Regional Economic Development

The Benedum Foundation recently awarded a grant to Advantage Valley, an economic development organization, to implement the Entrepreneurial League System in a multi-county, multi-state region. “The Entrepreneurial League System will focus on helping communities develop entrepreneurial talent and build successful companies effectively, efficiently and equitably on a large-scale and sustainable basis.”

"It’s a tough one," Florida said in an interview. "It’s going to be very hard for rural towns to rebuild their towns if they just look inward. They’ve got to connect with a major metro."

Empire’s new digs will keep its 40 corporate jobs in the Coeur d’Alene area and bring at least 40 high-paying maintenance jobs to the airport with potential for future job growth.

Mission: To improve the competitiveness of industries and localities in the Asia Pacific region – by enhancing cluster-based development initiatives. We connect the dots!

It is no secret that the largest job creation in the country comes from small businesses and entrepreneurial efforts. Do the economic developers in the community you plan to start your business in truly understand this?

"If we can keep the American economy strong and growing and expanding, we’ll create lots of jobs. We always have," he said, seeking to address fears that many lost manufacturing jobs will never come back.

"We are excited about these new centers and their potential to create technology-based economic development opportunities and to create new knowledge," Tech president Charles Ruch said.

“There´s some learning that can go on here,” said Koepp. “Mid-ranking states are not confined to staying in that realm. They can break out and improve.”

No. 5, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. "Beautiful mountain setting" only 20 miles east of Spokane, but "growth and crowding are having an impact."

A high-tech business park three miles east of Jerome could make Magic Valley look more like Silicon Valley, regional economic development officials say.