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Economic Development

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Economic Recovery Advisory Board’s Government Working Group to meet Wednesday

One of the working groups of the Governor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board is scheduled to meet Wednesday. The Government Working Group is scheduled to meet from 10 a.m. to noon. It is one of seven …

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Small Business Recovery Grants through Greater Des Moines Partnership announced

UPDATE: This story adds communities that received grants that were not included in an earlier version.  
More than 250 Central Iowa businesses have been awarded grants through the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Small Business Recovery Grant …

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Big losses in arts, entertainment lead to 3.5% drop in Iowa GDP

Iowa’s gross domestic product fell 3.5% in the first quarter of 2020, behind steep declines in arts, entertainment and recreation, as the state shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus …

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Majority of SBA loan recipients failed to provide demographic information

Among the questions asked about the Small Business Administration’s forgivable loan program has been whether the aid is reaching minority business owners.

The short answer? It’s difficult to know.

That’s because 75% of the applicants …

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State awards $2.6M in Catalyst funding to rejuvenate Iowa downtowns

The Iowa Economic Development Authority awarded $2.6 million in Community Catalyst Building Remediation grants to 26 Iowa communities this week. The program was initiated in 2018 by IEDA, and designates $100,000 per community for redevelopment, …

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Thousands of Iowa jobs protected by Paycheck Protection Program, newly released data shows

The U.S. Small Business Administration today released some information about the Paycheck Protection Program, designed to help small companies retain workers during the pandemic. The chart shows the number of Iowa companies that received loans, …

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IEDA awards $21.9 million for historic preservation

Fifteen projects have been awarded nearly $22 million in historic preservation tax credits, the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced today. The Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program provides a state income tax credit for the restoration …

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NOTEBOOK: ISU economist foresees reduced demand for durable goods made in Iowa

Initial unemployment claims by Iowa manufacturing employees, which peaked at nearly 16,000 in late March, have tapered somewhat but still remain the highest among all of Iowa’s industry sectors. 

For the week ending June 6, …

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New jobless benefit claims tick up slightly while continuing claims drop

The number of continuing weekly claims declined to 143,488 from the adjusted number of 152,781 the prior week. The number of initial unemployment claims filed last week totaled 8,300, up slightly from the adjusted number …

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Workforce Development receives $3.45M federal grant for registered apprenticeships

Iowa Workforce Development has been awarded $3.45 million by the U.S. Department of Labor in grant funds to help Iowa expand its registered apprenticeship program. IWD will administer the money, which will support 823 new registered apprentices …