Rural Economic Development Summit at NIACC Thursday

MASON CITY — The annual Rural Economic Development Summit hosted by First Citizens Bank, North Iowa Area Community College and the North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corporation will take place tomorrow on the NIACC campus.

First Citizens assistant vice president Julie Bauer says the rural economy is important to north-central Iowa. “We all know that Iowa in general is skewed a little bit older for our demographic and people are leaving. Our population isn’t as robust as other states, so we need to do what we can to continue to attract and retain that workforce for people to continue to grow our communities and to make sure Mason City and north Iowa remain a viable place to raise a family and have a career, and all those things. So, working together to kind of come up with ideas to make that a reality.”

Bauer says keynote speaker Steve Bench will discuss rural talent acquisition and retention.  “It’s just really hard, what attracts someone? We talk about amenities a lot. We talk about housing, we talk about child care. All of those things are important, but what does that mean for each generation? You know Mason City in general has done a lot to move forward. The upcoming Chick-fil-A is a great example of something that got people very excited about Mason City, so just wanting to keep that momentum moving forward and help build on that for other rural areas and smaller communities in our region.”

Bauer says there will also be a panel discussion involving several young north-central Iowa business leaders.   “We’re just going to pick their brains about this same topic, what are ways that we can continue to attract a robust workforce. What are some tactics and strategies that we need to either consider or modify, or what does that look like? How do we continue to get the best and the brightest to come and stay or move to north Iowa, and to continue to grow our workforce. Trying to just talk to different people from industries, get their thoughts and opinions, and see what we can learn.”

The summit takes place at the NIACC Auditorium tomorrow from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It’s free and open to the public, with a lunch served as part of the day’s events.

Click this link to RSVP for the event and see the full schedule.