Iowa Taxpayers Association to Conduct Pre-Legislative Forum in Carroll

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

8-9 a..m.

Carroll Chamber of Commerce

Boardroom (West Building)

407 W. 5th St.

Carroll, Iowa

Click on the image below to view flyer.

Think Carroll 1st

The Carroll Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee will be promoting Think Carroll First this holiday season in an effort to encourage consumers to shop local and discover what Carroll businesses have to offer.

Think Carroll First table tents are available to any Chamber Member. This theme applies to many types of businesses, not just retail. Stop by the Chamber office and pick up a table tent for your business.

Carroll it's All here!

Holiday Recipe Walk

The Carroll Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee is sponsoring a Holiday Recipe Walk on Saturday, December 5. While you are out shopping, stop at the participating stores and enjoy a bite size sample and pick up your FREE recipe.

Santa and Mrs. Claus Arrive to Christmas Wishes, Caroling

Carroll Connect Young Professionals hosted more than 250 Friday night,

serving hot chocolate and singing Christmas Carols, and the lighting of the Depot Plaza.

Christmas Carolers get the crowd in the spirit, awaiting Santa and Mrs. Claus.

More than 250 enjoyed the brisk evening, singing carols, drinking hot chocolate and posing for the camera.

The guest of honor arrives on Engine No. 1 courtesy Carroll's Finest. Santa and Mrs. Claus responded

when asked repeatedly about the reindeer, said "they don't come out until after hunting season".

Santa & Mrs. Claus address a an estimated crowd of 250 at The Depot Plaza prior to the lighting ceremony.

Following the lighting ceremony, Santa and Mrs. Claus listen to Christmas wishes of

more than 100 children in the Harold Bierl Community Room.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in Santa's Workshop:
Thursday evenings: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday afternoons:
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Chart of the Week

Video shows monthly
unemployment percent changes by county:

January 2007-September 2009

To see changes in unemployment reate by county Here

Ashwood Business Park in Carroll Boasts "Virtual" Speculative Building

Carroll Area Development Corporation (CADC)and  Western Iowa Advantage (WIAD), an eight county economic development marketing partnership, announce the creation of a unique marketing tool to attract companies to Carroll County. National promotion of WIAD's Speculative Buildings begins this month.

Eighty percent of companies looking to expand or relocate seek an available building, which are scarce in Carroll County and Western Iowa right now. Speculative buildings are expensive to build and especially risky in a slow economy. Not satisfied with the concept of merely having plans on file for a potential building, CADC and WIAD developed a marketing concept around plans and "fly-through" video that locates images of a speculative building in eight industrial parks in Western Iowa. 

A "virtual" speculative building is located in Ashwood Business Park, north of Farner-Bocken Co. on Griffith Road in Carroll. Click below to see a video. Additional marketing includes national advertising targeted to decision makers and site selection consultants. On-site signage, website enhancements and a local campaign to contact companies and developers are underway. Additional Carroll County sites are being considered for the program.

See your new facility before it's built! Contact Jim Gossett, CEcD, Carroll Area Development Corporation

Local Actor Nails JFK Accent in Re-enactment of 1959 speech

A crowd of more than 50 gathered at Holy Spirit Gymnasium in Carroll to enjoy local actor Tim Tracy's version of Senator John F. Kennedy's 1959 address to the Carroll Chamber of Commerce. Today is anniversary of that speech. Organized by Kuemper Catholic history teacher John Steffes, the program was aided by recollection of the speech by Art Neu and several attendees.

Tracy's delivery of Kennedy's speech was well received by the crowd. He took questions from the audience in his role as Kennedy. John Steffes said if you closed your eyes you wouldn't know it was not the Senator.

Click on the video below to view a portion of Tim Tracy as John F. Kennedy.

On display were several books about the 35th President and articles about his visit here 50 years ago. More is available in an article published this week in the Daily Times Herald. Many thanks to John Steffes for organizing the ceremony.

Chamber Collecting Data for 2010 Carroll County Visitor Guide

If you have attractions or events in Carroll County that you would like to submit for inclusion in the 2010 Carroll County Visitor Guide email your information to s.schrad@carrolliowa.com. We may not be able to include all information in the printed guide, but we will try to include on the Chamber's Community Calendar. Deadline to submit information is Wednesday, December 16.

Check the 2009 Visitor Guide on the Chamber's web site www.carrolliowa.com to see how businesses are listed in the guide. There is a fee for businesses to be included. If you would like your business listed, call the Chamber office at 712-792-4383.

Carroll County Leadership Participant Named Young Soybean Leader in National Program

Matt Danner (back row, left)

Chamber member Matt Danner of Templeton Family Farms has been named by the American Soybean Association, the Iowa Association and Pioneer Hi-Bred International as 2010 ASA/Pioneer Young Leader. He has been chosen to represent Iowa in a program involving producer participants from 21 other states and Canada. The ASA/Pioneer Young Leader Program identifies soybean farmers who are innovative, assertive, "young in leadership" and looking to make their mark in agriculture. See the full story in Wallaces Farmer.

Templeton Family Farms joined the Chamber in 2009. Matt is currently participating in Carroll County Leadership Institute, sponsored by the Carroll Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations Matt!

Firemen Light-up the Downtown Preparing for Santa & Mrs. Claus

Again this year the Carroll Volunteer Fire Department replace rooftop lights in downtown Carroll. Thank you firemen for your manpower, boom trucks and ladders in preparing the downtown for the holiday season. It looks great!

Also a thank you goes out to the City of Carroll crews who put up the garland and wreaths. Your hard work is appreciated!

Everything is ready for Santa & Mrs. Claus to arrive at the Carroll Chamber of Commerce on Friday, November 27 at 6:30 p.m. for the lighting of the Depot. Come early for Christmas caroling and free hot chocolate. Santa & Mrs. Claus will be on hand to visit with children at the Harold Bierl Community Room until 8:00 p.m.

Local Photograhper Donates Giclee Print

Kim Hackett, Secreteary-Treasurer of the Carroll Chamber of Commerce accepts a giclee print (photograph on canvas) from local professional photographer Stan Buman. Chamber staff is thrilled with this beautiful piece and invite the public to stop by and view this unique photo. Thank you Stan.

Stan has been doing photography for several years and more of his work can be seen at www.fencelinephotos.com.

Chamber's Leadership Development Program Continues with Board Dynamics Workshop

Six select members of the Carroll Chamber of Commerce participated in "Board Dynamics - How a Board Member Really Adds Value to an Organization" in the Harold Bierl Community Room at the Chamber today. These individuals serve on boards of non-profit organizations. The reason the Chamber conducts thistraining is two-fold: It provides added membership benefits to the non-profit organizations that belong to the Chamber; and, it strengthens the member organizations by setting expectations for volunteer board members.

Two Chamber members, New Hope Village and New Opportunities not only have participants in the two-hour workshop, but Frank Hermsen (New Hope) and Chad Jensen (New Opportunities) assisted with content and delivery.


"Chamber workshops like Board Dynamics help train board members of non-profit organizations. This is beneficial to volunteers new to a non-profit boards, and to organizations that need expert guidance on organizational leadership," said Frank Hermsen, executive director of New Hope Village.

The Chamber 's Leadership Development programs include Carroll County Leadership Institute, Connect Young Professionals, workshops and much more.

Chart of the Week

Leading Midwest Economist Says Iowa Economy Improves

Report for the month of October 2009

Creighton University Economics Professor
Ernest Goss delivered some welcome news this week. A leading indicator of economic growth measured by Goss' Creighton Economic Forecasting Group bucks the midwest trend in the month of October.

For a second straight month, Iowa’s Business Conditions Index bounced above growth neutral. The index, a leading economic indicator from a survey of supply managers in the state, climbed to 55.5 from 52.9 in September and 48.9 in August. An index of 50.0 is considered growth neutral.

Not so for the Mid-America region however...

The October Business Conditions Index for the Mid-America region, a nine-state area, slumped to 51.8 from September’s much healthier 56.2, indicating a fragile recovery, according to the latest survey results. “This month’s decline suggests that the economic recovery underway is going to be a disappointing one. In fact, the volatility and level of the overall index over the past several months, indicates that a double dip recession is a growing possibility. Downturns in farm income, in addition to legislative uncertainty in Washington, are having negative impacts on the regional economy,” Creighton University Economics Professor Ernie Goss said today.

The Creighton Economic Forecasting Group has conducted the monthly survey of supply managers in nine states since 1994 to produce leading economic indicators of the Mid-America economy. States included in the survey are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.


Goss' news for Iowa employment is not as sunny. Since the national recession began in December 2007, Iowa has lost 3.0 percent of its jobs with 2.9 percent of the loss occurring since October 2008. “Even though Iowa’s unemployment rate has stabilized, based on our surveys over the past several months, I expect the state’s jobless rate to climb by another 0.3 percent by the end of the year,” said Goss.

Follow these monthly reports and more from Creighton University Economics Department:
http://www.creighton.edu/business/economicoutlook/index.php

Chamber Board Holds Retreat

Carroll Chamber of Commerce Board members gathered Friday in the Harold Bierl Community Room  for their annual Chamber retreat. The day long session included a preview of the Chamber's "Board Dynamics" workshop conducted by Chamber Exec. Jim Gossett, planning for 2010 led by Chamber Vice-President Rob Cordes, and LOTS of input from Board members. Much of the discussion centered around the Board's desire to continue to put Chamber members 1st in all the organization does.

While this is not a change in direction - the chamber exists to serve its members - board members are enthused about doing even more to be sure members are getting the value they need and desire from their involvement with the Chamber. Look for specific activity the board and staff will engage in through the coming months to improve the Chamber's service to its membership and the community.

Freda Dammann Wins Individual Friend of Tourism Award

Freda Dammann, an ordinary person making extraordinary things happen in Iowa tourism was recognized at the 2009 Iowa Tourism Conference in Tama for her efforts. Freda has been a devoted volunteer for the Manning Hausbarn/Heritage Park since 1989 and named as the Director in 2008. In Manning she has helped coordinate the RAGBRAI visit, Kinderfest, Wiehnachtsfest and Maize Daze as well as leading the force in Manning to become a Main Street Community. Her volunteer efforts don't stop in Manning. She has been very active in Western Iowa Tourism Region since 1989, including holding every office the last five years, including president. She has donated thousands of hours over the years for local, region and state tourism and was vital in creating opportunity and enthusiasm for tourism in Iowa. Congratulations Freda! and thank you for all you do for Carroll County tourism.

Photo(from left): Kathy Dirks, past president of the Travel Federation of Iowa (TFI); Freda Dammann; Tim Waddell, Community Development Division Administrator from the Iowa Department of Economic Development; Kristie Wetjen, vice-president of TFI.

Economic Development Professionals to Governor Culver: Allow Tax Credit Programs to Work

Many thanks to Iowa Governor Chet Culver for taking the time to speak at the Professional Developers of Iowa Annual Meeting and Fall Conference last week in West Des Moines. The Governor was candid about budget cuts, flood relief, and when asked, about Iowa’s tax credit programs. “We’re not going to over-react on tax credits,” said the Governor, when asked to stand with PDI to keep the programs going, “we will not tolerate bad actors abusing our incentives”(that very good, if unintentional play on words drew a few titters from the crowd). He was clear to the group of Iowa’s economic development leaders. He would be working to improve controls in administration of tax credit programs, “clawback” on past recipients if appropriate, but not change tax credit programs for film, job creation, historic preservation and more to grow Iowa’s economy.

There are those who want to eliminate tax credit programs in Iowa. Some think it would help save the budget. The fact is that tax credits are used to spur growth. A decrease in revenue to the state would be the result of fewer tax credits, not less cost. Still, there is a lot of support for Iowa’s tax credit programs to fuel growth in a sagging economy. Not the least of which is a guest editorial in the October 16 edition of The Des Moines Register by Ed Wallace, President of Iowa Taxpayers Association. Read it here. Decision makers should follow Governor Culver's lead. Don't "throw the baby out with the tax credits" in Iowa.

Burns Boosts Rural Iowa

If you haven't noticed, Doug Burns of the Daily Times Herald in Carroll is making a name for himself while keeping rural communities like Carroll on the map. Recently Doug was a guest on NPR's "On Point" radio show giving his view on the vitality of rural america, particularly rural Western Iowa. Listen to the interview here. He also is a contributer to City View in Des Moines and The Daily Yonder on the web.

The focus of the NPR segment was a new book, "Hollowing Out the Middle, The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America", by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas. This couple spent some time in an Iowa community of 2,000 in order to get a feel for what life is like there (fictionally named "Ellis"). I'm reading the book now, interested in the contrast and comparison to another popular book about the vitality of the midwest, "Caught in the Middle" by William Farnsworth. (check your Chamber member bookstore for these books).

Your thoughts about the vitality of rual western Iowa is welcome. Just click to comment on this post!

Jim Kerwin Knew Carroll

"If you're not proud of your town, who the hell's going to be?"


... Jim Kerwin, as quoted in this Daily Times Herald article,

"Kerwin, Carroll's scribe, remembered"

He was proud of his town.

Jim Kerwin passed last week. Those who knew him speak of his love and affection for Carroll. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim one of my first week's in town nearly nine years ago. He showed me "the baseball" and I've been in awe ever since. I learned about the history of Carroll from his three books about the community. They are proudly displayed in my office, each with a personal note from Jim proclaiming how he enjoyed working with the Chamber.

He will be missed. His legacy as a community booster will live on in the lives of those he inspired to make Carroll the best it can be. In Jim's words written inside the cover of our copy of Postcards from Carroll, "All of us working together produce results. Enjoy the postcards."

We will.

Carroll Band Day Parade

At 10:30 AM, Saturday, October 3, the Carroll Band Day Parade, sponsored by the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, began it's march down N Adams Street with spectators lining the streets enjoying its sights and sounds. Miss Daleney Teske, Little Miss You Can Do It, was honored as the 2009 Parade Marshal. Following the parade, the public enjoyed field presentations at the Carroll Stadium performed by Carroll High School and Jefferson-Scranton High School Bands.
Trophies were then awarded to the following: High School: Class 3A: 1st place - Jefferson-Scranton, 2nd place - Carroll High; Class 2A: 1st place - Roland-Story, 2nd place - East Sac County, 3rd place - Kuemper Catholic; Class 1A: 1st place - Glidden-Ralston, 2nd place - Ar-We-Va. Middle School: Class 3A: 1st place - Jefferson-Scranton, 2nd place - Perry, 3rd place - Boone; Class 2A: 1st place - Ogden, 2nd place - East Sac County, 3rd place - Audubon. Best drum major: Roland-Story High School, Best color guard: Roland-Story High School and Best baton twirler: Krystal Schulte of Carroll High School, Best overall band performance and winner of the traveling trophy: Roland-Story High School.

Chart of the Week

Carroll 2008 Holiday Sales Increase Beats State Average

The Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR) released retail sales for the quarter ending December 31, 2008. This Chart of the Week pulls out Carroll and the ten counties in Iowa whose county seat town's population is closest to Carroll (click HERE to enlarge the chart). IDR's reporting lags about nine months, but is the most current data available on a statewide basis.

City of Carroll's retail sales totaled $56.8 million in the quarter vs. $54.8 million in the same period of 2007. This 3.2% increase is considerably better than the state of Iowa's .2% decrease on sales of $8.88 billion vs. $8.89 billion in 2007.

Of the ten comparably sized communities in Iowa, Carroll's increase of 3.2% ranks 6th. Three communites had decreases. Follow this link to view sales tax reports at the IDR's website.

52nd Annual Carroll Band Day Parade

Tradition marches on as the 52nd Annual Carroll Band Day Parade sponsored by the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, takes place on Saturday, October 3 @ 10:30 AM. Fifteen High School and Middle School Bands will showcase their marching and musical talents before local and out-of-town spectators lining the streets from Adams Elementary to the Carroll Stadium. 50+ local business and organization parade entries will also be a part of this community tradition. As an addition to trophies being awarded to the top 3 performers in each Class 1A, 2A and 3A , a traveling trophy will be awarded to the best overall band performance along with trophies for best drum major, color guard and baton twirler.

Carroll's already low crime rate drops even further

In case you missed it, click here to read The Daily Times Herald's coverage of Carroll Police Department's annual report. The lastest crime statistics reflect one of the best reasons to live and work here...a very low crime rate.

Safety is something we tend to take for granted. As Carroll Police Chief Jeff Cayler said in the DTH article, "We're lucky, we really are, to live in this kind of environment. We should count our blessings that we live in an excellent place. A lot of it is due to the cooperative effort of the people who live here, their community pride and our excellent police officers."

Take time today to stop and yourself and others in the community a well-deserved pat-on-the-back.

Carroll County Leadership Institute Holds First Session

Last night from 5:30 - 9:00 P.M. 24 individuals from various Carroll County businesses joined together for the first session of Carroll County Leadership Institute. John Brockelsby, DMACC and Jim Gossett, Carroll Chamber of Commerce lead the group through conceptual models of leadership and encourage participants to apply this information to their careers. There was lots of group interaction and input.

Carroll County is fortunate to call these 24 people residents.

Chart of the Week

Real Estate Sales Report - Carroll Multiple Listing Service

Chamber President Mike Franey of Mid-Iowa Insurance and Real Estate shared information on the status of residential real estate sales activity with Carroll Area Development Corporation members today. The table at the right points out how the Carroll Multiple Listing Service stacked up against like size towns' MLS. This report for the month of August, 2009, compares owner-occupied single family unit sales with comparable communities and the state of Iowa. Also included is information about median sale price in August and number of Days on the Market.

Is there information you are interested in concerning the economic health of Carroll and Carroll County? Take a look at the labels at the bottom right of this blog, click on "Chart of the Week" to see past posts. Let us know your thoughts and ideas for other indicators and we will find them for you. Just comment on this post or email me: cadc@carrolliowa.com.

St. Anthony Regional Hospital Receives "Best in Value" Award

St. Anthony Regional Hospital recently received 2009-2010 Hospital Value Index: Best in Value Awards from Data Advanage, LLC., and independent hearlthcare data company.

The award recognizes St. Anthony for:

• Best in Value: Superior Patient Satisfaction Merit Award
• Hospital Value Index: Top 100 Hospital
• Hospital Value Index: Best in Region
• Hospital Value Index: Best in State

Data from approximately 4,500 hosptials nationwide was ranked to measure their success in quality, affordability, and efficency and patient satisfaction.

Congratulations to St. Anthony from the Carroll Chamber of Commerce for this honor.

Great Weather and full field for the 47th Annual Chamber Golf Outing

Committee Chair, Rich Hartley is on job watching for a hole-in-one on hole #10.

It was a day filled with great golf, fun, food, a chipping contest, tons of prizes and even a shoe shine while you wait your turn to tee off. A big thank you to all the sponsors and everyone who played in the event, we appreciate your support!

Tourism Benefits with the Lincoln Highway Heritage Byway

Three Lincoln Highway upcoming events on 9/24, 29, 30. In reality, these events are not history events as you might assume. All three are designed with business and local city leaders as the target audiences. Business people who would benefit from tourism promotion along the Lincoln Highway are invited to attend.

The 9/24 lecture is about how byways can have a positive impact on a community from an identity perspective as well as economically. As we become more successful in making the Lincoln Highway statewide a transportation magnet for out of state "see America" coast-to-coast retired baby boomer travelers, they will be stopping here for meals and lodging IF we can show them byway attractions as well. But the business community has to want to be part of that if they expect to see any benefit. Find out how you can be a part of this effort at a free lecture at Santa Maria on 9/24. Lecture starts at 7:00 pm, meal at 6:00 pm (if they have reservations).

The bus tours on 9/29 and 9/30 are also for leaders and business owners that want to actually see what the tourist will see between Grand Junction and Westside. Seen from the eyes of a New York traveler who knows nothing of Iowa, our history and land is new to them and not boring. With some interpretation sites to point out, we can attract tourists just as Route 66 does in the south. Route 66, by the way, has their biggest draw from European travelers (mostly German) who spend major bucks on their "See America" cross-continental trips. Carroll is on the Lincoln Highway route from NYC to Frisco.

Call Francie O'Leary (past Chamber Board Member)to learn more. 712.792.4415.

Chart of the Week

Carroll Airport Much More Active Than Most People Know.

Did you know that the Carroll Municipal Airport (Arthur N. Neu Airport) serves an average of 35 visiting aircraft each week? Most people don't know how active the local airport is. But a recent economic impact analysis released by IDOT's Office of Aviation, the activity level of Iowa's airports is outlined.

A nice executive summary and the full report with details of the activity of each airport is available at http://www.iawings.com/. Click on the image to the right to take a look a the various activities at the Carroll Municipal Airport.

Beware of Phony Awards

A good Chamber member brought to our attention an attempt by an organization to scam Carroll businesses into accepting a "prestigious" award. The award looks nice, like crystal. Shiny. Etched. Trouble is, the business has to pay to earn the award.

Emails notifying businesses they have won awards from a national association appear to be part of a widespread scheme destined to get your business to pay for "vanity"awards and plaques. We are not listing such organizations here because we do not want to give credence or publicity to such underhanded tactics. However the Better Business Bureau has received numerous inquires about a group claiming to be a national organization based in Washington, D.C.

The Better Business Bureau offers several tips to avoid losing money in a "vanity award program:

• Learn everything you can about who is giving the award. If it is coming from a mystery company, chances are it simply wants your money.
• If you didn't apply for an award or the group cannot tell you haw you were nominated, changes are the award is not legitimate.
• Most legitimate awards to not come with costs for the recipient. I there is a cost, scrutinize it even more closely.
• Ask specific questions about how your company or organization was chosen for an award and find out how many similar awards are given each year.

2009-2010 Carroll County Leadership Institute

The first session of 2009/2010 Carroll County Leadership Institute beginns Wednesday, September 23rd. Don't miss an opportunity to be a part of this County wide opportunity! Contact the Chamber for more information - 712-792-4383 or get a registration form on the Chamber web site click on Leadership 101.

WHO-TV Sports Broadcasts from Carroll

A HUGE Crowd turned out at the Chamber Wednesday to be on WHO-TV













WHO-TV's RVTV is a week long expedition for sportscasters Keith Murphy, Andy Fales and staff to have a little fun and get Iowa and Iowa State fans amped up for the big football rivalry this Saturday in Ames. A satellite truck, and four staff arrived ready to take in all the enthusiasm of Carroll. Having stopped in Grinnell and Fort Dodge, Carroll fans and the Chamber were ready to give the crew an experience they wouldn't forget.


They arrived at the Chamber around 1 p.m. Shortly after, Cyclone and Hawkeye fans began to arrive to arrange tents, grills, buses and other paraphenalia to root for their respective teams while Murphy and Fales broadcast their daily radio show on KXNO sport radio from the conference room in the Chamber office.


By mid-afternoon, Carroll restaurants began showering the crew with food. Every hour, another establishment arrived with a most delicious assortment of meals and treats that made quite an impression as you can see in the photo of Murphy watching Fales chow down on the 5 o'clock live satellite feed. See the video here: http://tinyurl.com/mzkrww.


At 6 p.m., WHO featured the community with an interview of the Chambers Business Development Director Rosanne Nees talking up the town: http://tinyurl.com/n5t6vp.


Each broadcast was loaded with good talk about Carroll, with the noise from the trains a common thread. Rosanne supplied the crew with goodies including earplugs as a sleep aid. WHO had a very nice feature on the history and attractions in Carroll, as well as a long feature on Adam and Shawn Haluska, the much more.


The crowd was whipped into a frenzy for each telecast. A smaller group, but perhaps the most enthusiastic fans were at the 10 p.m. broadcast: http://tinyurl.com/m3lsol.


All in all, lots of great publicity for Carroll as Keith Murphy commented in one of the telecasts, the nicest setting ever for RVTV, with local businesses, fans and the Chamber setting the bar high for hospitality. Murphy commented on the RVTV Blog that Carroll was one of the top RVTV tour stops ever.

Chamber Sponsored Workshop

The room was full as Jim Gossett Chamber Executive Director presented "Coping With & Managing Conflict". There were exercises on handling conflict, tips on resolving conflict, and an inciteful analysis of personality styles. Thank you Jim for taking the time to share this material with the members.