The East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) is a regional planning agency serving Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Washington Counties. The ECICOG Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) was established for new and existing business within this six-county region to assist in their development and expansion. Due to the impacts of COVID on local businesses

New construction starts continue to outperform similar numbers from both 2020 and 2019 in the City of Marion. Thru May 2021, the value of new commercial and industrial construction starts came in just over $13.3M. For the same period YTD, the value of new residential starts was $11.8M. The community’s construction pipeline remains strong with a

Senator Charles Grassley toured Timberline Manufacturing and took questions from employees on June 4. The visit was part of Grassley's annual 99 county tour. The Senator addressed questions around employee ownership plans, supply chain challenges, and how manufacturing has adapted over the past year. MEDCO President Nick Glew and Marion Mayor Nick

Marion Economic Development (MEDCO) recently conducted a survey to better understand hiring strategies that businesses utilize to attract employees to open positions. Although barriers to employment range widely, a general lack of available talent, and in particular skilled talent, is adversely affecting all industries big and small. Eighty-three percent

On June 12, 2021, two actions taken by Governor Reynolds affecting workforce participants and employers will go into effect. Unemployed Iowans will no longer receive the additional $300/week in federal dollars that have augmented standard state unemployment benefits. The Governor took this action to create a greater incentive for the unemployed to rejoin

As the school year wraps up, the Community Build student crew who were all Seniors, have said goodbye to their high school education. Before they left for their next phase in their lives, we wanted to interview them to explore what they learned and what their future plans are. The students were from both Marion Independent High School and Linn-Mar High

The problems caused by COVID-19 last summer were bad enough, but what really bothered Steve Skaggs was not knowing what was coming next. “We had been having some spotty parts shortages, which was creating some anxiety,” said Skaggs, purchasing manager for ALMACO, a manufacturer of seed research equipment in Nevada. “We just didn’t

Marion and the surrounding area will soon have a new health care provider – UnityPoint Clinic – Tower Terrace. Located at 3731 Irish Drive in Marion (across from the new YMCA), the new clinic will break ground on May 25 at 4 p.m. and is scheduled to open the summer of 2022. The Tower Terrace clinic will increase access to primary care in the