Regionalization step

The Gazette Editorial Board

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Last year, two national figures came to the Corridor and pounded home a similar message: Today's world is a global economy and we better get with it.

First, it was John Fernandez, administrator of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, which approved a $35 million grant for Cedar Rapids' convention complex project. He told the Noon Rotary Club that our region must collaborate more effectively.

Then came Iowa native Richard Longworth, a longtime foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and now at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Speaking to the Iowa City Area Development Group, he said Iowa trails world economic changes and must become more innovative and embrace regionalization.

Apparently, those messages resonated with three Cedar Rapids area business groups. The Chamber of Commerce, Priority One and the Downtown District recently announced plans to merge.

This looks like a good step if it leads to a unified regional approach to growing business and jobs. We should welcome growth in our region without squabbling about the location. The merger also could set the stage for more collaboration with similar Johnson County groups and create the scale of regionalization that Fernandez and Longworth are talking about.