Heartland Forward, an Arkansas-based nonprofit “think and do tank,” this week released its latest research report, “The Labor Crisis and the Future of the Heartland.” The report “explores how decades of a reduction in domestic manufacturing, demographic shifts and labor force participation preceded – and exacerbated – the ‘Great Resignation’ experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.” The report’s co-author Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow with Heartland Forward, says that heartland states — the middle third of the U.S. including Iowa — are well-positioned to lead a resurgence in the U.S. labor market if they make investments in job training. An emphasis on building career pipelines to middle-skill jobs and tapping into the growing foreign-born populations are among the report’s recommendations, which in many ways are already being advanced in Iowa. It’s a good report to bookmark and take a look at.