The Bio-Village Project Meets The Iowa Values Fundby John Drury
We hear a lot about the Iowa Values Fund and the handouts to large corporations in order to get them to stay in Iowa or perhaps move their business to Iowa. There are those who say we should continue these, that it’s the only way to compete with other states, and there are those who say that it’s nothing more than precious tax dollars out the window.
In north Iowa, when you bring up the Values Fund, a common criticism is that most of the awards are going to the metropolitan areas and that the rural areas of the state are being left to fend for themselves. There have been some Values Fund dollars to make it this far north, but one could certainly argue that it has not created the kind of jobs that are needed.
When asked about the criteria for a Values Fund award, state economic development officials will tell you that one of the things they look at is the return on investment that the state will receive. If the state is going to invest in a company to bring jobs to the area, it’s going to be good paying jobs and a lot of them, they say.
While that criteria certainly makes some sense, I think it’s also important to keep in mind that the entire state should be put on a level playing field for economic development dollars. For example, if I have a project in Des Moines that promises to create 20 jobs, it would hardly be noticed; but if I have a project that would create 20 jobs in Swaledale, it would be huge.
The Swaledale Bio-Village project is something I have been working on now for over a year. The project involves a bio-fuel station offering 85% ethanol and other alternative fuels, an Iowa products store and restaurant, and an RV Park; all located right off Interstate 35 in northern Iowa. The entire project incorporates a state of the art design that would rely on renewable forms of energy to power the facility, taking full advantage of wind and solar power, as well as utilizing renewable materials in its construction.
But perhaps the most interesting component is the state certified food-processing kitchen. I want to focus on the kitchen in this column as I think it best illustrates rural Iowa’s ability to come up with creative solutions to economic development. The food-processing kitchen would provide a facility for local farmers and growers to process their crops and add value to them. It would also serve as a business incubator sparking entrepreneurism in the entire region. For example, let’s say you make the world’s best salsa, and everyone tells you they wish they could buy it in the store because it’s so good. But since you make the salsa in your home kitchen, you are unable to sell it at retail outlets. You are limited to farmer’s markets and bake sales. If you use this facility to make your salsa, it can then be sold in retail outlets and even sold to restaurants. All of a sudden, you have a business.
This approach to economic development illustrates that with a lot of work, rural Iowa doesn’t have to succumb to the corporate farms and can become a celebration of itself. I believe that rural communities can take innovative approaches to economic development and be successful. I also believe that the state legislature should find a stable funding source for the Iowa Values Fund and put north Iowa on a level playing field with the rest of the state.
To date, we have received a $12,500 matching USDA planning grant as well as a local grant for development of the RV Park. We fully intend on seeking Values Fund dollars for this project.
Have questions or want more information on the Bio-Village project? Feel free to email me at jdrury@frontiernet.net
