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.

Wisconsin commerce secretary Cory Nettles is resigning his position and will join his old law firm as a partner.

For most people in the business sector and economic development field, perhaps, the word "innovation" is quickly associated with tech start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses. The new Tennebaum Institute at Georgia Tech, opened last month with a $5 million donation from school alumnus Michael Tennebaum, is hoping to change that.

Tino Mantella has been appointed president of the Technology Association of Georgia, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promotion and economic advancement of the state's technology industry.

C. Michael Cassidy, president of the Georgia Research Alliance, has been appointed to the governing board of the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Blair Carnahan will be the first director of the new Columbus Regional Technology Center in Columbus, Ga. The new facility will house an incubator, the Columbus Georgia Tech regional office and the Columbus office of the Small Business Development Center.

After 30 years as leader of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Robert Brennan is leaving to become a consultant to the new Office of Corporate Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Phillip Z. Sobocinski has accepted a new position as Assistant Director of the new Office of Corporate Relations in the Office of the Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The new initiative will be led by Charles Hoslet.

A recent study by Iowa State University researcher David Swenson suggests the ISU Research Park's substantial and diverse economic activity bolsters Iowa's economy. Focusing on current tenants, Swenson's research shows that the park links directly to almost $88 million in total industrial output. Businesses that provide goods and services to park customers and employees are said to generate an additional $46.3 million in economic activity.

U.S. Senator Olympia Snow (R-Maine) recently introduced a bill to boost the flow of venture capital to small businesses by allowing tax-exempt entities, such as pension funds and university endowment funds, to invest in Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) without incurring unrelated business taxable income.

The FY 2004 budget passed by the Georgia Senate last week eliminates all $32 million the House approved for the OneGeorgia Authority, the state's loan and grant program targeting rural tech-based and traditional economic development. Created in 2000, the OneGeorgia Authority was anticipated to spend $1.6 billion over 25 years (one-third of the state's tobacco settlement funds) to assist the state's most economically challenged areas based on unemployment and poverty rates.

The Wisconsin Venture Network (WVN) in Milwaukee has folded into the Wisconsin Innovation Network (WIN) Foundation in Madison, and the combined WIN entity has become a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Technology Council.

Governor Tom Vilsack has announced a plan to invest $50 million into the creation of a life sciences initiative to help establish Iowa as a leader in the life sciences. Developed with the Regents Universities, Iowa Business Council and leaders in Iowa's biotechnology industry, the biotech plan's success hinges on a three-part strategy:

Two legislative bills encompassing economic development priorities of Gov. Jim Doyle’s Grow Wisconsin initiative recently were signed to provide assistance for both entrepreneurs and manufacturers.

Alexandria, La.

Legislation to create investment tax credits and a technology commercialization grant and loan program was approved by the Wisconsin Assembly just before the close of the legislative session. Intended to encourage high-tech industry and entrepreneurship in the state, Senate Bill 261 is designed to create approximately $62 million in new funding for start-ups.

The Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism, in partnership with the University System of Georgia, has appointed Page Siplon and Michael Hale as directors of the Maritime Logistics Innovation Center and the Middle Georgia Innovation Center for Aircraft Lifecycle Support, respectively.

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce named Pamela Christenson as the first director for the new Bureau of Entrepreneurship.

Jennifer Alexander is the new president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.