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Economic Development

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Census: Ankeny is 4th-fastest growing large city in U.S.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s list of the fastest growing large cities in the U.S. puts Ankeny at No. 4. 

The northern suburb of Des Moines was the only Iowa city among the nation’s top 15 …

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Riding the wave

The push to raise $100 million or so from public and private sources to turn Central Iowa’s riverfronts into one big adventure park comes as the metro area faces many other financial challenges, from mass …

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Treasury approves Iowa 62 opportunity zones

The U.S. Treasury Department has approved the 62 Iowa Opportunity Zones proposed by Gov. Kim Reynolds. Opportunity Zones is a new program that promotes investment in low-income areas. It uses federal tax incentives to spur development …

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Iowa drops jobs in April; unemployment holds steady

Iowa payroll jobs dropped for the second time in the first four months of 2018, the Iowa Policy Project reports. In April, the state lost 1,300 payroll jobs, leaving Iowa a net loss of 500 jobs so …

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$100M water trails project turns to feasibility analysis

A whitewater course downtown would be part of a water trails project for the region.

We now know more about the water trail proposals in Central Iowa, a keystone project many leaders see as a …

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Water trails a $100M initiative


We now know more about the water trails proposals in Central Iowa, a keystone project many leaders see as a crucial way to attract and keep residents and workers.


We know it would cost in …

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Source Allies receives forgivable loan, tax incentives for expansion in Urbandale

Source Allies Inc. in Urbandale will receive a $144,000 forgivable loan from the state of Iowa for an expansion project. In addition, the Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved tax incentives worth an estimated $244,250. …

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Greater Des Moines startups receive state loans

Tractor Zoom in Waukee and WindSmart LLC in Des Moines were awarded state demonstration fund loans of $100,000 each by the Iowa Economic Development Authority board. Tractor Zoom, which has developed a digital advertising platform …

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NOTEBOOK: Partnership trip speaker: Are local governments underusing big data?

The 180 or so participants in the annual Greater Des Moines Partnership lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., returned on May 11. We’ll have more on the trip later, but we wonder how many of the …

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Iowa to conduct laborshed studies in every county

Des Moines Register: The state of Iowa plans to conduct laborshed studies to provide “meaningful insights into the availability of labor” in every county in the state, according to a news release. The studies will …