Exports by Iowa’s small businesses will grow thanks to a new grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The State Trade & Export Promotion (STEP) initiative will expand Iowa's economy and create jobs by helping companies compete in the global marketplace.
Here’s how the Iowa Economic Development Authority offers assistance to help eligible companies develop or expand export operations:
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Iowans are speaking out against deep cuts to schools, job creation initiatives and other state services. In the Senate, Senator Gronstal and pro-education legilsators are listening.
Senate Democrats have organized daily budget hearings at the Capitol and have hosted close to 40 listening posts and community meetings around the state. Senate Democrats are learning first-hand from Iowans about how Republican cuts will hurt Iowa families, students, communities and schools.
The Iowa House has taken a completely different approach, rushing through a super-sized spending bill loaded with special interest amendments.
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Senator Gronstal recently attended the bill signing for legislation creating new incentives for the sale of renewable fuels. The Senator is a strong supporter of growing Iowa's clean energy economy by encouraging the use of ethanol, biodiesel, wind energy, and other renewable fuels.
Iowa’s Economic Development Board has made awards to two Council Bluffs businesses. Tyson Prepared Foods has received a $400,000 forgivable loan through the Grow Iowa Values Fund, plus $2,882,106 in tax benefits for locating in an Enterprise Zone.
In addition, Plumrose USA was awarded a $260,000 forgivable loan through the Grow Iowa Values Fund, plus tax benefits worth $4,257,523 through the High Quality Job Program and job training funds worth $620,000 through Iowa Western Community College.
What are the most in-demand jobs in Iowa?
Wondering what field to go into? Considering a change in career? You’ll want to check out Iowa’s “Hot 50 Jobs.”
That’s a list of the top 50 high-demand, high-wage jobs in the state, courtesy of Iowa Workforce Development. The “Hot 50 Jobs” include doctors, lawyers, dental hygienists, engineers, computer systems managers, postsecondary teachers, financial advisers and many more.
The list of jobs is based on the annual growth rate from Iowa’s 2008-2018 occupational projections and the mean annual salary from 2010 Iowa Wage Survey. For the complete Hot 50 Jobs for Iowa, go to http://iwin.iwd.state.ia.us/pubs/statewide/statewidehotjobs.pdf.
True commercial property tax relief for small and Main Street businesses
Commercial property owners are currently taxed on 100 percent of the value of their properties. That means they’re paying more than any other class of property owner. This can hurt when it comes to expanding local business and luring new business to Iowa.
I voted recently for a $200 million commercial property tax break to grow Iowa’s small businesses and create new economic opportunities.
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Throughout the national economic recession, Iowa communities have worked to create greater efficiencies in local government and to be fiscally responsible with available resources. That way they can make ends meet and continue providing important services to residents.
However, if a Republican property tax proposal is adopted, all the hard work and efficiencies could soon be for naught.
House File 691 would increase property taxes for homeowners across the state, and it would reduce the ability of most cities to attract and retain good jobs.
Dear Friends,
I regularly visit with local business leaders and economic development specialists. Time and again, I’m told that great schools and training opportunities are the best way for Iowa to compete for good jobs at good wages.
That’s why I want to protect Iowa education at all levels from unnecessary, short-sighted cuts—from early childhood to college to job re-training. I stand behind the Senate’s Education Budget, which maintains high standards while keeping education and training affordable and accessible.
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from the Gronstal Report 2/10/2011
I recently visited Lewis and Clark preschool in Council Bluffs to highlight efforts to prepare Iowa kids for a bright future. In 2007, the Legislature created the statewide preschool program, which now provides free preschool to 60 percent of Iowa four-year olds. On January 19th, House Republicans voted to completely eliminate the preschool program.
I wish the people who want to close these preschools would visit them and realize that our kids and grandkids are not just some line-item in a budget. The kids are learning skills that will prepare them for educational success throughout their lives. We can’t afford to NOT invest in their future.
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from the Gronstal Report 2/10/2011
Funding for education and kids should not be a partisan issue, especially when you consider that strong schools are key to Iowa’s economic opportunities—now and down the road.
Our path to a high-wage Iowa future depends on the quality of our local schools. Our children need the skills to take on available jobs, and we must assure new and expanding businesses that Iowa’s commitment to education is second to none.
Governor Branstad and Legislative Republicans have proposed zero new funding for our schools, and the Iowa House has already passed legislation that gives schools no new money.
Investing in education is key to our future
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This legislative session, we are staying focused on creating good jobs and improving the economy.
We won’t accomplish those goals by shutting down credit to small businesses, closing preschools or letting tobacco companies target our young people.
Unfortunately, that’s all included in the first bill taken up by the Iowa House this session.
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The great majority of Iowa employers respects and looks out for their employees. But by engaging in employee misclassifications, the bad actors threaten our state’s economy and harm businesses and hard-working Iowans that play by the rules.
There are more than 72,000 law-abiding employers here in Iowa. They correctly classify their employees, report quarterly wages and pay unemployment taxes. Yet they’re put at a competitive disadvantage by the employers who skirt the law.
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The 2011 session started this week with optimism about the future of our state and a renewed commitment to helping Iowans recover from the lingering national recession.
I know that every legislator feels a strong sense of responsibility and challenge. Iowans are looking to us to help improve the economy and create much-needed jobs. Until Iowa has fully recovered from the national recession, that will be my number one priority.
What we do this session will affect – positively or negatively – Iowa’s business climate. I’m confident we’ll make progress.
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A recently launched Web site is helping Iowa small businesses get the resources they need to grow.
The new Iowa Small Business Assistance Gateway -- www.iowa.gov/business -- provides information on how to start and manage a small business, licensing, permits and other regulatory assistance, and technical and financial assistance.
Last year, the Legislature initiated the effort to develop this one-stop-shop to enhance the success of small businesses across Iowa.
My number one priority during the 2011 session is growing the economy and creating more good-paying jobs here in Iowa. To do my job effectively, I need your help and ideas.
Please take my short jobs survey, which can be found here: http://interspire.iowasdc.info/surveys.php?id=12.
Thanks in advance!
The Rebuild Iowa Office and the Iowa Department of Economic Development have awarded a $50,000 Local Comprehensive Planning Grant to Council Bluffs.
The money will be used to develop and adopt comprehensive plans for long-term recovery and to reduce the risk of future flooding. This grant program is funded through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in response to the 2008 floods.
The Comprehensive Planning Grant program is based on the Iowa Smart Planning Principles that I helped pass during the 2010 session. The goal is to improve community resiliency in ways that increase economic opportunity, protect environmental resources and improve quality of life.
The most important thing the Legislature can do in the upcoming 2011 session is to invest in Iowans and strengthen Iowa’s economy. We will continue efforts that are working, such as building Iowa’s renewable energy economy. And we’ll fix what needs fixing, like shifting incentives to help Iowa’s Main Street businesses, rather than Wall Street businesses.
I’m honored to continue serving as Senate Majority Leader and eager to work with members of both parties and with incoming Governor Terry Branstad. By working together, we can make real progress on the challenges facing Iowa’s working families. In the Iowa Senate, we’ve put a great team in place to continue our work on job creation, helping Iowans recover from the national economic recession and laying the foundation for a lasting recovery.
If you have ideas you’d like to share with me as I prepare to return to the Capitol in January, please call me at 712-328-2808 or e-mail me at mike.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us.
I want to thank Iowans who participated in the 2010 elections. We had a large turnout at the polls, which makes for a strong democracy.
Voters clearly voiced their discontent with the lingering national recession. That’s the message I’ll be taking to the Iowa Statehouse when I return for the 2011 legislative session.
Too many Iowans are still out of work, which means we must stay focused on creating good jobs. I’m ready to work with Governor-elect Branstad and legislators from across the state to ensure that happens.
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