SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- The seventh annual Midstates Community and Economic Development Conference will be held Tuesday, March 20, at the Marina Inn, Fourth and B Streets in South Sioux City, Neb. The focus of the one-day program is to offer successful strategies and innovative ideas to advance community and rural development in the three state region. The conference is a joint partnership of agencies and organizations in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Beth Davis, president of South Dakota Rural Enterprise, will open the conference with a session on Imagining the future of the Northern Great Plains. Four stories of the possible futures of the Northern Great Plains will be explored by participants. The scenarios can be previewed at www.meadowlarkproject.com.
Eight workshops on successful community development efforts will be presented by local leaders who were “in the trenches.” They will answer questions on what it takes for a successful local development project. Topics for these workshops include entrepreneurship, regional collaborations, creative financing, main street improvements, organic/value added agriculture, and improving the quality of life (such as walking and biking trails).
Presentations will be made from the following communities. In Iowa: Alton, Cherokee, Clarion, Lake Park, Onawa, Orange City, Rock Valley, Sioux City, Storm Lake, and Woodbury County. In Nebraska: Bassett, Laurel, Plainview, Tilden, Wayne. In South Dakota: Faulkton, Jerauld County, Turner County, and Hutchinson County.
“Hearing success stories from local communities empowers those who come to learn,” said Woodbury County Extension Education Director Sherry McGill. “That plus the networking opportunities for local community leaders is what makes this conference so useful to people.” Communities are encouraged to bring four or more representatives to the conference so one person can be at each of the four sessions that will run concurrently. Over the years, average attendance for the conference has been around 200 local leaders from the region.
Pat McGill from McGill Training Resources will be presenting the afternoon program discussing how area leaders can leave fear behind and live their best lives possible, in heart-spirited communities that are real, rural, ready, reachable and remarkable.
The planning committee for the Midstates conference is made up of Woodbury County Extension-Iowa State University; University of Nebraska Lincoln-Extension; USDA Rural Development of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota; Nebraska Loess Hills RC&D; Sioux Rivers RC&D; SIMPCO Council of Governments; City of South Sioux City, Neb.; East River Electric Power Cooperative; Center for Rural Affairs; Plymouth County, Iowa, Economic Development; South Dakota Rural Enterprise Inc.; Siouxland Community Foundation; Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative; SCORE; and U.S. Small Business Administration.
Financial sponsors of the conference include Avera Health, Central Bank, East River Electric Power Cooperative, Elkhorn Valley Economic Development Council, First American Bank, Great Plains Communications, Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa-Nebraska State Bank, Iowa State University Community Vitality Center, Mr. Lance Ehmcke, Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Nebraska Public Power District, University of Nebraska Rural Initiative, Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative, Plymouth County Economic Development; Security National Bank Trust, SIMPCO Council of Governments, Sioux City Journal, Siouxland Community Foundation, The Siouxland Initiative, South Dakota Community Foundation, South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota Rural Enterprise Inc., Wells Blue Bunny and Woodbury County Rural Economic Development.
A conference program and registration form can be downloaded at www.extension.iastate.edu/woodbury. Registration, including lunch, is $35 before Monday, March 12, and $45 after that date. For more information, call Woodbury County Extension Education Director Sherry McGill at (712) 276-2157.
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