Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP) Executive Director Kimberly Tiefenthaler recently highlighted some of the economic development agency’s work to the Carroll County Board of Supervisors. Tiefenthaler says much of CCGP’s work is done behind the scenes, but one of their more recent programs, the façade improvement grants, is quite visible and popular.
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She adds that the city councils for Carroll and Glidden have implemented their own programs to piggyback on what CCGP is already offering. She also points to the former JCPenney building, which is now home to Fusion Dance and the Scoops & Co. ice cream shop, as an example of how big changes can take a long time. According to Tiefenthaler, people consider economic development as bringing new businesses to the county. While that is certainly a part of what they do, she says their priority is supporting the businesses that are already here and make up the backbone of our local economy.
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Instead, CCGP is working with local employers to identify what they need to succeed and connecting them with those resources, such as succession planning or access to capital. She says the biggest challenge new and existing businesses continue to cite is workforce shortages. Tiefenthaler says CCGP is working with Iowa Workforce Development on an updated laborshed study.
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Carroll County’s most recent laborshed study was released in 2020, and the updated data will help community leaders, such as Tiefenthaler, better plan for the future. She says an often-overlooked part of economic development is identifying and encouraging growth in future leaders, which CCGP has done for nearly three decades via the Carroll County Leadership Institute.
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Tiefenthaler adds that Carroll County faces many of the same challenges as other rural parts of the nation, and economic development is a long-term endeavor. She assures the county supervisors and their constituents that CCGP is working tirelessly to maintain existing opportunities and bring new ones to Carroll County. Tiefenthaler’s full report to the Carroll County Board of Supervisors is included with this story on our website.
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