Iowa’s strong economy has the state well positioned to assist small businesses and homeowners affected by this year’s historic flooding and tornadoes, Gov Chet Culver said this morning at the annual Iowa Workforce Development conference at the Polk County Convention Complex.

Listing programs that in total constitute “about a $300 million bridge” to provide immediate financial assistance “above and beyond the $1 billion we already have churning across the state,” Culver said he believes the state is well positioned to be able to provide sufficient disaster relief funding until the Legislature convenes in January.

Culver said he intends to use most of the $85 million in U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds that are expected to be received soon to replenish the $40 million JumpStart fund the state has established “to keep the cash flowing for homeowners and businesses.”

On Tuesday, Culver announced that the business relief portion of the Jumpstart Iowa Recovery Initiative is now available, meaning small business owners can access a total of $20 million. Businesses will be eligible to receive up to $50,000 in working capital loans, which will be forgiven if the business reopens within 12 months. He encouraged the approximately 350 people attending the conference to help spread the word about the program, twice repeating the Jumpstart Web site address (www.jumpstart.iowa.gov) and the Rebuild Iowa office helpline number (866) 849-0323.

Culver cited the upgrade of Iowa’s credit rating earlier this month by Standard & Poor’s from AA+ to AAA — one of just 11 states to hold that rating — as an indication of the state’s overall strong economic position.

“They did this because they recognize what we’ve all known for a long time: that Iowa is a great place,” he said. “We’ve diversified our economy, we’ve applied conservative budgeting principles, and we’ve got the largest cash reserves in the state’s history — $640 million.”