Grow Iowa 's Rural Development Resource Center program teamed with Cass County Economic Development Corporation to provide technical assistance and financing so that Atlantic could welcome a new business. Sears is now open for business!

Congratulations to Mills and Montgomery County on the ground-breaking for their new ethanol plants.

When a real estate agent, on behalf of a site selector, inquired about a regional development organization through which he could coordinate site visits, he was referred to SWICO – tangible evidence of the value of an established regional presence!

Why Southwest Iowa?
Update on the Coalition's 8-County Regional Cooperative Marketing Initiative.

In 2005, SWICO secured funding through the Department of Economic Development for any of its member counties to use to develop a cooperative marketing program. After much hard work, a marketing plan is in place and a brand for the 8-county marketing region has been developed. Now, the delegates from Adams, Cass, Montgomery, Page, Ringgold, Shelby and Taylor counties are preparing to launch a regional Web site and begin print production of recruiting materials to invite individuals to REInvent themselves in southwest Iowa .

The brand promise: Southwest Iowa is the place to find a new career, a new life and a new future.

About the brand: Southwest Iowa presents an attractive alternative to major metropolitan areas in the region because of its quality of life. It also has the resources and the desire to create a haven for 30- and 40-something professionals to thrive in their third age with abundant entrepreneurial and volunteer opportunities and a welcoming and supportive attitude.

Southwest Iowa will be different because its communities and counties will be unified behind an effort to attract and embrace these new residents. The region's explicit invitation is that they will support and champion the cause of entrepreneurs and volunteers who want to discover the joys of living in Southwest Iowa .

Southwest Iowa's brand is relevant because the target audience desires what Southwest Iowa offers — a more relaxing, safe and attractive environment in which to start something new and rewarding. The brand will be truthful because people and organizations throughout the region will fully understand the brand and recognize how to use the brand to make decisions every day.

The southwest Iowa marketing group looks forward to rolling out the implementation of its marketing plan along side other cooperative marketing groups active within the Coalition membership.

New ED in Bedford - Welcome Deann!

We continue to welcome new development professionals in our region. Deann Hensley was just recently hired by Bedford to coordinate the Bedford Area Economic Development group, Bedford Chamber and Mainstreet program. She'll be busy - and already is. She is one of two Taylor County delegates to the regional marketing group - Why Southwest Iowa and continues SWICO representation for the organizations. Whew - welcome Deann!

Business training workshops available

The Rural Development Resource Center continues to make Business Plan Development Workshops available to counties and communities for their entrepreneurs.

Seed funding to begin this program under the RDRC umbrella was originally provided by the Community Vitality Center. Director Edelman, CVC committed $2,500 for each of 4 workshops.

You can contact the RDRC office if you are interested in exploring a workshop for your area.

The participants meet one night a week for 10 weeks to exploration and develop business plans for their proposed ventures. The location for a workshop can be situated such that the cost is shared between counties and communities. These workshops and accompanying materials are then free to the participants.

A a strong collaboration of local, supporting partners who know how to reach the audience for the classes is a key to success and outcomes. Some outcomes from past workshops:

• There have been three business start-ups.
• 1 business successfully negotiated a loan package.
• 1 successfully negotiated a bank loan they had been denied before they attended the workshop.
• 1 business identified 5 areas that were barriers to the business success.
• 1 business identified cash flow issues preventing realizable profit.
• 1 business, identified its target market, made adjustments to its product list to fit the profiled customer and has now seen a 25% expansion.
• 2 participants gained tools for evaluating an existing business they were considering purchasing; one choosing not to make the purchase and the other making the decision to purchase after accessing help from ISU Extension and evaluating data from ISU's SETA and the University of Nebraska.
• 2 participants who attended to grow their own existing businesses ended up sharing the information with family members for a business start-up and a business stabilization which included securing a business loan
• 2 participants are on the staff of the Crawford County Economic Development group and now have supporting materials and information to aid entrepreneurs who come into their offices and to help in further development of their SEED program.

Population growth in rural SW Iowa?

Whose moving to towns in Southwest Iowa and why? When the Community Vitality Center noticed the data, it became intrigued and conducted a study. Knowing why people are moving in and out of the region can assist communities plan resident retention and recruitment tactics.

A survey was mailed to everyone who moved in or out of a rural community within an 18 month time-frame using a purchased database. The questionnaire asked about the factors that influenced the household's decision to move and their thoughts about the community where they lived now and where they used to live.

Reports on the data collection and analysis are now available for you at http://www.cvcia.org/content/projects/8.migration.and.population/index.html

Counties sampled in the Coalition membership region were Adams, Union, Taylor and Page. These reports might be valuable for all to review as your community thinks through how to attract new residents and retain those already there.