Double dose of good economic news for North Iowa

By Mason City Globe-Gazette

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Economic development officials stress that taking care of local businesses is a major priority for a healthy economy.

Recent developments prove they're doing a good job in that regard.

Cargill announced a $12.5 million expansion of its Mason City plant which is expected to result in adding 20 jobs to its current work force of more than 150.

Previously, the city had agreed to work out a development agreement with Minneapolis-based Cargill but company officials stressed Mason City was in competition with other sites for the expansion.

It's all ours now.

Mason City plant manager Troy Swanson said the community has a “tremendous work force” here and said Cargill appreciated the support of the North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corp. along with local and state officials.

Brent Willett, relatively new in his job as executive director of the Corridor EDC, cited the labor force, infrastructure and “an aggressive package” of local and state incentives in landing the Cargill project.

Willett said Cargill has repeatedly demonstrated a strong commitment to the community, a commitment reaffirmed with the recent decision.

That decision, Willett said, “is another chapter in a great story for North Iowa.”

There's another chapter in that North Iowa economic development story in Charles City as well where a Chicago-based company has purchased a chicken plant that has been closed since January and plans to reopen it by Sept. 1 with the potential for a total of 250 new jobs by sometime in 2012.

Charles Austin Ltd. and an associated company, C-Go International Inc., made the successful bid of $2.27 million for the former Bushman Family Farms plant in a bankruptcy auction.

Bushman had opened the plant in November and it closed in January.

Now, the plant will kill and process whole chickens at first with further processing down the road.

Of the 100 workers to be hired initially, those employed in January will be given first preference in hiring.

The cloud that has hung over the plant has been lifted.

Economic officials stress that what's good for one community is good for an entire region.

So North Iowa has received a substantial double dose of good economic news - and two more examples that North Iowa can indeed be a good place to do business.

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