Curious Iowa: How did ‘The Corridor’ get its name?

“The Corridor” is a term familiar to residents of Eastern Iowa. It’s used in business names, marketing pieces and publications. But what exactly does it encompass? And how did it come to be?

Curious Iowa is a series from The Gazette that seeks to answer your questions about the state, its culture and the people who live here. One curious Iowan wondered, “Why do they call The Corridor, The Corridor? What areas are included?”

Today, The Corridor is a term used to refer to the seven-county area served by Kirkwood Community College. Traditionally, the two ends of The Corridor have been Cedar Rapids in the north and Iowa City in the south. In total, The Corridor includes the counties of Linn, Johnson, Benton, Jones, Iowa, Cedar and Washington.

But the history of The Corridor goes back to the 1980s. It was borne from local economic development groups’ efforts to market the region to attract new businesses and facilitate workforce growth. The impetus for the marketing efforts was the Iowa farm crisis of the 1980s and the tidal wave of farm closures it caused.

What was the farm crisis?

In the 1970s, land value was high and interest rates were low. Many farmers used loans to buy more land and equipment to increase productivity. Change came in the late 1970s when the Federal Reserve Board increased the cost of borrowing money in an effort to stabilize inflation. This coincided with a grain embargo on the Soviet Union. These factors, combined with droughts in 1983 and 1988, had devastating effects on Iowa farmers.

According to the State Historical Society of Iowa, one in four farms was no longer in operation in 1989.

The Iowa Farm Crisis expanded to manufacturers of farming equipment and supplies. Iowa PBS reported that the Quad Cities lost an estimated 20,000 manufacturing jobs. It is estimated that one rural business closed for every four closed farms.

As a result, community leadership in Eastern Iowa made diversifying the region’s economy a priority in the 1990s. That started with defining the region’s identity for companies looking for a place to expand.

Why is the area called ‘The Corridor’?

Mark Seckman is the incoming president of Marion Economic Development Corp. He previously served as president of Priority One, the greater Cedar Rapids area’s economic development organization that existed prior to today’s Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.

Seckman said when companies look to expand, they look at metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) to determine “the geographic footprint of the labor force.”

“Unlike Des Moines, where the Des Moines area is one MSA … Cedar Rapids and Iowa City sit in two separate MSAs,” Seckman said. “So we can’t say that we are one MSA, so we had to come up with a name and a strategy that connected us.”

On one end, Cedar Rapids is a manufacturing hub with high end technological companies and financial services. On the other end, Iowa City is centered on the University of Iowa, small businesses and medical technology.

Efforts to attract companies utilizing the highest level of technology within their industry resulted in the term “Technology Corridor.”

"We marketed it as one unified region that had holistically different assets.” Seckman said.

"Technology Corridor“ was federally trademarked. The term “The Corridor” was regulated with the state of Iowa so that other markets within Iowa were not allowed to use the Corridor without Priority One’s permission. Seckman said there was no issue with local companies using the Corridor name.

To expand efforts to attract and retain workers, Priority One partnered with The Gazette to create Corridor Careers, a place for area job seekers to find openings and career fairs.

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Why did branding shift to ‘Creative Corridor’ and ‘ICR’?

In the 2010s, the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and firm North Star Destination Strategies set out to build a sense of place and opportunity for people living in the Corridor community.

Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance Executive Director Doug Neumann said the intention was to build a brand that was more widely used and inclusive. Creativity is in everything from engineering to art so the term “Creative Corridor” was coined. By 2017, Neumann said the region moved on from “Creative Corridor” to the now accepted regional brand identity ICR, which combines the ends of the Corridor — Iowa City and Cedar Rapids — into the ends of the brand name.

ICR Iowa is a partnership between Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and the Iowa City Area Development Group that serves job seekers, employers and people already living in the Corridor. To retain the workforce, ICR Iowa has coalitions focused on initiatives like internships and diversity, equity and inclusion.

ICR Iowa is behind the Talent Hub which helps job seekers match with employers before moving to the area.

“It’s a pretty unique product because while it operates a little bit like a job board, it also pairs with it a community champion where we have somebody reaching out to people that have an interest in moving here,” Neumann said. “Not to talk to them about a job, but to talk to them about how awesome it is to live here.”

Neumann said 36 candidates have been placed so far this year.

"Any time that we can attract people here to live and to take jobs here, it helps the entire region.“ Neumann said.

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Where is The Corridor expanding?

Beyond initiatives from economic development groups, recent infrastructure projects like the new Tower Terrace interchange, widening of I-380, and further development at The Eastern Iowa Airport have improved transportation and connections to Corridor communities.

Another significant project was Forevergreen Road which connects Tiffin, North Liberty and Coralville. A burst of land development — from housing to commercial development — has sprouted along the road.

In 1990, Tiffin had a population of 456. In 2021, Tiffin’s population was 5,282. It is the fastest-growing city in Iowa, according to the U.S. Census.

Tiffin City manager Doug Boldt said the town’s growth is a result of the growth of Coralville and North Liberty.

“When you talk about just our general location, the hospitals, the Hawkeyes, the school district, if you roll all that together and couple that with the fact that Coralville has seen all their growth, North Liberty has seen all their growth, I think it’s pretty easy to look at that and say … that it was our turn.” Boldt said. “We were the next one that was going to grow.”

Boldt said Tiffin is about 10 to 15 years behind the population trend of North Liberty. He anticipates that by 2030, Tiffin will have a population around 10,000.

“The area along Interstate 80, the area along 380, even Highway 6 is getting more looks … because businesses recognize they will be supported here,” Boldt said. “Obviously, first and foremost that’s gotta work or else they’re looking somewhere else.”

Where can the Corridor grow?

Growth of the Corridor takes collaboration, Seckman said.

“I think infrastructure is always a need … and I think we’re seeing that,” he said. “On the north end of the Corridor, the community is cooperating to get Tower Terrace built from 380 to 13. You have to have many jurisdictions working … collectively to get that infrastructure in place.”

Seckman said although Corridor communities are in competition, they must cooperate in order to grow. Seckman called this “coopetition.”

“At times, they’re going to compete but also cooperate and maybe look holistically at what the needs are of the region and how the communities and the people living in the area work cooperatively together to make the region as a whole.” Seckman said.

Neumann said staying true to the region’s roots will guide future growth.

“We have a manufacturing heritage. We have a food ingredient heritage that is resilient, relatively recession-proof. And has proven to be the foundation of this economy for a long, long time,” Neumann said. “And I bet in 30 years that a foundation of this economy is still gonna be manufacturing, it's still gonna be connected to the fertile fields of Iowa in some way, shape or form, even if the specifics around green energy or electric vehicles or whatever the next evolution of the economy is layer additional flavor in that.

“I think a lesson learned in regionalism has been that we don't need to seek to make both ends of the region the same,” Neumann said. “We don't need to try to make these economies match each other. Iowa City, Cedar Rapids are very different communities and we should embrace that there’s strength in the differences and there’s strength in the diversity of these two economies working together.”

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Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com