Author Archives: Grow Cedar Valley

Community Encourage to Complete Waterloo Regional Airport Air Service Survey

Requested by Grow Cedar Valley Air Service Working Group

CEDAR VALLEY OF IA – A local volunteer committee of Grow Cedar Valley (formerly the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber), released the 2019 Air Service Survey to receive valued input by Cedar Valley regional businesses and the general public regarding air service priorities at the Waterloo Regional Airport (ALO).

Survey topics include satisfaction with current air service, options to include additional flights to the current destination of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, offering flights to new destinations, in addition to other miscellaneous air service-related survey questions.

Survey responses will only be accepted from now until June 28^th,2019.

The survey can be found at: https://www.growcedarvalley.com/cms/405/Waterloo_Regional_Airport

Keith Kaspari, Airport Director at Waterloo Regional Airport provided comment, “The information collected by the survey will assist City of Waterloo, Grow Cedar Valley Staff, Airport Board and Community Officials, to identify future air service priorities at the Waterloo Regional Airport in preparation for the bidding of Waterloo’s air service by officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation later this summer.”

Therefore, with public input, the Grow Cedar Valley Air Service Working Group will have information in-hand to discuss air service priorities with the airlines that community officials anticipate will show interest (American Airlines and United Airlines) in submitting a bid to provide scheduled service to Waterloo Regional Airport under a new two-year contract that would begin on or around May 1, 2020.

Cary Darrah, Chief Executive Officer of Grow Cedar Valley, and a member of the Committee, provided comment: “The goal of the Committee during this bidding cycle, is to get the public engaged earlier than we did in 2017, in providing information regarding their business-related or public leisure travel priorities for scheduled service at ALO.”

Darrah, continued, “The Committee believes the Cedar Valley will continue to be well served with airline service to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The Committee would also like to see additional frequency to Chicago, and potential future scheduled service to either Dallas on American Airlines or direct westbound service to Denver on United Airlines. After years of the limited weekly departures offered at the Waterloo Regional Airport through the USDOT’s Essential Air Service program, which provides a weekly maximum of 13 roundtrip departures, these additional options would allow Waterloo Regional Airport and the Greater Cedar Valley Region to begin to reverse the passenger leakage to larger regional airports in Iowa or larger international airports in Minnesota.”

More information can be obtained by contacting Committee Members Keith Kaspari, Airport Director at 319-291-4483, orKEITH.KASPARI@WATERLOO-IA.ORG, or Dave Beaty at 319-277-1059 orDAVE@HEARTLANDFINANCIAL.NET

About Grow Cedar Valley Air Service Working Group

Grow Cedar Valley Air Service Working Group’s goal is to assist the City of Waterloo and the Waterloo Airport Board to maximize the economic benefit of the Waterloo Regional Airport for the Cedar Valley. The working group’s primary goal is to facilitate improvements in commercial air service at the Airport.

About the Waterloo Regional Airport

Waterloo Regional Airport offers 50-minute inflight and direct commercial service to Chicago O’Hare International Airport for connecting flights to over 700 cities worldwide on American Airlines and their One World Alliance partners.

Waterloo Regional Airport has an FAA-owned Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and General Aviation (GA) facilities, including hangar rentals and a full-service Fixed Base Operator (FBO) with Livingston Aviation. In addition, the Army National Guard has assigned helicopters using the Airport to support its flight operations.

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Cedar Valley Leadership Institute: Red Team Partners with House of Hope Pillars

Written by Red Team Member Julie Sorensen

The CVLI Red Team really wanted their service project to concentrate on helping out children in the foster care program. After researching multiple organizations we partnered with the House of Hope Pillars program.

Pillars is a program ran by the House of Hope that aids females (ages 18-24) aging out of the foster care program transition to independent living. Transitioning out of foster care is a significant challenge—it requires you to grow up. Fast. The programming provided helps make that transition a little easier, and a little less scary. Each resident that joins the Pillars program and House of Hope receives a permanent home for two years, encouragement and support to achieve independence, individualized case management assistance, support services, and life skills classes, mentoring, and tutoring services.

The CVLI Red team chose to provide life skills classes for the residents this past spring. The team members met with the residents and provided hour long sessions on differing topics including, taxes, financial literacy, job applications and resume building, cooking, and auto maintenance. The residents were very open to advice and full of questions! The opportunity to get to know the three residents on a more personal level was very enjoyable. Many of the members have signed up again for next year’s life skills classes.

At the end of our sessions in May we all came back to the house and provided a potluck cook out. We played bags, which were provided by last year’s CVLI service project, and had a great time! In addition, we presented Susan Backes, Pillars case manager, with a check to further enhance the programming of Pillars!

For more information about House of Hope and the Pillars organization check out their site at www.houseofhopeccd.org.

Grow Cedar Valley Supports Upcoming Cedar Falls School Proposal

CEDAR VALLEY OF IA – The Grow Cedar Valley Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse the proposed school bond request by the Cedar Falls Community School District. The District proposes to fund the building of a new high school on 50 acres of district owned land near W. 27th Street and Hudson Road, at a total cost of $112.9 Million. The general obligation bond request is for $69.9 Million, the remaining $43 Million would be covered by the one-cent sales tax.

The Board took the action following a presentation by the District’s Superintendent Dr. Andy Pattee during its May 21 meeting. Grow Cedar Valley CEO Cary Darrah said, “Supporting education in general is the foundation of building a workforce that will compete and provide global expertise for our local economy. Our unanimous support of the new high school for Cedar Falls extends that commitment to building a workforce that will contribute to our economy and local economic development efforts to attract and retain businesses in the Cedar Valley.”

Cedar Falls High School

The proposed Cedar Falls High School will accommodate the projected enrollment growth, provide 21st century flexible learning spaces, as well as provide a safer and more accessible building. Additionally, new high school facility is estimated to cost less than renovating the existing building.

The Grow Cedar Valley Board of Directors also considered the value added to taxpayers, as well as the benefit to future students who in time will enter the workforce and become citizens of our community.

Eric Johnson, Grow Cedar Valley Board Chair

Vote “Yes” on June 25

“Investment in 21st century classrooms and modern learning environments is essential to providing the type of education our future citizens need for success,” said Eric Johnson, Grow Cedar Valley Board Chair. Johnson added, “Quality schools are one of the top factors that attract talent, families, and educators to the area. It is imperative that we support this investment to not only attract the talent needed now, but to also assure the future pipeline of qualified talent.”

Grow Cedar Valley encourages all voters of the Cedar Falls School District to view this initiative favorably, and as an investment in the future generations of Cedar Valley citizens. We encourage businesses, parents, and all patrons of the Cedar Falls Community School District to support the Cedar Falls School Bond on Tuesday, June 25.

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Grow Cedar Valley Hosts Post Session Legislative Breakfast

WATERLOO,IA – Grow Cedar Valley is hosting a Post Session Legislative Breakfast on Thursday, June 13 for investors/members. The event will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Sunnyside County Club, 1600 Olympic Dr., Waterloo.

Grow Cedar Valley investors are encouraged to attend and review the 2019 session with a panel of legislators. Hear their take on the topics of interest to you and other business leaders from the Cedar Valley.

There is no cost to attend. RSVP deadline is Thursday, June 6. For more information or to RSVP contact Bette Wubbena or call 319-232-1156.

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Grow Cedar Valley Hosts Good Morning Cedar Valley

WATERLOO, IA – Grow Cedar Valley is hosting Good Morning Cedar Valley, a quarterly networking breakfast for investors on Thursday, June 20. The event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at Iowa Sports Supply, 3121 Capital Way, Cedar Falls.

The June program will include briefings on current events by Cedar Falls Mayor Jim Brown, Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart, and Grow Cedar Valley’s CEO, Cary Darrah. Each breakfast attracts more than 150 investors.

There is no cost to attend. RSVP deadline is Thursday, June 13. For more information or to RSVP contact Bette Wubbena at bette@growcedarvalley.com or by calling 319-232-1156. Sponsors for the event include: premier sponsor Iowa Sports Supply; gold sponsors Courier Communications and NXT Bank.

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Good Morning Cedar Valley set for June 20

CVLI: Green Team Partners with L.O.S.T

Written by Elyse Platt, 2018-19 CVLI Green Team Member

CVLI participants have the opportunity to truly become more integrated into their community through training / educational sessions, networking, and service projects. As a participant of CVLI this year and on the Green Team, our team decided to partnered with the Autism Society of Iowa, the Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) fraternity at UNI, and Loved Ones Safe Together (LOST) to raise money for services that assist those with autism and Alzheimer’s. We planned and hosted a fundraiser for LOST on a Friday evening; the PSE fraternity and Autism Society of Iowa provided silent auction items for the fundraiser and followed up with the Tour De Falls bike ride on Saturday morning.

The LOST program is voluntary and will assist vulnerable citizens during times of crisis and emergency. It is a partnership with local law enforcement to identify and help those prone to wandering. There are multiple options within the LOST program available. Project Lifesaver uses a GPS locator to assist first responders and caregivers in locating a loved one. Vitals Aware Services aids in interactions between first responders and individuals with developmental, physical, mental or behavioral conditions by voluntarily communicating critical information through a signaling beacon and a smart phone app; the beacon can be attached to a keychain, bracelet, or phone. MedicAlert ID bracelets are also available.

Our fundraiser was held on Friday, April 26^th at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. We organized a catered meal from Mama Nick’s, a silent auction, and offered art activities and Phelps Youth Pavilion access to all attendees. All our hard work and efforts paid off as, raising over $3,200 for LOST and its services for the community.

Learn more about LOST or how you can make a difference at http://www.bhcso.org/ContentPage.aspx?id=278

2018-19 CVLI Green Team (not all members present)

Green Team Members

Heather Arnold, Junior Achievement of Eastern IA
Brad Corely, Hogan-Hanse, P.C.
Natalie Dlouhy, Lincoln Savings Bank
Maggie Dougherty, Invision Architecture
Rick Jaacks
McKenzie Krieger, John Deere
Micki McCracken, Tri Country Child & Family Dev.
Joel Moorhead, Budget Blinds
Michael Nicholasr, John Deere TCAO
Elyse Platt, CUNA Mutual Group

Live the Valley Reaches ONE MILLION

Written by Aaron Jarnagin, Digital Marketing Specialist

We’re excited to share that Live the Valley, a digital talent attraction and retention initiative, has reached over ONE MILLION people across the U.S. since its launch on August 28^th, 2018; sharing the story of the Cedar Valley and why it is a good place, with great people and amazing opportunities. This initiative is operated by Grow Cedar Valley in partnership with the Cedar Valley Regional Partnership.

Live the Valley shares the message of the Cedar Valley through social media (Facebook and Instagram), a magazine (both in print and digital), and a website with a job board; featuring opportunities from across the Cedar Valley. Over nine-hundred and fifty jobs have been shared nationally through Live the Valley, showing the wide range of employment opportunities that the Cedar Valley has to offer.

There have been some exciting projects along the way; promoting and sharing the Cedar Valley and the benefits of calling our region home.

First, the cost of living calculator has been a game changer with increasing site engagement. It makes the calculating of cost of living easy, and it showcases the affordable cost of living in the Cedar Valley while highlighting the great opportunities here.

https://livethevalley.com/cost-of-living/

It only takes a moment to use. Check it out!

Second, the job board updates newsletter has increased engagement with our job board, and those who are actively seeking new positions. This weekly newsletter launched in December and sends weekly updates with new positions and what industries those positions are in. Since December, over 420 talent leads have signed up for the newsletter, and 360+ leads are currently receiving the weekly job updates.

Of those that have unsubscribed from the newsletter, many have cited that they no longer need to receive job board updates or have found employment. 60% of those who have subscribed to the newsletter are from outside of the Cedar Valley.

Live the Valley is not done yet, we are excited for the things to come, and the partnerships that have been made, propelling this initiative forward. This summer we will be co-hosting the Intern Summer Social Series, a series of events for Cedar Valley interns to connect, engage and explore area hot spots and network with peers and professionals.

If your organization has interns this Summer, you will not want to miss this! View more info.

How can you get involved with Live the Valley?

Easy and most-importantly, submit your jobs to the Live the Valley job board. Showcasing all the opportunities here is paramount to showcasing the wide variety of opportunities and industries that the Cedar Valley has to offer. The Cedar Valley is in the top 25% of communities nationwide in regards to industry diversity.

Also, share content with us! We love to know when there are exciting things going on in the Cedar Valley, and it’s hard to catch them all. So, reach out!

Thank you to those who have both already. You have been a key part of this initiatives success and continued success moving forward.

Measuring Cedar Valley’s Economic Stability

Written by Lisa Rivera Skubal CEcD, VP of Economic Development

There are many ways to measure the economy. Grow Cedar Valley recently came across some additional data while updating the 2019 Cedar Valley Fact Sheet that we want to share.

The Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area ranks 86 out of 382 metros for industry diversity according to the latest data aggregated based off U.S. Census Bureau and US Health Department.

Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa MSA

The Waterloo/Cedar Falls’ MSA industry diversity is 77.7%. It’s no surprise that capital-intensive manufacturing and engineering-intensive manufacturing significantly outpace other MSAs; very few MSAs can speak to having high ranks in both clusters. The Cedar Valley TechWorks planning team is working hard on how they can impact the next generation of manufacturing in the Cedar Valley and in State of Iowa. Stay tuned.

Healthcare and Education outpace a typical metro MSA thanks to the robust healthcare systems we enjoy and the forward-thinking of PreK-12, higher education, and regionally based Leader Valley/Leader In Me initiatives.

Thanks to having a strong farming community we naturally outpace a typical MSA in this industry cluster.

A region with high diversity can signal economic stability and more easily withstand economic pressures. This means that employment is distributed more evenly amongst 12 industry clusters compared to a typical Metro MSA as illustrated below.

Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa MSA

The work Grow Cedar Valley does in collaboration with public and private partners is to contribute to a diversified business base. We thank all these partners for their contribution.

This long-term work and collaboration continue.

For more information contact VP of Economic Development, Lisa Rivera Skubal or call 319/232-1156.

Economic Development Week: The Importance of Celebrating the Community You Call home.

Written by Aaron Jarnagin, Digital Marketing Specialist

What are your top three favorite things about the community you live in? Is it the short commute, the good schools or the great people that also call your community home? Whatever those reasons may be, it’s important that those strengths are shared and celebrated.

Why?

Celebrating and promoting the community that you call home is an important piece of economic development. When talking about why this concept is so important, we asked those who are working for their communities every day; sharing and celebrating their communities, and who understand why it is so important, Cedar Valley city’s officials and staff.

“I think it is very important that people celebrate the city they live and work in. Who else knows the community better and can speak about what it has to offer? If you truly want to attract people to live there or visit there, you need to believe in it and support it both in your words and actions…If you can’t get excited about all the great things that your City has to offer, how can you expect someone else who has never been there to do that? I think true economic development starts at home and sometimes starts very small,” shared James W. Bronner, city administrator for the city of Waverly, IA.

“We must be intentional in our celebration of all the good happening in our communities. We must point out achievement and success, draw attention to growth and investment, and raise up those who champion prosperity for all. We must beat the steady cadence of progress leading our communities forward,” shares Wendy Bowman, communications director for the city of Waterloo.

When community members stand behind the place in which they live, the message can be very powerful. We believe that this piece of economic development is one of the most important and plays into the larger picture of economic development, summed up well by Cedar Falls Mayor, Jim Brown,

“Aside from a faith-focused community, economic development is the cornerstone of where everyone lives. It’s one of the most dynamic aspects of life in our communities that involves so many stakeholders. This includes those with capital to invest in infrastructure and employment opportunities and reaches far and wide to “funding” organizations, churches, education, quality of life, and all of the partnerships within the four walls of Cedar Falls… that spills out to the entire Cedar Valley.”

So, what does it look like to celebrate your community?

Hudson Mayor George M. Wessel is passionate about his community, and some of the great things that Hudson can offer. He provided a great message that serves as a great example as to how to support your community,

“Some people who choose to come to the Cedar Valley like our close-knit community of Hudson. We enjoy our proximity to the amenities that the rest of the Cedar Valley has to offer. We bring another aspect of Iowa life to the Cedar Valley with our variety of housing options, and small-town services that help make the Cedar Valley a completely great place to live, work, and play,” shared Mayor Wessel.

At Grow Cedar Valley, we are very fortunate to be the regional economic development representatives for our Cedar Valley community, the opportunities we have and the great people that we are lucky to call our neighbors.

“The priorities of Grow Cedar Valley are to help businesses and communities grow by removing barriers, and to celebrate the Cedar Valley region as a place to grow your business and enhance your workforce. Celebrating the Cedar Valley is something everyone can do by supporting and investing in the many initiatives that make our communities uniquely different and appealing,” shares Cary Darrah, CEO of Grow Cedar Valley.

We would love to see what you enjoy about living here. If you share something about our community use #CelebratingMyCommunity on social media.

If you want to learn more about how you can get involved and celebrate the Cedar Valley community contact Aaron Jarnagin, Digital Marketing Specialist or call 319/232-1156.