects in rural areas, Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) director Mike Tramontina told the Carroll Area Development Corp. in a meeting at the Carrollton Centre Tuesday afternoon.
“By most measures, at least those objective measures, I think the state’s economy is doing pretty well,” Tramontina said.
He hedged his comments to the Carroll leaders by noting that his information was compiled late last week before world markets were thrown into tumult.
Because of a weak dollar and the strong, educated workforce in Iowa, foreign investment in the Hawkeye State has ballooned over the last six years from $64.6 million in fiscal year 2000 to $211.5 million in fiscal year 2006.
Iowa exports in 2006 were $8.4 billion, up from the previous year by 14 percent.
“Exports are going gangbusters,” Tramontina said, adding that farm equipment sales to foreign nations are at record levels.
Foreign companies are also making a mark in Iowa’s largest employment sector, manufacturing. Fifty-four percent of manufacturing jobs in Iowa are provided by foreign companies.
“It’s been huge,” Tramontina said. “Right now, the dollar is at very weak levels.”
The IDED has a number of leads on potential businesses interested in locating operations in Iowa. According to Tramontina, 327 of those are domestic-based while 131 are international.
Like local people, foreign companies see the green revolution taking hold in Iowa.
President Bush’s recent signing of the energy bill opens opportunities in the growing renewable-energy field, an area Gov. Chet Culver has championed, Tramontina said.
“Iowa could just not be better positioned,” said the IDED chief as he showed a map of biomass opportunities concentrated in Iowa.
Iowa leads the nation in ethanol with 28 manufacturing plants producing 2 billion gallons of fuel annually — and plans on the books for another 18 plants. The state is second nationally with 13 biodiesel plants that have an output of 318 million gallons.
Iowa also ranks in the top five states in the country with wind energy.
Tramontina didn’t come to Carroll with just happy talk. Iowa faces some serious challenges, he said.
Most notably, the top economic issue before the state is a low unemployment rate (3.9 percent) and an expected worker shortage or “jobs surplus” of 150,000 people expected in the next few years.
“We have to grow the workforce, period,” Tramontina said.
State officials are working to implement a Generation Iowa Commission study on how to attract more young people to Iowa.
Tramontina also had strong comments for what he believes is the prevailing mindset at the state’s research colleges, which he says are more interested in research grants than entrepreneurship.
At some prestigious coastal schools, in contrast, master’s students in the sciences and business are walking around with dreams of “making a billion dollars” by launching the next Google or Yahoo. They are interested not just in creating intellectual property but transitioning it to wild wealth, Tramontina said.
“At Iowa State, that is not cool,” he said. “We do research. We need to spur entrepreneurship at our universities.”
A native of Sioux City, Tramontina said he’s long believed that Iowa has a wonderful quality of life.
“I’ve come to question that,” he said.
Tramontina said employees and businesses are increasingly telling state leaders that quality of life in Iowa is not a plus, that the state needs more recreational and cultural opportunities to land the educated, diverse workforce that will be needed for high-tech or finance positions revving the Hawkeye State economy.
Vision Iowa and Cultural Attractions and Tourism grants have made major differences with improving amenities in Iowa but the state must do more, Tramontina said.
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