Welcome New Board Directors!

Larry Bohlen

Larry is the Mayor of Hartford, where he has lived for eight years. He is the Founder/President of "Retailers Advocacy Group, Inc."  This company was formed based on the belief that merchants need a voice against less than honest salespeople/vendors. The company has grown from a new "startup" company five years ago to a nationally recognized merchant advocacy organization.

Larry is also the Founder of the "Susan M Bohlen Foundation".  This foundation is currently being set up in order to help families that are currently dealing with a loved one with M.S. The intent of this foundation is work more closely on the family/patient level rather than for research. Larry invites individuals who have an interest in this subject to contact him.

Larry grew up on Washington, Iowa, graduating first from Washington Community High School, and later attending Kirkwood Community College and Southeastern Community College.  He has had many public relations and business management courses, and has achieved certifications from the Iowa State Fire Institute, Iowa State University, including but not limited to Fire Fighter 1 certification, EMT along with Hazmat, confined spaces, farm rescue and many more.

Scott James

Scott's father and mother started James Oil Co. in 1947 by   purchasing a small gas station in Carlisle. Scott joined the family business in 1977. In 1978 the first semi-truck was purchased and the business started to grow from there. James Oil Co. sells petroleum products to agriculture, commercial, retails, schools and government agencies in Iowa & Missouri.

Scott has been married for 30 years to his wife Bev who is employed at EMC Insurance as a claim supervisor. They have two sons: Devin, who lives in Dallas, Texas; and Logan, who lives in Carlisle and is an Iowa Army National Guardsman.

Jill Johnson

Jill serves as the Executive Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Simpson College. Before joining Simpson, Jill co-owned a market research firm for 16 years. Her firm conducted market research and provided strategic counsel for broadcast television stations across the country.

Jill has a degree in communications and public relations from Simpson College and has lived in Indianola for 17 years. She is married to Grant Johnson, chief financial officer of Metro Waste Authority in Des Moines, and has two sons - Derek and Brett.

Being active in the community is important to Jill. She has volunteered in many capacities with the Indianola Preschool, Parks and Recreation Department, RAGBRAI executive committee and the Indianola Wellness Committee. Jill currently serves on the boards of the Indianola Community Youth Foundation, Peoples Bank and WCEDC. She enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with family and friends.

Jeff Schug

Jeff is a Project Manager for McClure Engineering Co. and is a Professional Engineer in Iowa and Missouri. He graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and now has over 19 years of civil engineering experience, including time with the City of Cedar Rapids and the City of Ames. Jeff's focus has been municipal infrastructure and he has assisted many cities with capital improvement planning, including infrastructure needs assessment, funding, public relations, design, and construction.

Jeff's "people skills" allow him to interact with the public, both in large public meetings and one-on-one. Jeff can explain the reasons a project is needed, and help win support from the people affected by the improvements.

Clint Welling

Clint is originally from Indianola and graduated from Indianola High  School in 1997. After graduating from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Economics he worked for a locally owned bank in Coralville for seven years in their accounting and operations department. In 2008 Clint accepted an opportunity to return to Indianola and work for Community Bank. He is currently a Vice President with responsibilities that include Commercial, Ag, Real Estate and Consumer lending as well as many other duties as needed.

Clint is involved in many civic club activities including Noon Lions Club, Masonic Lodge, & Warren County Leadership Institute. He currently resides in Indianola with his wife Dawn & son Owen. In his free time he enjoys fishing, Hawkeye Football & Basketball, & spending time with his family.

WCEDC's out-going Board Directors will be recognized at our 20th Anniversary event and highlighted in the next newsletter. 

RSVP Today for WCEDC's 20th Anniversary  

& Investor Appreciation Event!   

Zoning Commission Recommends  

"Commercial" for I-35 Land

The Warren County Zoning Commission recommended four re-zonings to "Commercial" at their September meeting.  The requests were made for land near Cumming, Martensdale, Milo, and Norwalk.  The two requests that garnered the most discussion were seven acres near Martensdale and 141.5 acres near Cumming.  Both sites are near Interstate 35 and the requests were made with future considerations in mind.

The 141.5 acres near Cumming is owned by Middleton Family L.C.  This area was zoned to "General Commercial-Highway" and is a part of a larger plan to grow the Cumming area.  Another consideration was to rezone another section of the Middleton property to "Residential" but that request was not made on this evening. 

The City of Cumming provided a letter of support with conditions, which the Zoning Commission adopted. The re-zoning recommendations will now be sent to the Warren County Supervisors and are expected to be approved.  The Middleton re-zoning is consistent with the City of Cumming's land use plan.  The City of Cumming continues to explore ways to invest in their infrastructure, including upgrading the City's wastewater system within the existing incorporated limits while also examining possibilities for extending it out to the Middleton land and others along Interstate 35.

One of the goals of GroWARRENow is to establish a countywide revolving loan fund to serve gap finance needs of small and medium sized projects.  In the meantime, however, businesses should know that Warren County is part of a multi-county region (Dallas, Jasper, Polk, and Warren) which shares access to a revolving loan fund pool.  This fund is called the Md Iowa Development Fund.   The typical loan is worth $50,000, however there are exceptions to this rule as it is largely based on need and loan review.   

For more information, contact the WCEDC office, or contact loan review committee members Steve Wilson (Warren County Board of Supervisors), Clint Welling (Community Bank) or Tom Wagenknecht (Great Western Bank).  

Iowa Workforce Development launched an innovative program this year to better connect workers to positions of demand in Iowa's economy. This initiative, called Skilled Iowa Communities, is intended to improve the job training and marketability of Iowa's workforce and drive future economic growth for the state. One of the aspects of the program is the Skilled Iowa Internship, which pays people who are receiving unemployment insurance for a specified number of weeks while developing skills for re-employment. Each county in Iowa has been challenged to meet benchmarks for employer participation in the program.

Communities/Counties are measured against four metrics.

1. The number of member businesses within the county - those businesses signing the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) Letter of Commitment.
2. The percent of total employees covered by the businesses - these are the employees of member businesses who have attained an NCRC.
3. Current Labor Force Certified - individuals who are currently employed who have attained an NCRC.
4. Transitioning Labor Force Certified - individuals who are unemployed, and willing to accept employment, who have an NCRC.

Thus far only a fraction of Warren County employers are participating. We look forward to working with Iowa Workforce Development to develop more awareness for this program to help your business.

More information can be found at www.skillediowa.org