The owners of small and medium-sized Iowa businesses are encouraged to attend an economic development forum next month. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is hosting the July 1st event at Kirkwood College in Cedar Rapids. Grassley says the free forum will feature expert speakers on topics like: exporting, contracting with the federal government, regulatory issues, tax and health care policy, and on obtaining construction contracts in Iraq. U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans will be the keynote speaker. Grassley says small businesses “are the engine of economic growth and job creation.” Nationwide, small businesses employ half of all private sector employees and pay 44-percent of the private sector payrolls. In Iowa, businesses with fewer than 50 employees make up more than 95-percent of all employers. More than half of Iowa’s businesses employ fewer than five people. Grassley says “The vitality and diversity of Iowa’s economic future obviously depends on the success of small business startups and even the expansion of existing small businesses.” For details on the forum, call (319) 363-6832.
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