(Okoboji)– The Iowa Department of Economic Development and Iowa Values Fund Boards of Directors met in joint session Friday at Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center in Okoboji.
Mike Blouin, Director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, tells KUOO news the boards spent most of the day reviewing the first phase of the Grow Iowa Values Fund, which he’s touting as a huge success. Blouin says it surpassed all expectations, saying that in the first two years the program created or retained 275 companies in 82 counties with three billion dollars in capital investments creating 18,008 jobs at an annual starting pay of 37,200-dollars. Blouin says their goal is to surpass that now that the legislature has renewed the program another 10 years to the tune of roughly 35 million dollars a year. Of that, Blouin says community colleges will receive seven million a year for workforce training and re-training; the regents institutions will five million annually to maintain brick and mortar. Blouin says he’s very pleased with the legislation.
Friday’s meeting in Okoboji was the final one for the existing Values Fund board members, who’s terms are all up. Blouin says the Governor by law must select 15 members of the 22 that comprise the DED and Values Fund Boards to make up the new board. He’s hoping that will be done in the next few weeks and that the new board will be able to hold its first meeting about July 7th.
