(Spencer)– The Director of Iowa’s Department of Economic Development was in northwest Iowa today (Monday) touting the Iowa Values Fund.
Mike Blouin spoke to more than 100 business leaders and service club members at the Clay County Regional Events Center in Spencer.
Blouin told the crowd that in the last 18 months to two years, the Iowa Values Fund helped create wealth in the state. And he says it must be maintained to lead the state to a prosperous future.
The Governor has asked lawmakers to approve an 800 million dollar, five-year program to reinstate the Values Fund. Blouin isn’t sure if that will be enough to keep the program going though. He says it’s vital the legislature come up with a permanent source of funding to send businesses the message that Iowa is in it for the long haul.
The Values Fund has come under fire from some lawmakers who say it benefits primarily urban areas. Republican State Senator David Johnson of Ocheyedan told KUOO news in a recent interview he wants to know how the fund would benefit northwest Iowa before voting to provide funding to the program. Blouin says of the 2.2 billion dollars the program has helped leverage in the state, northwest Iowa has seen a half billion dollars in capital investment. But more importantly, Blouin says, is that the Values Fund has increased wages for northwest Iowans.
Blouin also made a stop today (Monday) in Storm Lake.
(Story from Danielle Hitchings of sister station KDWD Hot 100 in Spencer.).
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