Branstad touts bioscience jobs coming to Iowa

Gov. Terry Branstad touted the building of a biosciences plant in northern Iowa as evidence that his administration's efforts to bring jobs to the state is working.

Officials from Valent BioSciences, a Japanese corporation that already operates in Illinois, announced Monday it will build a $150 million fermentation facility in Osage for the production of biorational agricultural, horticultural, public health and forestry products.

The plant is expected to bring an additional 89 jobs to Osage when it is completed.

“This is a significant investment in Iowa. I know there are many international locations that were considered,” Branstad said. “Certainly, biosciences is a logical place for Iowa to grow.”

The governor used the announcement to stump for commercial tax cuts, a priority of his that he's been pushing during the state budget process.

Asked if tax rates were cited as a reason by the company, Branstad said he didn't think they were but high tax rates were one of the themes he brought back from the jobs tour that he and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds undertook this year.

Higher taxes, he said, “are clearly impediments” to business growth. The state is providing $500,000 to help upgrade the Osage waste water system through the Department of Economic Development.

Department Director Debi Durham, meanwhile, said she expects the governor's proposal to change the department into a public/private entity called the Partnership for Economic Progress will likely become a bargaining chip in the waning days of the legislative session.

The proposal includes creating an advisory board, a nonprofit corporation and an authority to run the functions that are currently under the Department of Economic Development.

Proponents of the change have said it will make the state able to react more quickly to economic development opportunities, while opponents have criticized that private donations to the nonprofit will not be open to public scrutiny.

“Here, we're down to the wire, and all three entities are still intact,” said Durham, who joined Branstad and Reynolds at their Monday morning news conference for the Valent announcement. “That is very key to us.”

The legislation has passed the House, but it is waiting approval from the Senate.

“I believe this will definitely be used as a leveraging point, and that's for discussions at a much higher level than myself,” Durham said.