RESILIENCE

TOOLKIT

Strategies and actions for business, government, or development organizations to ensure ongoing viability. 

Grow Cedar Valley

360 Westfield Ave, Ste 200

Waterloo, IA 50701

319-232-1156

https://www.growcedarvalley.com/

Butler-Grundy Economic Development Alliance

PO Box 403

Allison, IA 50602

319-267-2858

https://www.butlercountyiowa.com/contactus.htm

New Hampton Economic Development

112 East Spring Street

New Hampton, IA 50659

641-394-2437

https://www.newhamptonia.com/contact-economic-development

Waverly Economic Development

200 1st Street NE

Waverly, IA 50677

319-352-9210

http://www.waverlyia.com/economic-development/

Buchanan County Economic Development Commission 

112 First Street East, Suite B

Independence, IA 50644

319-334-7497

https://www.growbuchanan.com/

Economic Resiliency is defined as an area’s ability to prevent, withstand, and quickly recover from major disruptions (i.e., ‘shocks’) to its economic base. As such, economic resilience has been framed in the ability to recover, withstand, and avoid such shocks. However, the Covid-19 Pandemic has altered the trajectory and sense of our abilities to be more resilient. As we begin to bounce forward and move beyond our current framework, we must also consider the lessons learned from the pandemic. This includes addressing our past weaknesses and setting the stage for a more resilient economy in our future. These priorities align with the investment priorities of Economic Development Administration of equity, recovery & resilience, workforce development, manufacturing, technology-based economic development, environmentally-sustainable development, and exports & FDI.

Our Process

As part of the Iowa Northland Regional Economic Development Commissions (INREDC) CARES Planning Grant, work was completed to gain an understanding of economic resiliency within the six-county region and explore how the region can build upon its resilience in the post-Covid-19 world. To do so, INREDC convened its regional stakeholders to evaluate how its communities responded during the pandemic and look at what future regional needs are required to position itself to recover, withstand, and avoid future shocks to its economy.

Local stakeholders, including local government officials, nonprofit agencies, and economic development agencies were asked to provide their feedback through both surveys and focus groups in each of the counties. Surveys were conducted January 2021 and follow-up focus groups were held in March 2021. 

Three surveys were sent out to local county government officials, nonprofits, and economic development organizations. The surveys focused on each individual group’s specific duties and response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We also utilized the University of Northern Iowa’s Institute for Decision Making survey of Iowa Businesses to understand the economic impact.

Our focus groups were conducted over three weeks with two sessions per week for each individual county. The first session was focused on helping individuals understand resiliency in the context of a pandemic and how we previously used resiliency in our current CEDS document. We then shifted our conversation to understanding how each county has responded to the pandemic at the current moment. We asked three main questions: what have been the impacts of the pandemic on your community, what key industries and small businesses were impacted most severely and how have they responded, and what are the local business and community needs. We used these questions to build each county level SWOT to guide our second session.

Our second session centered on discussing each SWOT developed. We then used the developed SWOTs to have a conversation about what communities need the most, specifically in terms of tools and/or information for small businesses, local governments, and nonprofits. Since this conversation took place in the middle of the pandemic, we also asked stakeholders to think about what tools might be most relevant in the future as we begin to move out of the pandemic. Finally, we discussed options available to communities right now, including upcoming legislations and our CARES Revolving Loan Fund.

The following summary provides an overview of the results as well as future recommendations to improve our regional resiliency from our surveys and focus groups. Some of the themes that were discussed throughout each session included the current economic outlook, broadband connectivity, workforce shortages, housing, daycare, healthcare, volunteer emergency management, nonprofits, and local government budgets.

A Regional SWOT Overview

The economic outlook of the region remains stable, in the face of future uncertainty. Despite having an initial jump in unemployment at the start of the pandemic, employment rates have returned to previous rates. Overall, industries have reported doing well in the currently climate. However, businesses in the service industry still are struggling to recover within the current economic climate. Many restaurants, hotels, motels, and retail shops have not been able to pivot to address the decreased traffic. The biggest concern remains the ambiguity of the future. Many businesses are operating with a mindset of the unknown and are holding off on potential spending until more is known. Finally, it was repeated that most of the struggling businesses were still wary of taking out loans and were looking for more grant opportunities or forgivable programs as they weather the storm and look to the future.

During the pandemic, the healthcare system in the region held up well, despite the financial constrain the pandemic had. Many of the INRCOG communities are centered around critical access hospitals and their clinics. The healthcare system in place was able to handle the surge of cases as well as provide the community with critical information about the pandemic. Alongside the healthcare community, the county Public Health Departments also played a key role in helping keep local governments and businesses informed on key changes taking place throughout the pandemic. 

Throughout the INRCOG region, broadband connectivity was a strong force for addressing community needs during the pandemic. It was repeated that the networks with local cooperatives and internet providers were able to handle the increased needs. The concerns around broadband were centered on the rural communities who sometimes lack solid internet and in urban areas with the lack of access for low-income students while school was operating in an online environment.

One major area of concern, especially in the less populated counties of INRCOG, was the lack of qualified workforce available. Despite the unemployment rates initially spiking, they quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels. This has been a recurring issue for these communities and opens the door to future opportunities including attracting new workforce to live and work in their communities. 

Housing also remained a continued area of concern for the entire region. Many of the stakeholders reported that the lack of housing impacted their ability to attract new residents while also inhibiting businesses’ capacity to grow their workforce. Many of the counties reporting housing issues stated that local housing needs assessments in place have helped identify future opportunities and issues. 

Daycare was another issue that was repeated throughout our conversations. The lack of community daycares caused many strains on working families who did not have access to daycare. Moreover, the lack of providers available continue to strain those seeking the services.

Nonprofits continues to face a large burden due to the pandemic. Many nonprofits saw a large decrease in their ability to fundraise. The impacts of the pandemic will continue to strain nonprofits in the future. Alongside the financial strain, many were not able to recruit volunteers. Community support also fell, especially with the lack of older individuals wanting to participate due to the risks of contracting Covid-19.

Local and city government officials remain positive. Much of the revenue from taxes remained strong despite the pandemic. However, the concern over the hotel and motel tax revenue could have impacts on projects supporting the local communities. Another concern for urban areas was the possibility of more businesses vacating their commercial real estate units with the rise in work-from-home policies. Small local governments also continued to express concern about local EMS volunteers. Recruitment for EMS volunteers continues to be a struggle as well as the added pressures of the position due to the pandemic.

Individual County SWOT Summary

Black Hawk County

Individual Participants: Noel Anderson (Community Planning and Development Director, City of Waterloo), Adrienne Miller (Planner II, City of Waterloo), Jessica Rucker (Executive Director, Main Street Waterloo), Theresa Adamson (City Clerk, City of Gilbertville), Jane Whittlesey (City Clerk, City of La Porte), Chrissi Wiersma (City Clerk, City of Hudson), Tim Andera (Associate Planner, City of Waterloo), Shane Graham (Economic Development Coordinator, City of Cedar Falls), Lisa Skubal (VP of Economic Development, Grow Cedar Valley), DeAnne Kobliska (City Clerk, City of Evansdale), Brian Schoon (INRCOG), Isaiah Corbin (INRCOG)

Strengths

• Certain industries have done well during the pandemic, weathering much of the economic downturn.

• Healthcare systems were able to respond and handle the pandemic.

• Local governments pivoting services in response to pandemic. i.e. library parking.

• Broadband services met demand.

Weaknesses

• Employees of service industries not always able to benefit from government support.

• Hotel and motel use have declined, thus affecting some types of revenues.

• Difficult for small employers to complete assistance applications.

• Lack of sales. Small businesses looking for grants, not loans.

Opportunities

• Information on state and/or federal assistance available to support small businesses, restaurants, and hotels/motels.

Threats

• Individuals not returning to shopping habits to support restaurants and small retail.

• Cost of construction materials on future/pending projects.

• Individual students and families not being able to access internet (affordability).

• Ambiguity about the future economic outlook.

• High cost of construction materials.

• Business grants are needed, as opposed to loans.

Bremer County

Individual Participants: Connie Tolan (Economic Development Specialist, City of Waverly), Tom Geise (Mayor, Plainfield), Kem Kammeyer (Bremer County Board of Supervisors), James Bronner (City Administrator, City of Waverly), Brittney Lentz (City Clerk, City of Plainfield), Bill Werger (Attorney, City of Waverly), Ellen Kalkbrenner (City Clerk, City of Tripoli), Travis Tolar (Executive Director, Waverly Chamber of Commerce), Kevin Blanshan (INRCOG), Brian Schoon (INRCOG), Isaiah Corbin (INRCOG)

Strengths

• Schools starting back in person.

• Broadband support for those working from home.

• Local governments financially able to handle pandemic.

• Large industries able to bounce back quickly.

Weaknesses

• Vaccine distribution.

• Lack of PPE stock on hand.

• Crisis communication across government agencies in coordination with health agencies.

• Service industry impacts.

Opportunities

• Improved coordination between government entities.

• Workforce attraction to area.

• Education on getting back to doing business during Covid-19 pandemic.

• Planning or preparing for the next emergency event.

Threats

• Children health, psychologically and physically.

• Volunteer first responders not having proper equipment or training.

• Global supply chain vs regional supply chain.

• Small businesses who directly serve other people.

• Future uncertainty of habits.

• Supporting elderly community.

• Food insecurity.

• Workforce shortages.

Buchanan County

Individual Participants: Lisa Kremer (Executive Director, Buchanan County Economic Development), Russ Reiter (Superintendent, Independence Community School District), Clayton Ohrt (Buchanan County Supervisor), Al Order (City Manager, City of Independence), Mary Ryan (City Clerk, City of Winthrop), Paula Harvey (City Clerk, City of Lamont), Brian Schoon (INRCOG), Isaiah Corbin (INRCOG)

Strengths

• Expanded employment training through apprenticeships.

• Larger cities in the county have strong broadband connectivity.

• Local Buchanan healthcare system played a huge role serving the community. Public health was very good communicating changes.

• Tax revenue from sales and property tax remain steady.

Weaknesses

• Loss of income for service industries from people not coming back.

• Unable to find employees to fill employment opportunities within the county.

• Rural areas had struggles with broadband.

• Lack of housing available. 

Opportunities

• Educating businesses on how to navigate government funding opportunities.

• Continued work off housing needs assessment.

Threats

• Non-profits unable to raise money during the pandemic has left large revenue gap.

• Non-profits have not been able to have community participation.

• Finances for local governments remain a struggle, especially with lower hotel/motel taxes down.

Butler County

Individual Participants: Jeff Kolb (Executive Director, Butler-Grundy Development Alliance), Glenda Miller (City Clerk, City of Allison), Chris Luhring (City Administrator, City of Parkersburg), Brian Schoon (INRCOG), Isaiah Corbin (INRCOG)

Strengths

• Restaurants that were able to adapt found successes about their expectations.

• Locally-owner telecommunications had laid strong groundwork for fiber connectivity.

• Housing Needs Assessment completed and ready to address needs.

Weaknesses

• Daycare and lack of community-based options.

• Many service businesses were not able or prepared to quickly change their business model.

• Increased strain on volunteer EMS services with increased documentation and sterilization process.

Opportunities

• Local communities’ positive attributes to attract outside members including less populous, outdoor recreating, safety, small schools, 

        and cost of living.

• Small business’ ability to connect locally with community needs.

• Touting/Marketing quality of life assets.

Threats

• Non-profits were not able to fundraise during the pandemic.

• Unknown future habits for retailers.

• Impact of lack of social interactions on mental health of individuals.

• Burdens placed on nursing homes and lack of available CNAs.

• Unknown long-term impact on students. 

Chickasaw County

Individual Participants: Tammy Robinson (Executive Director, New Hampton Economic Development), Megan Baltes (Assistant Director, New Hampton Economic Development), Lacy Carolan (Community Insurance of Iowa), Amy Green (Northeast Iowa Community College), Rick Holthaus (Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors), Brad Suckrath (Local Business Owner), John Ott (Nashua City Clerk), Jennifer Monteith (Manager of Development and Public Relations, MercyOne), Rachel Ysbrand (Community Insurance of Iowa), Kim Berns (Bank Iowa), Matthew Kuhn (Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors), Jason Speltz (Executive Director, New Horizons Chamber of Commerce), Brian Schoon (INRCOG), Isaiah Corbin (INRCOG)

Strengths

• Economic Development Agencies were able to handle and distribute much needed information quickly and effectively.

• Bankers were positioned well to support those needing PPP and other financial support.

• Community College (NICC) was able to fill gaps and provide support and best practices.

• SBA loan guarantees helped.

• Continuity of government was strong.

• Broadband infrastructure was already being addressed before the pandemic in cities.

• MercyOne was able to pivot and adjust quickly to changes.

Weaknesses

• Hair salons, bowling alleys, and similar businesses struggled during closures.

• Large amount of information and not knowing what to follow including contradicting information.

• Healthcare system not able to utilize government funding, adding to shortfalls.

Opportunities

• HR training for those new in positions.

• Public Health’s communication with pandemic updates.

Threats

• Individuals avoiding routine care since pandemic.

• Broadband in rural areas was a problem and not having library or other cafes available.

• Local government revenue lost.

• Lost socialization and normalcy of school children.

Grundy County

Individual Participants: Krista Grant (Executive Director, Conrad Chamber Main Street), Lori Stansberry (City Administrator, City of Conrad) Meredith McDonald (City Council, City of Grundy Center), Richard Smith (City Council, City of Grundy Center)

Strengths

• Overall, most businesses have remained successful through the pandemic.

• Local community response and support.

• County Public Health’s distribution of information.

• Cities back on track with financial receipts.

• Strong, available broadband.

Weaknesses

• Daycare and lack of community-based options.

• Many service businesses were not able or prepared to quickly change their business model.

• Increased strain on volunteer EMS services with increased documentation and sterilization process.

Opportunities

• Marking of local nonprofits/businesses to community. Helping community understand how they can help.

• Providing information about available grants to businesses and nonprofits.

• Long-term adjustments and technical support for small businesses.

• Marking and communicating on specific topics.

Threats

• Mental health of individual community members.

• Stress on local EMS systems.

• Supply chain issues for manufacturers.

• Lack of daycare options.

• Uncertainty of when it will be “safe to return to normal”.

• Experienced a disaster within a disaster (derecho inside pandemic).