Recent News

Western Iowa Advantage (WIAD) partners and stakeholders gathered in Odebolt, IA. for the 2023 Annual Dinner to learn about the WIAD-assisted projects and success stories from around the region featured in the Western Iowa Advantage Annual Report 2021–2022. With an emphasis on collaboration and networking, WIAD assists through the pooled...Continue Reading

As an economic developer, you’re constantly seeking new ways to attract businesses and talent to your community to promote economic growth. One effective tool that can assist you in achieving these goals is a microsite, which can be utilized for specific campaigns or programs. Read the complete article from Golden...Continue Reading

The Lower Sioux Indian Community is using hempcrete to create sustainable, low-cost housing. Earl Pendleton, Vice President of the Lower Sioux Indian Community Tribal Council, explained what hempcrete is and how it began being used. “Hempcrete was rediscovered in the mid-1980s in France by testing the materials in a...Continue Reading

Economic development organizations (EDOs) are vital in attracting businesses to their respective communities, assisting new and existing businesses, and supporting the overall growth of their regions. In today's digital age, having a dedicated staff page with contact information for each team member is essential for EDOs to effectively communicate and...Continue Reading

The 29-year-old actor stared at his bank account statement. He had only $106 left to his name. His acting career was going nowhere. He couldn’t afford the rent on his cheap Hollywood apartment. He even tried to sell his dog because he didn’t have enough money to buy dog food.  Read...Continue Reading

Is your basketball equipment lingo expert level? If you live in Jefferson, Iowa, there’s a good chance it is. In this rural Western Iowa town of 4,150, American Athletic, Inc. / Spalding manufactures most backstops used for NCAA March Madness, WNBA, and NBA games. For those not entirely up with...Continue Reading

Business retention and expansion (BR&E) programs have become a large priority in a post-COVID world. Ensuring that local businesses have the foundation in place to weather economic shifts and potential disasters should be top-of-mind as we continue coming out of COVID and face economic and trade uncertainties. Fortunately, there are...Continue Reading

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and a 15-member delegation have just returned from a trade mission to Vietnam and the Philippines. The mission, coordinated by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), included representation from Iowa’s livestock and grain organizations as well as other agricultural associations. The purpose of the...Continue Reading

When the time comes where one runs out of storage space inside their home, a new business in Carroll can help out. The Locker, which is a climate-controlled storage space, is owned by married couple Neil and Trisha Baumhover, as well as Eric Boes. The low-humidity storage units come...Continue Reading

The majority of Iowa manufacturers plan to make strategic investments in their organizations in the second quarter of 2023 according to the latest Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) Quarterly Business Survey. ABI sent this survey to its board in early March. Read the complete article from Iowa Association...Continue Reading

Today's digital world has opened up many opportunities for small businesses to leverage data and maximize their marketing ROI. First-party data allows businesses to develop customer insights, optimize campaigns, track performance metrics and create targeted strategies. With first-party data in hand, small business owners have access to valuable consumer...Continue Reading

If you’re not incorporating artificial intelligence into your work in some way, you’re behind the curve. Even the most suspicious and non-technical entrepreneurs could save time and money making use of the tools available, let alone those thinking bigger with AI and creating their own. Read the complete article from...Continue Reading

Economic developers focused on quality of life improvements are finding it easier to attract workers to their community. As flexible work arrangements become more common, people are searching for prioritizing communities they will enjoy living in when conducting a job search. There are grants that can help to fund these...Continue Reading

As an economic developer, you understand that economic recessions can wreak havoc on local businesses and communities. These times of economic uncertainty cause businesses to shut down, people to lose jobs, and local economies to crumble. However, with the right strategies, you can recession-proof your economic development efforts and ensure...Continue Reading

“We are fully invested” with “ripple effects that go beyond the community,” said Mr. Klauer, president and fifth-generation family member. “We don’t view ourselves as free agents to close a plant and move.”  That kind of stability has wide benefits to workers, service providers and nonprofits in the area. ...Continue Reading

Danna Larson of Rural Revival is helping Odebolt rise up. Larson grew up in Odebolt and her family are long-time community members. Larson gave a presentation at the Odebolt library on Feb. 10. Larson says, Read here for the complete article.   Continue Reading

Woodbine Community School District was among the 37 Iowa school district that will join or expand the STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) + HD (High Demand) Program to provide students with real workplace experiences. The program helps introduce students to businesses and career opportunities in Iowa, while also...Continue Reading

“We feel good about where we are,” said Tim Stuart, chairman of the Crawford County Recreation and Wellness Center Committee. “Four to six weeks from now, we should know if we’re making enough headway to feel comfortable saying we have a project we can get in the ground in the...Continue Reading

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today unveiled the Rural Data Gateway, a new resource to make the Department’s data for rural projects easier to access for its partners and for people living in rural communities. The Rural Data Gateway will help USDA...Continue Reading

Google is worried. University professors are worried. High school English teachers are worried.  ChatGPT continues to make headlines and fuel dystopian fears of artificial intelligence technology replacing search engines, writing, and basically our lives. Being an economic development marketing innovator, I decided to test the usefulness of ChatGPT...Continue Reading

One of the best decisions Iowa native Mark Darrah ever made was following through with his dream of starting a company and bringing it to Iowa. The Founder and CEO of Athena GTX, Mark had many options when deciding where to launch his wireless medical equipment company. Though he ultimately...Continue Reading

There’s truly no place like home. And for nearly 100 years, Iowa’s own Pella Corporation has been transforming the windows and doors that adorn our homes from inconspicuous to inspired. As we continue exploring the broad impact that Iowa-based companies have around the world, we connected with Nicolle Picray, Pella’s...Continue Reading

In Western Iowa, the advantage is clear: we thrive on collaboration and networking. Western Iowa Advantage (WIAD) is the pooled resources, infrastructure, innovation, and intellect of Audubon, Calhoun, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Ida, and Sac Counties.   WIAD was founded as a cooperative marketing venture to promote economic prosperity and attract...Continue Reading

With data centers, there isn’t much of a gray area. To most observers who live, work or play around these often immense structures, they’re rather dull but necessary monoliths. They can lifelessly loom along a given horizon, which one might encounter driving through what’s known as Data Center Alley...Continue Reading