UERPC serves as the Economic Development District for Northeast Iowa and has become the leader in stimulating economic growth.  UERPC provides the technical assistance necessary to develop comprehensive loan packages, business plans and financial packaging structured to meet the size and needs of each individual business.  UERPC has a $2,250,000 regional loan pool for business expansion and new start-up businesses.  In 1997, UERPC was designated as an SBA 504 Associate Development Company.  With this designation, the Commission has another long-term financing program available for area businesses.

Our services include:

• Small Business Loans up to $150,000
• SBA 504 Financing
• Urban Renewal Plans for Tax Increment Financing
• Urban Revitalization Plans for Tax Abatement
• EDSA, CEBA and PFSA grant writing for state business assistance
• Regional Economic Development Coordination
• IowaMicroloan

For more information, contact Rachelle Howe or Diana Johnson.

Laborshed studies are supply-side, labor availability studies. They provide community leaders, economic developers, site selectors and existing or prospective employers a flexible tool for understanding the workforce characteristics of their local labor market.

A Laborshed is defined as the area or region from which an employment center draws its commuting workers. It shows the distribution of these workers regardless of political boundaries.  Laborshed studies also address underemployment, availability of labor and likeliness of the employed or not employed to change or accept employment. Other topics covered within a Laborshed analysis include: current and desired occupations, wages, hours worked, job search resources and distance willing to commute to work. For more information regarding survey methodology please visit the Laborshed Survey Methodology or the Laborshed Studies Homepage. 

As part of the The Northeast Iowa Business Network (NIBN)'s grant with the U.S. Department of
Commerce and contract with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (ISUEO)’s
Community and Economic Development (CED) program, an action planning session was performed to
examine themes drawn out from the primary and secondary data studies generated by ISUEO
CED. The process included visioning, identifying priorities, and strategic planning. Jane
Goeken and Eric Christianson, ISUEO community development specialists, agreed to organize
and facilitate a process that involved the following steps:

1. Conduct a visioning and action planning session with stakeholders.
2. Preparation of a final report including:
   • Participants’ vision for the Northeast Iowa area
   • Environmental scan
   • Development of a timeline and identification of a “champion” for each action step

In addition, other regional Field Specialists were tapped to review the data and action plan and
make further recommendations on similar programs and potential resources that may be of
interest to the NIBN group. Those recommendations are included in this report.