(Okoboji)– The region’s economy is pretty much insulated from the economic slowdown happening elsewhere in the country…atleast for now.
That was the message Dr. Ernie Goss, a Creighton University Economics Professor, had for a crowd Thursday evening at the Pearson Lakes Art Center.
Goss regularly surveys bankers in several midwest states, including Iowa, Minnesota, the dakotas, Kansas and Nebraska. He says the three-county area of Dickinson, Emmet and Clay surpassed other areas in the midwest region and the rest of the country when it comes to manufacturing and productivity between 1998 and 2005.
Goss says the region is largely insulated from the economic slowdown affecting most of the country due to the very strong farm economy stemming from the booming ethanol and biofuels production in the region. But goss says that isn’t spilling over into main street businesses. He says retailers aren’t doing that well, and that there is a slump in housing sales and prices here, but not nearly to the extent being felt in other parts of the country.
