Thank You For Helping Us Make the Most of 2025!

December 16, 2025

Western 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 to say thanks for the ways you contribute to making Western Iowa a place we can all be proud of and a wonderful area to work, live, and connect.

We also wanted to give you a snapshot of what we were up to throughout the year.

Our 2025 Year in Review

Legislative Roundtable

In December, Western Iowa Advantage held a legislative roundtable at Region XII Council of Governments. Senator Tim Kraayenbrink, Representative Craig Williams, and candidate Rachel Burns discussed important regional issues including housing, economic development and TIF, community development, and transportation.

Meetings

WIAD held 11 monthly meetings throughout the year to discuss economic development challenges and opportunities.

Custom Content Creation

Golden Shovel Agency crafted eleven Business Feature Articles for our website throughout the year, including:

WIAD Newsletters

Three WIAD Newsletters were crafted in 2025 as a summary of news, events, awards, and sites and buildings. Are you signed up? If not, let us know!

Housing Development Recruitment Piece: Awards (MAEDC and NADO)

Region XII Council of Governments has recently been recognized with a 2025 Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) for the Western Iowa Advantage Collaborative Marketing to Address a Housing Crisis.
MAEDC Award: Marketing Program Small Community award in December 2024.

Community Venture Network Events

Community Venture Network (CVN) exists to connect rural communities with businesses searching for opportunities to expand and grow their operations. Economic Development professionals from communities throughout the Midwest region have joined CVN to be exposed to qualified business development leads. WIAD attended three of these events.

Guest Speakers

Educational and Program presentations were given to increase partner knowledge and skills from:

Iowa Area Development Group, Brian Tapp, V.P. Value-Added Agriculture
Agracel Inc., Richard Blackwell, V.P. Business Development
Iowa Tourism, Stephanie Neppl, Tourism Liaison

Tour of Global Precision Parts

In September, Western Iowa Advantage partners toured Global Precision Parts (GPP) in Audubon. Global Precision Parts, Inc. was established in 2006 and recently acquired Quality Machine in Audubon. GPP operates over 200 state-of-the-art production machines, delivering highly efficient services at the quality its customers deserve. In addition to domestic facilities, GPP works closely with Asian joint ventures to provide unmatched quality and volume capacity that only a multi-site company can offer. The company’s Audubon facility supplies high-precision and complex machining services with tolerances ranging five tenths to two thousandths.

Committed to Western Iowa

WIAD is ready to take on 2026, keeping an eye on education, support, and business tours while tackling workforce attraction and housing.

We remain committed to facilitating ongoing improvements in our region’s economy, quality of life, and tourism.

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