It’s time for Central Iowa to make a decision: Allow its growth and economic development successes to flounder, or ask the difficult questions to find ways to level up.

That was the message from James Chung, an economist and founder of Reach Advisors, who was the keynote speaker at the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Regional Summit of 2025, which took place Sept. 17 in downtown Des Moines.

Attended by more than 350 business, community and economic development leaders, the event shared data about the region’s strengths, focused on how to attract more workers and businesses to the area, and encouraged collaboration through networking.

Des Moines’ growth challenge

Chung specializes in data-based economic development trends to help communities make informed decisions about their growth. He has made presentations to the Partnership in the past – in 2018 and 2020 – about the health of the Central Iowa economy, regional growth and what will attract and retain businesses and workers to the area. He was openly enthusiastic about Central Iowa’s potential, saying it could be home to a major league baseball team, for example.

Although the Des Moines area has outperformed many Midwestern cities, even larger metros, its numbers are now weakening, he said.

“We’re at a crossroads,” Chung said. “Most regions that grow beyond the norm [like Des Moines has] typically ebb every 10- to 20-year period and then they revert toward the mean. We’re at maybe 20, 25 years in right now. Very few [cities or regions] have extended this [phase of growth] out for three to five decades, where they can get double-digit growth decade after decade after decade.”

The communities that have sustained long-term prosperity, such as Austin, Texas, and Raleigh, N.C., have done so because they found their niche identity or “secret sauce” as Chung refers to it. Des Moines’ five secret sauce ingredients, according to Chung, are:

1. High-level talent. The Des Moines region attracts a higher level talent base than regions of similar sizes can usually attract. That number, however, is slipping.
2. Workforce capacity. “That workforce creates capacity to serve powerhouse businesses that crank out more output than would normally happen in regions of this size,” he said. In the insurance and financial sectors, however, many entry-level jobs that lead to young employees staying in Central Iowa long term are being replaced by artificial intelligence.
3. Outsized capital investment. “There is more money coming into this region than should happen,” he said. “There’s more money invested in this region. It’s a region that believes in itself and invests in itself.”
4. High recovery and growth. “Des Moines might take the hits and lumps a little bit harder than what’s happening nationally, but it roars out of those declines,” he said.
5. Strong social dynamic and civic engagement.

His analysis included 100 slides of data, in which he praised the region’s strengths, economy, culture and workforce. The region has several healthy economic indicators, but has slipped in some of those strengths. He said it’s time for honest community conversations about how the region can maintain and grow its competitive advantages.

When asked what Central Iowa should do if a major business, like Wells Fargo, moves to another state, he said the business community should be prepared for a change like that, and needs to discuss the possibility openly.

“It’s time for the region to decide,” Chung said. “If Des Moines is able to get back to that peak period where it’s clocking like 1.7% and 2% annual growth – that doesn’t sound like much, but compounded – if you can do that over long stretches, Des Moines ends up being one of the [similar to large metros] cities. Basically, [it would be] proving that it’s matching on a pound-for-pound basis [with large metros].”

Reaching 1 million population

A primary goal of the Partnership is to reach a population of 1 million. When Central Iowa’s Combined Statistical Area reaches a population of 1 million, the region will be instantly eligible for large economic development projects, said Tiffany Tauscheck, president and CEO of the Partnership. The population currently sits at 940,000, she said.

The Partnership represents a 12-county region, making it the second largest regional chamber of commerce in the U.S.

“We have strength in numbers, and those numbers are growing, with 1.3% annual population growth of our CSA, and with a pro-growth approach, we can reach 1 million in just a few years,” Tauscheck said. “That means more investments, more talent, more amenities, and that doesn’t just benefit our region, it benefits our entire state.”

Recalibrating agricultural markets

Gov. Kim Reynolds also gave introductory remarks at the summit, highlighting economic investments and agricultural challenges.

Since 2024, Iowa has announced $20 billion in new capital investments in the state that will create 1,600 new jobs, she said. The state has also recently invested $500 million in airports, $550 million in child care, $700 million in water quality and $850 million in housing initiatives.

She talked about her recent trade and investment mission to India, where she signed a state agreement with Maharashtra, India, which is needed, she said, because of Iowa’s agricultural challenges.

“It’s important that we acknowledge that the ag economy and Iowa’s markets as a whole, alongside of it, are facing some genuine headwinds,” Reynolds said. “The real agricultural GDP is down 39% from fiscal year 2023 to 2024 and when you look at Q4 2024 to Q1 of 2025, Iowa and Nebraska saw a 6.1% decrease in ag GDP. I hope that underscores why it was so important for us to do a return trip to India, because, again, we keep increasing our yields with fewer inputs. We are really good at what we do.

“With China kind of on the sidelines right now, it’s so important that we find new markets for our commodities, which in turn also impacts our largest sector of our GDP, which is advanced manufacturing. But the strengths that we’ve established, combined with the record surpluses that we’ve accrued in the recent years, I think it will empower us to be able to face the uncertainties with confidence until we can start to really wrap up some of those trade deals, wrap up some of those new markets.”

Reynolds said recent state-supported economic investments like Clow Valve’s $80 million expansion in Oskaloosa and the $20 million investment in the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa need to continue. State support for data centers at certified industrial sites in West Des Moines and Van Meter for data centers.

“My team stands ready to help however we can to truly unlock more of our region’s potential,” Reynolds said.