The Tri-State Development Regional Report
news & updates
DECEMBER 2022 | Issue 2
Upcoming Events

JANUARY
10 Rural Revitalization & Placemaking Task Force Meeting: 2:00 pm, Northeast Power, Palmyra, MO
11 River Development Task Force Meeting: 2:00 pm, Klingner & Associates, Quincy, IL
17 Transportation Task Force Meeting: 2:00 pm, City Hall, Macomb, IL
18 Regional Health & Wellbeing Task Force Meeting, 10:00 am, Great River Health, Burlington, IA
19 Marketing our Tri-State Region Task Force Meeting: 10:00 a.m. Oakley-Lindsay Center, Quincy, IL
20 Tri-State Higher Ed Consortium Meeting
IS IT TOO LATE
TO JOIN A TASK FORCE?

It's never too late! We will communicate task force meeting dates, times, and locations in the newsletter and through email. Please register to attend, so we know who will join us for the conversation and whom to connect with throughout the year.
BROADBAND COVERAGE ATTRACTS RESIDENTS TO RURAL COMMUNITIES
The Tri-State Development region is in an exciting time. After decades of population loss to urban and suburban areas, the tide is turning toward a renewed interest in rural living. Studies show that we may be on the cusp of new migration patterns drawing Americans back to rural communities. Alexander Marr, in an Econ Focus article, highlights this exciting new trend stating, “Early signs suggest that the population loss experienced in rural America over the 2010s has abated.”1

We want to position our communities to welcome new residents by recognizing the many benefits of rural living and building up areas that may be lagging. 

Let’s consider the factors that favor rural living. People are struggling with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic with economic, social, physical, and mental stress and are searching for a new way of life often found in rural communities. According to an article written by Danny Gavin of the Association of Equipment Managers, he states, “Americans are moving to rural areas in ever-increasing numbers, reflecting their increased desire to seek out more space, embrace entrepreneurial opportunities, and take advantage of a lower cost of living.”2

However, one issue continues to surface as a concern of rural living: reliable and widely available internet access. As a Tri-State community, we want to be able to provide connectivity beyond our neighbor’s fence and Gavin’s article tells the story of how we can buck the out-migration trend and bring in new residents, “And if telecommuting is an option, 66% of Americans polled in a recent survey conducted between Paulsen and Audience Audit say that they would consider moving to a rural home or a subdivision.” 




Tri-State Development and Culver-Stockton College offices will be closed December 23rd-January 2nd. We look forward to connecting with you in the New Year.
JOBS IN THE TRI-STATE REGION
When we consider the 36-county region of the Tri-State Development area, we understand how important it is to invest in and support the sectors that drive and sustain our economic vitality and health. Yes, this data is a little bit dated but remains an appropriate snapshot of our regional economy by industry sector.
KEY INSIGHTS

  • Manufacturing, Retail Trade, Education, and Health Care/Social Services are the four leading industry sectors for our region, accounting for 53.7% of all jobs.

  • 15.53% of all jobs in the tri-state region are in manufacturing. The jobs report issued in September 2022 by the Department of Labor showed U.S. manufacturers added another 22,000 workers in September, increasing employment in the sector by nearly 500,000 over the course of the last 12 months. CNNBusiness published an interesting outlook article on national manufacturing trends, which you can find here.

  • As we pointed out in last month's newsletter, rural hospital systems are often the largest employers in their counties. In our 36-county region, the healthcare sector is the largest employer supporting 15.93% of regional jobs. To find out more about the vital contribution rural healthcare jobs make in our region and nationally, look into some of the data provided by the Rural Health Information Hub, which can be accessed here.

  • While Agriculture appears to be low, the NAICS codes for this sector are exclusive to establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats. Grain elevators, barge operators, and grain transport fall under other sectors, such as Transportation and Warehousing and Wholesale Trade.
Tri-State Development
SPOTLIGHT:
Building a Network that Goes BEYOND
Ralls County Electric Cooperative is making a national name for itself. Serving members in Ralls County, Missouri, a county with a population of 10,361 and rural parts of four neighboring counties, this electric co-op set out to achieve something unusual, unheard of really. In 2010, Lynn Hodges, CEO and General Manager of Ralls County Electric Cooperative, and his board committed to providing high-speed fiber broadband to 100% of its members. Through its subsidiary, Ralls Technologies, they achieved this goal in 2014 and then set out to do something extraordinary. They decided to keep going until the entire county had access to their robust fiber network.
Share Your Spotlight Story
We want to shine a light on the Tri-State region! Tell us about the great things happening in your community! Please help us spread the word about the activities, projects, programs, and collaborations that positively impact our region. We want to thank you for all that you do!

Click here to submit a spotlight story. It's quick and easy!
Interested in learning more about things happening in rural America beyond the Tri-State area? Consider tuning in to this new podcast provided by the Brookings Institution. This podcast airs conversations from rural communities tackling issues in innovative and effective ways.

Tony Pipa, senior fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution, leads the “Reimagine Rural” podcast, while guests from communities across the country tell their stories in their own words. 
U.S. Census Bureau Releases the
2017-2021 American Community Survey 5 -Year Estimates
Have you had an opportunity to review the data released by the Census Bureau on December 8th? The big headline from the survey was the cost of housing and its impact on American households.

The report showed that over 40% (19 million) of renter households in the country spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs during the 2017-2021 period. (This is defined as housing cost-burdened by the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development). At the county level, 239 or 7.6% of the nation’s 3,143 counties had a median housing cost ratio for renters above 30%.

Mapping Housing Cost Ratios in the U.S.
During the 2017-2021 period, the national median cost ratio for renter-occupied units was 29.8%. What percentage of income is spent on housing in our tri-state regional counties? Find out using the 2017-2021 ACS 5-year estimates and their new data visualization. 
Thank you to Missouri Representative Louis Riggs, District 5, for initiating the Workforce Housing Town Hall held at Northeast Power on December 9th. The information shared will help provide structure and data to housing initiatives in Northeast Missouri as well as the rest of the Tri-State region. We value your leadership and partnership and look forward to continuing the discussion on this important challenge.
TASK FORCE UPDATES
The Tri-State Development Task Forces meet regularly to discuss challenges and opportunities and to develop action plans to move regional initiatives forward. We have completed the first meeting for all seven task forces. To review the discussion notes and actions, please click on the links provided.

Thank you to those participating in the task force meetings, providing insight, direction, and perspective. We value participation from all stakeholders in the Tri-State Development region and encourage you to register for the next meeting.
"Regionalism is vital to every community’s economic development efforts. Tri-State Development Summit’s task forces provide essential opportunities for leaders from across the region to band together over common needs and priorities."
 
Allie Bennett, DBA, CEcD
Manager of Economic Development and Member Services
Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative
Tri-State Development is eager to share the progress and impact of task force efforts by providing access to meeting discussion notes and follow-up actions. Please click on the links below to review the recent task force notes.
Please join us in showing gratitude to our Sponsorship Partners who generously support Tri-State Development at the Presenting and Program levels. Their investment helps support the annual Tri-State Development Summit, investments in stakeholder resources, as well as programs and projects throughout the year.
Tri-State Development Summit at Culver-Stockton College | [culver.edu/tsds]