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Program to help rural entreprenuers expands

September 30, 2005 By

A three-year pilot project in northeast Iowa designed to help rural entrepreneurs expand and grow their businesses is expanding statewide. The University of Northern Iowa’s regional business center is running the program called “Entrenet” with state funding from the Iowa Values fund. Center director Maureen Williams-Collins says the pilot program proved the idea can work. She says, “It’s based on the premise that talented, innovative entrepreneurs exist outside of urban regions. And if they’re given access to advanced technical assistance and training, market research, community support networks and access to capital, they’ll start, successfully operate and expand small businesses in rural parts of the state.”

Williams-Collins says the program can line the small business owners up with people who can answer their questions about a variety of issues. She says they’ve partner with the best entrepreneurial service providers in the state to make them available to people in rural areas in a way that makes them useful and fruitful as the plan to start or expand their businesses.

She says the program is wide open, but it’s the small businesses that’ll take advantage. She says probably 60-percent of the businesses they work with probably have fewer than 10 employees. She says the other 40-percent are light manufacturing, value-added ag companies, some technology firms. Williams-Collins says they aren’t trying to lure major manufacturing companies into rural Iowa, as she says it wouldn’t work if they wanted to. She says the rural areas don’t have the infrastructure to support really large businesses — but she says they have family values, community support, and the infrastructure to support a lot of smaller businesses.

Williams-Collins says they feel growing the small businesses is important for the state. She says a smaller more diverse economy allows the state to weather some of the things, like a recession or inflation, that put larger companies into a decline, and impact larger communities. Williams-Collins says over the next 90 days they’ll be selecting four new Entrenet regions that bid on the program. She says they’ll then begin receiving services in January and August of next year.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With:

Judge proposes tax credit for health care

September 30, 2005 By

State Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge, a Democratic candidate for governor, is proposing a new state tax credit that would help small businesses pay for their employees’ health insurance. “A small business that is struggling because of the high cost of covering health care, that might be the break they need,” Judge says. She says there’s a “crying need” for health care relief. Judge says if elected governor, this idea would be part of her overhaul of state economic development programs.

She is not enamored with the “Iowa Values Fund” which Governor Tom Vilsack, a fellow Democrat, devised and which was administered by one of her primary opponents, former Economic Development director Michael Blouin. The fund hands out huge grants to businesses promising to locate or expand in Iowa. Judge says the Values Fund awards aren’t getting spread around the state and the program “is not really doing the entire state as much good as it might.” She says “trickle down” economics doesn’t work and Iowans are telling her they’d like policymakers to take another look at the Values Fund.

Judge says it’s “questionable” in her mind whether the Values Fund has created any jobs outside the state’s cities. Judge, who was a nurse before entering politics, says she’s meeting privately with experts and plans to offer other health care reform ideas in the coming months. Judge is among the handful of candidates who are competing for the Democratic party’s 2006 nomination for governor.

Others seeking the nomination include Blouin, state Representative Ed Fallon, Secretary of State Chet Culver and Sioux City businessman Sal Muhammad.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Evelyn Miller’s mother testifies before grand jury

September 30, 2005 By

The mother of a slain five-year-old Floyd County girl is reportedly among those who have testified before a grand jury meeting in Cedar Rapids to hear evidence in the murder case. Noel Miller, the mother of Evelyn Miller, was among those seen at the federal courthouse Thursday morning. Miller’s fiancé, Casey Frederickson, was not among those who were at yesterday’s hearing. A grand jury met three weeks ago to hear evidence in the case, but no indictments were issued. Grand juries meet secretly to listen to testimony, then deciding whether or not anyone should be indicted in a case. Everyone in the grand jury session said they were instructed not to speak to the media about the case.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Architect to talk about rebuilding New Orleans

September 30, 2005 By

A Kansas City architect, whose firm is involved in helping replan hurricane-torn New Orleans, will address some 400 Iowa architects today (Friday). Steve McDowell is keynote speaker at the annual convention of the Iowa chapter of the American Institute of Architects. McDowell acknowledges there’s intense debate about the wisdom of rebuilding the historic Gulf Coast city -below- sea level. McDowell says it will take “rigorous study, very thoughtful people, really understanding all the issues, understanding the economics, understanding the cultural issues, all those things are going to need to be thought through, really scoured, before anyone’s going to be prepared to make the right recommendations.” After being badly battered by Hurricane Katrina, he says New Orleans is about to endure another massive change through the rebuilding process. McDowell says it’s “an incredible, culturally-valuable place” not just for New Orleans but for the whole country, for the world. Whatever happens, he says, needs to be really thoughtfully considered. McDowell works for B-N-I-M Architects of Kansas City, which he says is a firm that’s focused on restorative design, what he says is the philosophy of stewardship and the responsibility of making the world a better place. He says “Our practice is really focused on trying to make spaces that are very spirited, very appealing, very beautiful, have lasting appeal and also are very sensitive to the issues of the human being, issues of the environment and the issues of making sound economic decisions.” The Iowa chapter’s convention began Thursday and concludes today at the Polk County Convention Center Complex in Des Moines.

Filed Under: Human Interest

Boyfriend of Eveyln Miller’s mom arrested on child porn charge

September 30, 2005 By

For the first time since the sad saga of a slain northeast Iowa girl began nearly three months ago, an arrest has been made in connection with the case. Federal authorities have charged Casey Frederiksen, of Charles City, with possession of child pornography.

The 26-year-old Frederiksen is the fiancee of Noel Miller, the mother of five-year-old Evelyn Miller, who was found murdered near her home in Floyd in July. U.S. Attorney Charles Larson Senior announced today that Frederiksen is being charged with one count of possession of child pornography.

The charge is included in an indictment filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, and unsealed today. Frederiksen was arrested by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service last night. His first appearance in federal court is scheduled for 1 P.M. today. If Frederiksen is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. So far, officials have not made an arrest in connection with Evelyn Miller’s death.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Harkin says Vilsack’s idea sounds like his

September 30, 2005 By

Senator Tom Harkin says Governor Vilsack’s new idea about rebuilding the country’s cities sounds a lot like what Harkin himself touted when he was running for president over a decade ago. Vilsack, who like Harkin is a Democrat, says Congress should sell government-backed “Patriot Bonds” to finance rebuilding the infrastructure of the hurricane-wrecked Gulf Coast as well as the nation’s crumbling big cities. “Go back and get my ‘Blueprint for America’ that I had when I ran for president in 1991,” Harkin says. “It talked about rebuilding our infrastructure: our roads, our sewer and water systems, our schools.” Harkin says Vilsack’s repackaged a good idea. Harkin says the nation’s infrastructure serves as the “veins and arteries of commerce” and the private sector will be more profitable and more efficient if those “arteries” are “unplugged.” Harkin won Iowa’s 1992 Caucuses, but floundered in the New Hampshire primary and dropped out of the presidential race. Governor Vilsack is considering a bid for president in 2008.

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Leaders meet in Class 3A district 5

September 30, 2005 By

Two of the three teams tied for the lead in class 3A district five meet as sixth rated Mount Pleasant visits Washington. Mount Pleasant coach Bob Jensen says Washington running back Justin Griener will be tough to stop as he’s capable of breaking any play.Washington coach Chuck Henry says a victory tonight would be a good step toward the post-season but there is a lot of footbal left. He says even after this week they have four more district games and they have to be ready to go for each one.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:
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