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Welcome | ||
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You have just
received the December issue of the iNode for the Iowa Innovation Gateway
(IIG) region which includes Jasper, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Poweshiek,
Story and Tama counties in Iowa. This region
represents the first region in the nation to have received a Department of
Labor Regional Innovation Grant and the first RIG region to complete its
regional innovation plan. We now need
the help of our entire network to implement the plan.
Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a network to
implement a regional innovation plan. The quarterly
distribution of the iNode will be used to seek your assistance in
implementing our strategies and growing our network as well as updating
you on successes in the region. For more
frequent updates on our work and success in the Iowa Innovation Gateway
region, join the network on www.LinkedIn.com. We have created
an Iowa Innovation Gateway group to keep our network engaged and
informed. The group now exceeds 175 members. If you are
not a member of the group yet, join us today and engage in the
discussion. | |||
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Talent
Pipeline |
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Regional Schools to Participate In Science Learning
Study | |||
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In June, the
IIG region began working with Professor Brian Hand of the University of
Iowa to identify schools in the region willing to participate in a federal
grant he received to study the effectiveness of science writing heuristic
(SWH) teaching methods in grades 3-5. SWH teaching methods use an
inquiry approach that helps build students’ science content knowledge,
argumentation skills, and interest as a foundation for scientific
literacy. Regional
educational leaders were invited to two meetings within the IIG region to
hear Professor Hand speak about his study. At the meetings,
Professor Hand also shared the encouraging results that earlier SWH
studies have shown in increasing students’ standardized test scores.
Videos of the June meeting can be viewed on YouTube—click here.
From the
meetings and additional communications with our regional education
leaders, we have identified 6 school districts with 10 elementary school
buildings that are going to participate in the study. In addition to
the potential to increase our regional students’ ability to succeed in a
world and global economy increasing influenced by science and technology,
each of our regional schools participating will receiving $10,000 per
participating school building for their efforts. With 10
buildings confirmed, there will be an additional $100,000 infused into our
regional school districts over the next 3 years.
Action
Item: There is still time for additional schools to be added to the
study. Please encourage your school districts to view the video and
consider participating. They can contact either Kim Didier at kdidier@iowaabi.org or Brian Hand at
brian-hand@uiowa.edu for more
information.
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Promoting Innovation and Industry
Transformation | |||
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Iowa is one of
two states in the country to receive funding for a new demonstration
project from the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training
Administration to develop regional networks that successfully link
resources in the promotion of new innovation and industry
transformation. The Iowa
Innovation Gateway in its unique partnership with the Iowa Association of
Business and Industry has entered into a contract with Iowa Workforce
Development to support the development of these regional networks.
The partnership builds on ABI’s long heritage as the largest business
association in the state of Iowa and the demonstrated success of the Iowa
Innovation Gateway in developing a foundational, vibrant, mapped and
managed network of business leaders, educators, workforce and economic
developers. The
partnership is developing and leveraging regional and statewide networks
through essentially three steps: 1.
Engaging
regional business leaders through personal meetings and conversations to
understand existing regional leaders, networks, and development efforts
across the state of Iowa 2.
Mapping
existing regional networks through a survey instrument;
and 3.
Bringing
business leaders together in events with regional young professionals, at
regional summits with community partners and at the 2010 ABI Convention
with other business leaders to share information and identify key
strategies to strengthen networks and linkages to innovation
assets. More
information on the demonstration project can be found by clicking here.
Action
Item: As a member of the Iowa Innovation Gateway network, you are
likely to receive an invitation to participate in any one of these 3
steps. Please take the time to engage in the process and support
economic prosperity for the regions of Iowa through your
participation. | |||
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Regional
Assets and Infrastructure |
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Knoxville VA Hospital Patients
Transferred | |||
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This month the
last transfer of patients from the Knoxville VA Hospital to a Des Moines
facility was completed bringing to an end the majority of the services
once provided at the 163-acre, 39 building medical campus in the Iowa
Innovation Gateway region. At its peak, the complex employed 1,500
medical professionals and others from the region and maintained nearly
2,000 hospital beds. For more on the story of the regional asset, click
here . Knoxville
Mayor Harvey Sprafka recently hosted a meeting of regional education,
workforce, economic development, and business leaders to discuss reuse
concepts for the campus. Also participating in the December
2nd meeting by conference call was Bruce Haas of Industrial
Reality Group (IRG). IRG is the company that bought the former
Maytag manufacturing facilities and has worked with the Veteran’s
Administration on the reuse of other VA facilities across the
country. The VA has
officially issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (REI) in
redeveloping the campus. Based on responses to the request, the VA
could decide to issue a Request for Proposals or just designate the campus
as surplus property and leave it unused. To view the REI, click
here. Leaving the
campus unused is not the desire of the community or the region and the
December 2nd meeting has seemed to initiate some new
ideas and concepts about how to respond to the decommissioning of this
important regional asset. Action
Item: If you know of any developers or organizations that might be
interested in use of the Knoxville VA campus or have other ideas for reuse
of the campus, please contact Harvey Sprafka at handcsprafka@iowatelecom.ent
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Regional
Assets and Infrastructure |
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Improving U.S.
Highway 63 | |||
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Running north
and south through 3 of the 7 Iowa Innovation Gateway counties is U.S.
Highway 63. The road is a continuous multi-state route between Columbia,
MO and the Twin Cities. The majority of the route has been improved
except for a segment that runs through the Iowa Innovation Gateway
region. Earlier this year with leadership from Mahaska County
Development Group, City of Oskaloosa and Mahaska County, the East Central
Iowa Transportation Coalition was formed to advocate for improvements to
Highway 63. On January 14,
2010 in Oskaloosa at the George Daily Auditorium, a public input meeting
will be held to solicit ideas and suggestions for improvements to the
highway. The Coalition members are especially interested in hearing
directly from regional business owners about their needs to remain
competitive or expand their operations in the
region. Action
Item: Plan to attend the January 14th meeting to provide
input on improvements needed to Highway 63 to stimulate economic growth in
the region. Let those in your network who have an interest in
transportation issues know about the meeting. For more information
on the Coalition, contact Miranda Johnson at mcard@mahaskacounty.org
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Iowa
Innovation Gateway Funders | |||
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Thank you to
all the funding organizations that make the work of the Iowa Innovation
Gateway possible: U.S. Department of Labor, Fisher’s Division of
Emerson Controls, Des Moines Area Community College, CIRAS/MEP, Alliant
Energy, MidAmerican Energy, Poweshiek County, Marion County, Marshall
County, Jasper County, Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa
Workforce Development, and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.
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WHY
iNode? | |||
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Perhaps some
of you are asking the question “Why iNode” for the name of our regional
newsletter. The name goes back to our vision of creating a dynamic,
vibrant network that works collaboratively in creating a globally
competitive region in Central Iowa. In a
communications network, a node (Latin
nodus, ‘knot’) is an active electronic device that is attached to a
network, and is capable of sending, receiving, or forwarding information
over a communications channel. The “i” then represents both Iowa and
Innovation. We do
hope that indeed within the communications network of the Iowa Innovation
Gateway, the iNode will become a central point of sending, receiving, and
forwarding information to all of you who are supporting our vision and
collaborating to bring the vision alive. Archives of iNode can be
read by clicking this link: iNode
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To
unsubscribe, please email kdidier@iowaabi.org
with “Unsubscribe” as the
subject. 904
Walnut Street Des
Moines, Iowa 50309 515-235-0576 | |||
