SSTI Digest

The Northeast Iowa Business Accelerator named Brian Dalziel as its first regional director.

Mary Lawyer is leaving the Iowa Department of Economic Development to be the president and CEO of Des Moines' Downtown Community Alliance, effective Sept. 14.

Summer classes, camps and special programs to stimulate and sustain K-12 students' interests in science and math will be found all across the country during the next few months. A less frequently occurring phenomenon will be taking place in the Great Lakes Region of Iowa, helping a select group of college students to combine entrepreneurship, rural economic development, and recreation.



Twenty-four students from three Iowa state universities will participate in a week-long program at the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory on West Lake Okoboji designed to enhance their understanding of rural entrepreneurship opportunities within the state. The facility traditionally offers undergraduate and graduate experiential science courses in a natural setting.



In the new program, students will participate in entrepreneurial simulation and seminars with successful entrepreneurs and business and community leaders. Activities include working in teams on a computer-based simulation that incorporates the creation and operation of a new business and a fundraising round where teams present their plans to community volunteer venture capitalists.



Gov. Tom Vilsack made the announcement of the first Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute earlier this month. The college credit institute is a joint effort of the State Board of Regents, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers, and the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation.



“We see the Okoboji Institute as a test of economic gardening strategies for entrepreneurial development throughout the state,” said Gov. Vilsack. “Plant the seeds, cultivate gardens of opportunity and raise a new crop of businesses. The strategy is to develop nurturing places for entrepreneurs within regional business communities, introduce students to the quality of life throughout Iowa and help them succeed with new business ideas as they emerge from the state’s entrepreneurial training centers.”



Funding for the program, anticipated to cost as much as $50,000 with full scholarships, is being raised through donations by private sources, businesses and organizations. Housing for the students is provided by local residents of the Iowa Great Lakes area. More information is available at: http://www.governor.state.ia.us/news/2006/may/may0206_2.html

On the heels of the release of two roadmaps calling for increased state support for advanced manufacturing and information technology (IT), Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack announced plans to spend $50 million "to attract leading scientists to Iowa and spark new research and product development," according to the Des Moines Register.

Gov. Tom Vilsack announced that Mary Lawyer will serve as acting director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Mike Blouin resigned from the position last week to launch his campaign to become the state's next governor.

After being struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2004, the state legislature recently passed legislation re-creating a $500 million version of its Grow Iowa Values Fund. The bills commit $500 million over 10 years to support tech-based economic development and other economic development initiatives. Gov. Tom Vilsack signed the measures on June 10.

The Iowa Entrepreneurs Coalition has been formed to help advance an innovation- and entrepreneur-friendly agenda in the Iowa legislature.

A recent proposal by Senate Republicans in Iowa to eliminate the state income tax for residents under the age of thirty has brought the issue of the out-migration of young, educated adults once again to the forefront. In recognizing that brain drain leads to the loss of necessary skills for global competitiveness and economic development, policymakers across the nation are responding with innovative ideas.  While the Iowa Senate Republicans have dropped their proposal, a number of other states are pursuing new approaches.

A recent study completed for Iowa calls for continued investment in the biosciences - a 10-year, $302 million plan - to grow the industry and to create new job opportunities for the state.

Iowa: Davenport Sells City Land for Tech Incubator

To jumpstart the city's multi-million-dollar revitalization project, the Davenport City Council voted last week to sell city land to a developer to build a tech incubator, according to the Associated Press. The initial phase of the project, valued at $113.5 million in all, will begin with a 40,000-square-foot facility to house start-up, technology-based businesses. Construction of the business incubation center is slated to be finished by June 2004. Once complete, the center could situate up to 10 new high-tech start-up companies.

Holmes Foster, chairman of the Iowa Values Fund, has announced his resignation.

Package Isn't All Governor Expected; Veto Possible

Changing mindsets within a state to embrace making significant public investments toward building an innovation economy can be a daunting task, particularly with the fiscal environment all state goverments are currently facing. With an aggressive series of town meetings and web forums, and strong vision and top-level leadership, Iowa succeeded to make its first big steps toward that goal with late-night votes by the State Legislature this week during a special session.