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Various agencies across the State of Iowa are looking
at a consorted effort to revitalize the State. Kossuth County Economic
Development Commission (KCEDC) took the lead role for Kossuth County
in looking at what would be the overall benefits for Rural Iowa
to join forces with 10 other counties (Hardin, Hamilton, Webster,
Sac, Calhoun, Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Humboldt, Wright, Kossuth,
and Palo Alto) which is now Mid Iowa Growth Partners (MIGP). With
the tight economic economy, decline in population and reduced funding.
MIGP has pooled their time, dollars and efforts by entering into
this partnership along with the assistance from various other entities
such as: Corn Belt Power, Alliant Energy, MidAmerican Energy, Iowa
Lakes Community College, Iowa Central Community College, and MIDAS.
MIGP is in it’s incubation stage but already
we have established relationships that we can all draw from each
others expertise, share resources and have the capability of marketing
a larger area. (Clearly we will have a larger voice for Kossuth
County and its regional partner.) The effort of bringing 11 counties
to the table was made a lot easier through our Professional Developers
of Iowa (PDI) Membership. Relationships were already initially established
and through PDI’s educational workshops and seminars, we all
know the importance of regionalism. PDI played a key role in keeping
members educated on all levels of economic development.
A few of the major goals of MIGP are: 1) To create
an aggressive regional organization and “community mindset,”
2) Enhance awareness of the local development entities on a regional
and national scale, 3) Develop a greater awareness and collaboration
within the region, 4) Develop a program involving a CEO roundtable
with existing industry, 5) Initiate and develop targeted marketing
projects that will benefit the region…to name a few.
KCEDC has identified that the increased awareness
of regional collaboration will increase resources, expertise and
provide greater opportunity for growth in Rural Iowa. The overall
impact is that we all gain by taking the steps to communicate and
work for the betterment of the State of Iowa, our region, county
and communities.
MIGP EXEC BOARD
| Wright County |
Humboldt County |
Dennis Bowman, President
Director, Wright County EDC
Clarion |
John Hartford, Past President
President, Humboldt Trust & Svgs Bank
Humboldt |
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| Webster County |
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James Crean, Secretary
Webster County Development Inc
Fort Dodge |
Jim Patton, Treasurer
Webster CEED / ISU Extension
Fort Dodge |
| Kossuth County |
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Maureen Elbert, Vice President
Executive Director, Kossuth County EDC
Algona |
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MIGP Board Members
| Calhoun County |
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Pam Meeder
Director, Calhoun County
Rockwell City |
Linda Lauver
Exec. Dir., Calhoun County
Rockwell City |
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| Hamilton County |
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Catherine Bergman
Exec. Dir., Hamilton Cnty SEED
Webster City |
Gary Sandholm
Director of Economic Development
Webster City |
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| Hardin County |
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Deb Crosser
Economic Development Director
Eldora |
Manuel A. Silva, Jr.
Iowa Falls Area DC
Iowa Falls |
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| Humboldt County |
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Lorie Bennett
City of Humboldt
Humboldt |
Lonnie Larson
Humboldt County Econ. Dev. Dir.
Humboldt |
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| Kossuth County |
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Maureen Elbert
Exec. Dir., Kossuth County EDC
Algona |
Ed Berg
Pharmacists Mutual Ins. Co.
Algona |
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| Palo Alto County |
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Steve Heldt
Emmetsburg EDC
Emmetsburg |
Lloyd Petersen
Board Member, Dev. Board
Graettinger |
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| Pocahontas County |
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Tom Grau
Dev. Dir., Pocahontas County EDC
Pocahontas |
Wilbur Ekstrand
Pocahontas Cnty Sup.
Pocahontas |
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| Webster County |
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John Kramer
Webster County Development, Inc.
Fort Dodge |
Dennis Plautz
Director of Bus. Affairs & Comm. Group
Fort Dodge |
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| Wright County |
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Dennis Bowman
Dir., Wright County Econ. Dev.
Clarion |
Stan Watne
Wright County Supervisor
Galt |
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| At-Large Appoinments |
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Marion Burns
MidAmerican Energy Co.
Economic Development Consultant
Carroll |
Jim Vermeer
Vice President, Bus. Dev.
Corn Belt Power Co-op
Humboldt |
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Jim Kersten
Assoc. Vice President, ICCC
Fort Dodge |
James Patton
Webster CEED/ISU Extension
Fort Dodge |
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| Support Agencies |
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Randy Hildreth
Rural Development Manager
USDA Rural Development
Humboldt |
Stephen F. Hoesel
Executive Director, MIDAS
Fort Dodge |
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John Ziegenbusch
Manager – Econ Dev
Alliant Energy
Des Moines |
Mike Nuss
Development Director
Ackley |
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| Smart Solutions Group |
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Bob Henningsen
Smart Solutions Group, Inc.
West Des Moines |
Irv Jensen
Smart Solutions Group, Inc.
West Des Moines |
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| Iowa Dept.
of Economic Development |
Marlys Pelz
Iowa Dept. of Econ. Dev.
Community Development Division
Des Moines |
Karen Merrick
Regional Strategies Coord.
Iowa Dept. of Econ. Dev.
Des Moines |
MIGP RESEARCH STEERING COMMITTEE
Pam Meeder
Director, Calhoun County
Rockwell City |
Dennis Bowman
Dir., Wright Cnty Econ. Dev.
Clarion |
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James Patton
Webster CEED/ISU Extension
Fort Dodge |
Jim Kersten
Assoc. Vice President
ICCC
Fort Dodge |
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Clark Marshall
ILCC
Estherville |
Mitch Craigmile
Sr. Dir. of Mfg.
Fort Dodge Animal Health
Fort Dodge |
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Marion Burns
MidAmerican Energy Co.
Econ. Dev. Consultant
Carroll |
Jim Vermeer
Vice Pres., Business Dev.
Corn Belt Power Co-op
Humboldt |
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Peter Hong
President, Positech Corp.
Laurens |
Michael Abildtrup
Gen. Mgr., Star Energy, LLC
Manson |
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Conley Nelson
Prestage-Stoecker Farms Inc.
Algona |
Tom Tibbitts
CEO, Trinity Reg. Med. Ctr
Fort Dodge |
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