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Thank You For Helping Us Make the Most of 2025!
Dec 16 2025Western Iowa Advantage (WIAD) exists to help forge the close links between community and business leaders, working together to bring economic, workforce, and community development to our region.And we can’t do it without the amazing partnerships we share with all of you!As we put the wrap on 2025, we wanted...
IKM-Manning Receives Iowa STEM BEST Grant Funds
Dec 13 2025IKM-Manning High School will receive additional support from the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council to expand its student-run business as part of the STEM BEST Program. BEST, which stands for Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers, will help the district strengthen work-based learning opportunities during the 2025-26 school year through IKM-Manning’s...
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst on Monday named 3C Roofing & Construction of Crawford County as her latest Small Business of the Week. Ernst highlighted the Schleswig company for its long history of community service and dependable workmanship. Ernst, the Republican chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, has and will...
Anyone planning to make a location decision in the coming years should be paying attention to Opportunity Zones, the federal capital gains tax incentive designed to drive productive investment into low-income areas across the country.The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made Opportunity Zones (OZs) a permanent feature of the...
The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announces more than $23 million in awards through the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, with one project located in Jefferson. Developers of the Jefferson High School rehabilitation project, have been awarded nearly $2.5 million to cover a portion of the $8 million project to...
Does Shopping Local Actually Make a Difference?
Nov 17 2025The countdown to Christmas is on! And over the next few weeks we’ll all probably hear the words “shop local” dozens of times.Regardless of age, most people love the idea of it. A recent article from Forbes noted that Boomers (80%) and Gen X (77%) were all about buying from...
It’s a topic of endless debate for business leaders and analysts: What is the most important element that determines a company’s success or failure?Patrick Esposito, president and co-founder of ACME General Corp.—a company that bridges the gap between public sector organizations and innovators building problem-solving technologies—even wrote a book about...
Leaders champion innovation as the engine of progress. Yet when it’s personal—when an employee reimagines their own career—it’s too often dismissed. If reinvention keeps companies alive, shouldn’t it also keep people thriving?In a workforce that spans six or more decades, the ability to pivot—whether by reskilling, shifting roles, or moving...
The skilled trades are becoming increasingly multigenerational, challenging traditional learning and development opportunities for leaders across the industry. In the first quarter of 2024, Gen Z made up 18 percent of the U.S. workforce, but 18- to 25-year-olds made up nearly 25 percent of all 2024 new hires in skilled...
JLL recently launched an Advanced Manufacturing group to meet the moment, and Area Development spoke with group leaders Greg Matter, Vice Chair Industrials, and Meaghan Elwell, Division President of Global Industrials, to get their real estate playbook for the new era. This conversation has been edited for space and style.Why...
The owners of nine small-scale meat processing shops in Iowa are splitting $355,000 in state grant money to expand their businesses.Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig said the “Choose Iowa Butchery Innovation Grants” have to be matched by the business and these grants are leveraging investments of nearly $2 million.“This is...
New to Coon Rapids-Bayard School District this year is Jessica Badding who facilitates the Iowa Jobs for America’s Graduates (iJAG) program.A statewide nonprofit organization and affiliate of the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) Network, iJAG partners with Iowa schools to offer career development programming at a personal, classroom level. Badding...
Several local farms will be showcased during this year’s Choose Iowa Farm Open House and the Iowa Barn Foundation’s Fall All-State Barn Tour, happening this weekend, Sept 13-14. The events coincide giving visitors an opportunity to discover agricultural heritage through tours and promoting Iowa products while supporting local farms and...
As you sit in Monday morning traffic or attend yet another boring meeting, you’re probably thinking there must be a better, more satisfying, and more profitable way to spend your time. The good news? There absolutely is. The internet has created all sorts of online business opportunities, and now anyone...
Kids driving you crazy? Boss blowing up your emails?No matter whether you’re in a zen kinda mood or about to lose your mind, Western Iowa Advantage (WIAD) encourages you to take a break, get outside, and enjoy a breath of fresh air by traversing some of our favorite trails.Whether you’re...
Greg Piklapp of the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, and now executive director of Greene County Development Corporation, made his first visit to the Jefferson city council at the council’s Aug. 26 meeting. He was introduced by GCDC board president Scott Weber.Piklapp said his goal in Greene County is to advocate...
The Griffins to expand CPA business
Aug 22 2025A ground breaking ceremony sponsored by Audubon County Economic Development took place at 408 Market Street in Audubon on Aug. 19.Brady and Ashlie Griffin will be building a new facility in this location very soon. Brady said “Griffin CPA, llc is excited to announce that we have decided to build...
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and two of President Donald Trump's cabinet members advocated the need to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States, remove regulations and lead the way in developing artificial intelligence at a business expo here.U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
Rural America is having a moment. Policymakers and business leaders increasingly see the heartland as indispensable to the nation’s future health and prosperity.What are the unique strengths of rural communities? What are their most pressing needs? And how can rural communities across the U.S. position themselves as viable destinations for...
Enticing folks to buy local has always been an easy sell in Iowa. In 1843, Dubuque opened its first farmers’ market, which grew so much in popularity that by 7 a.m., there was hardly anything left.Fast forward to today, where you’ll find 200 farmers' markets throughout the state, collectively generating...
How to Manage the Surge in Building Costs
Jun 25 2025The construction industry is navigating an increasingly complex economic landscape marked by persistent high costs and evolving market dynamics. Coupled with rising labor expenses, these economic and geopolitical pressures are further compounded by supply chain disruptions and fluctuating tariffs and inflation rates, which can dramatically affect project timelines and budgets...
Rewriting the Rules of Warehouse ROI
Jun 24 2025In my decades of experience providing supply chain network design and operations design, I've repeatedly encountered one major challenge that businesses struggle to overcome: balancing the high cost of automation with the pressure to improve productivity, capacity, accuracy, safety and speed, particularly in distribution operations.Automation's appeal is clear — companies...
