(Spencer)– The Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation is announcing the findings of its 2023 Business, Retention and Expansion surveys. It consists of a series of interviews Corridor officials conduct each year with various businesses and industries in their four-county service area. 21 visits were conducted this past year in Dickinson county. Joanne Follon of the Corridor says many are planning expansions, to the tune of a $61 million investment creating 90 new jobs…
“Those expansion plans are in the form of a facility, automation…possibly robots, equipment, technology, and also hiring of employees.”
Follon says a number of negatives and positives were identified in the report…
“Positives that we found were businesses are growing, introducing new product lines, they’re sales are increasing, and also their market share is increasing. The majority of their markets are mostly regional and national. Overall 82 percent of the businesses we interviewed are struggling with workforce issues. That is extremely high. Some of the difficult positions that they’re finding to fill are just their general labor and their manufacturing sectors, maintenance positions are high demand, skilled mechanical personnel, engineers, automotive, heating, cooling, and the manufacturing.”
It also identifies strengths and weaknesses in the Corridor. She outlines the strengths first…
“Work ethic, a supportive business community, and the quality of life amenities that we have in this region. The top weaknesses are the lack of workforce, childcare availability, and also housing. They’re still talking about housing, although we have made strides in that area.”
Follon says they’re already in the process of gathering information for the 2024 report.
