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The fourth annual Iowa Venture Capital Conference takes place on Tuesday, October 7 at the Polk County Convention Complex. The Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED), the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Centers, and Equity Dynamics sponsor the Conference. Highlights include a keynote address by Iowa native Jerre Stead, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ingram Micro Inc., the world's largest distributor of technology products and services. Governor Tom Vilsack will share his vision for fostering an entrepreneurial climate in Iowa. As part of the Venture Network of Iowa Forum, top entrepreneurs will present their unique business ventures to conference attendees and potential investors. The morning session will feature a panel discussion on the Iowa Capital Investment Corporation (ICIC). Afternoon highlights include breakout sessions focusing on deal structure, valuation and exit strategies, and legal issues.

Five Biotechnology companies will be participating in the jointly sponsored, IDED/Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) BioMission to Osaka Japan, October 18 - 25. Included in the mission itinerary will be participation in the Bio 2003 Osaka trade show, business meetings and tours of the Kansai region's biotechnology universities and research facilities. Participating companies are AATI, New Link Genetics, Pharmacom, ViraQuest and IDT. The IDED will host a pre-mission briefing for the companies on October 9. Most of the participating companies are new the Japanese marketplace.

The IDED and the newly created Economic Development Marketing Board (EDMB) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) from advertising and public relations agencies to handle various marketing responsibilities for the Business Development Division and the Iowa Tourism Office. Due to mandates in the Iowa Values Fund, this RFP replaces the one issued earlier this year. To be considered, proposals must be received by Oct. 22, 2003. Electronic copies of the RFP are available at www.iowasmartidea.com.

A team of Iowans will be visiting Europe to conduct business recruitment meetings and visiting with European corporate headquarters with Iowa locations October 8-17. The team will consist of IDED staff and representatives from the Quad Cities, Technology Corridor and Mid American Energy. The group will be attending the ANUGA tradeshow, the largest food processing and food equipment manufacturers show in Europe.

A CoreNet Global Iowa Dinner will be held on October 14 in Atlanta, Georgia. IDED staff will host an invitation only dinner for corporate realtors involved in site selection. Iowa developers and IDED staff will also make prospecting calls on various companies in the Atlanta area.

The National Workshop for state and local food policy councils was held in conjunction with the annual Iowa Food Policy Conference at Drake University in Des Moines recently. A Taste of Iowa® sponsored an Iowa reception and A Taste of Iowa® staff member Gail Kotval was a member of the panel discussing Institutional Purchasing.

IDED staff hosted in-state company executives at the 12th annual John Deere Classic Golf Event on the weekend of September 11-13 in the Quad Cities. The industry appreciation event is aimed at Iowa businesses that are continuing to invest and expand in Iowa. Decision makers from 45 businesses were part of a total attendance of approximately 120 people. Some of the businesses represented included: Firestone Agricultural Tires; H.J. Heinz North American; HON Company; Monsanto; Sentry Insurance; Rockwell Collins; and Trans Ova Genetics. Sponsors this year were MidAmerican Energy; the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor; Davenport One; Greater Des Moines Partnership; Greater Dubuque Development Corporation; Grow Greater Burlington and the Quad City Development Group.

The Export Trade Assistance Program (ETAP) is an export expansion program of the International Office of the Iowa Department of Economic Development which provides up to $4,000 in assistance to Iowa companies participating in international trade shows or trade missions. The ETAP program assisted the following companies in August: Stellar Industries Inc., Garner and Warren Perf Pkg., Council Bluffs, trade shows in Mexico; Construction Products Inc., Des Moines, a trade show in Malaysia; Med-Tec, Inc., Orange City, marketing in Australia and Switzerland; and Paragon Intl., Nevada, marketing in Italy.

The Business License Information Center (BLIC) is conducting its annual license and permit update process with 15 state agencies. The purpose for the update is to insure the entrepreneurs, small businesses and expanding business seeking regulatory requirements have access to current and up-to-date information when it comes to their permitting process.

The Iowa Waste Exchange completed FY 2003 with bottom line dollar savings for Iowa businesses. The Waste Exchange assisted over 2,500 Iowa companies with diverting over 71,000 tons of manufacturing byproducts. Instead of being disposed in Iowa landfills, these byproducts sent to another business that had a use for them. As a result, businesses saved over $2.5 million - costs that businesses would have incurred to dispose of the materials in a landfill.

The 17th annual Iowa Downtown Summit was held August 26-27 in Grinnell. Approximately 200 people from 75 Iowa communities and Brookings, SD attended all or part of the conference. The focus of the conference this year was downtown business development. For more information, contact Thom Guzman at 515.242.4733.

The third in a series of six small business development workshops was held during the downtown summit. These workshops continue bi-monthly through March, 2004. Attendance is averaging 90 with the vast majority of attendees purchasing the entire series. For more information, contact Thom Guzman at 515.242.4733.

Consultants Johnson & Segel are continuing with on-site technical assistance visits to Main Street Iowa communities. Visits include one-on-one business consultations and group training workshops on "How to Make Money in Small Business Today". These visits continue through October. A total of 26 Main Street Iowa communities signed up to take advantage of this HUD grant funded service. For more information, contact Thom Guzman at 515.242.4733.

The next application workshop for new Main Street communities is scheduled for October 23, 2003 in Story City. Applications will be due in February with announcement of new Main Street communities scheduled for March. For more information, contact Thom Guzman at 515.242.4733.

Housing Fund applications are due December 10, 2003. Tentative award date is March 3, 2004 with our Recipient Workshop tentatively scheduled for March 25, 2004. For the first time, applications and workshop materials are available from the Community Development Web Site, www.community.state.ia.us or by request. Applications for both major Federal programs (CDBG/infrastructure and Housing Fund) are now being distributed electronically, saving the expense of mailing, printing, transporting and storing the documents. For more information, contact Terry Vestal at 515.242.4850.

Iowa won the award for the best Travel Guide at the annual meeting of all state tourism offices recently held in North Carolina. This is the third time in four years that Iowa has received the award for the nation's best travel marketing piece.

Thousands of visitors stopped in the Iowa Tourism Building during the Iowa State Fair in August. The Tourism Office partnered with Maytag to give away a Neptune washer/dryer. The winner was Velma Reese of Madrid, Iowa. All booths in the Tourism Building are judged and Marion County won the blue ribbon for the best booth display. Next year is the 150th anniversary of the Iowa State Fair which will be held August 12-22, 2004.

The American Bus Association (ABA) has selected two events from Iowa to be among the top 100 events in North America for 2004. They include the Grand Excursion 2004 along the Mississippi River from the Quad Cities to St. Paul and the Tulip Time Festival in Pella.

The annual Iowa Tourism Conference will be held in Des Moines on October 20-22. Over 400 people are expected to attend the educational sessions. The annual awards for tourism communities, attractions and events will be a highlight of the conference. For more information, contact Nancy Landess at 515.242.4702.

Scouts for a potential $7-9 million film were in Iowa in late August to look at possible locations for the film. If financing is secured, the filming will take place next summer. Another location manager was in Iowa in August scouting areas for a possible Dreamworks movie.

Matt Farnsworth was back in Iowa in August to shoot additional footage for the movie "Iowa". He hired all local crew for the additional filming. A movie called "Vamoose" was filmed in the Des Moines area in late August. For more information, contact Nancy Landess at 515.242.4702.

Two Iowa Commission on volunteer Services (ICVS) commissioners have been reappointed for another term. They are John McDonough, Linn County, retired from Rockwell Collins and Martha Fung, a student at Drake University.

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