Started on GlobeofBlogs, then to Meg, who describes life and times with Randy, and who works for the Le Mars Daily Sentinel. The Daily Sentinel had an article on the Iowa Values Fund,
“a $503 million, seven-year economic development initiative approved by
state lawmakers earlier this year.” Interesting context on the life and
economic struggles of the state. Several of the articles in the
Le Mars paper are about critical funding and support from transitional
businesses–and the potential effects of business closures on the local
economy.. (I’m still at the “texture” stage of my Voice of Iowa blogs
project–so I just enjoy these little excursions.)
The Iowa Values Board expects to consider seven or eight applications
for funding over the next few months, said Mike Blouin, Iowa Department
of Economic Development director.
About 40 companies already have submitted applications out of
about 215 that expressed interest in the funding. Many of the
applicants are biotechnology companies and manufacturers, Blouin said.
“In most cases, on the manufacturing side, we’re trying to
stabilize an existing company,” he said. “We’re trying to help
companies make the transition from 20th to 21st century manufacturing
and that’s expensive.”
Hundreds of small companies are trying to make that transition
and “many of them won’t,” Blouin said. “We are working with a growing
number that we believe have a good chance of making that change with
some help.”
…then somehow I dropped into a ring of young bloggers in
Omaha–really struggling, inspiring, difficult, personal…I’m not
going to link to them here…
and finally John’s blog
>
A PHOTOBLOG & WEB CHRONICLE
We
all feel time passing by, as we rush to accumulate possessions, consume
resources and make sense of it all. Yet, time is no more than an
illusion, and space is made of nothing, and we hide from reality in
convenient bubbles of truth.
with personal diary/irony, plus photos of his life in Iowa and his travels across the world, including a gallery that I enjoyed for the architectural photos..
