Ankeny Receives Business Expansion And Strategic Trends Of Iowa Excellence Award

Press release from the City of Ankeny:

March 2, 2021

The City of Ankeny has been recognized by BEST of Iowa for its efforts to support business retention and expansion by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa’s utility organizations. Business Expansion and Strategic Trends (BEST of Iowa) is a unique collaboration of economic development groups whose mission is to meet with Iowa companies to identify local economic trends, business needs and opportunities.

BEST of Iowa honors economic development partners that went above and beyond to support existing business in their communities. Albia Industrial Development Corporation, City of Ankeny, Buchanan County Economic Development and Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance were honored with the 2020 BEST of Iowa Excellence Award.

The 2020 BEST of Iowa key findings and conclusions identified trend information from more than 800 interviews completed by companies across 76 counties.

“Getting firsthand feedback from businesses across our state is critical to making sure we’re setting the stage for economic success,” said Drew Conrad, director at the Institute for Decision Making, The University of Northern Iowa. “We realized early in 2020 that we needed to focus our efforts on the unique challenges of doing business in a pandemic. We hope that this information will help leaders pinpoint how to best support the hardworking people of Iowa.”

The City of Ankeny demonstrated what it means to go the extra mile this year, showing the big impact a small group of dedicated public servants can make. The City collaborated with the BEST of Iowa to make sure local business voices were heard during a time of significant economic uncertainty.

“Economic development comes in many forms, but it always begins with business retention. This year showed us firsthand how dynamic and resilient the business community is in Ankeny. Business owners of all sizes stepped up to share their challenges and best practices to ensure our community, region, and state remained economically strong and vibrant during this pandemic,” said Derek Lord, City of Ankeny’s economic development director.

“There’s no doubt that this has been a challenging year, but reports like this help us come alongside businesses – to know the specific issues they’re facing, and in true Iowa fashion, overcome the obstacles in our way,” said Deb Calvert with MidAmerican Energy Company. “In a year that saw mandated closings, layoffs, remote learning, and a devastating derecho, it was more important than ever to band together. We’re grateful for the local community groups who didn’t let anything get in their way to connect with companies.”

This press release was produced by the City of Ankeny. The views expressed here are the author’s own.