Working in collaboration with the City of Johnston, the Johnston Economic Development Corporation hosted their Annual Development Forum on April 4th at Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. The forum presentations included valuable insights from Dr. Jim Register, President & CEO of the Iowa Innovation Corporation and a variety of development updates from the City of Johnston.

Jim Sanders the City Administrator kicked off presentations by providing the latest City of Johnston updates on topics including City Council goal setting, community survey results, the 2019 budget, property tax rates and a look at the priority capital improvement projects.

Dr. Jim Register followed by shedding some light on the challenges and benefits of enhancing bioscience-driven economic development in Iowa. Register provided insights on how the Iowa Innovation Corporation leads the State’s bioscience economic development efforts, plays a critical role in increasing access to capital investment for bioscience companies, improves connectivity and collaboration opportunities between key stakeholders, and ensures continued legislative support for the Iowa innovation ecosystem.

Following the update on bioscience in Iowa attendees were provided with exciting updates related to current and future development in Johnston. Dave Wilwerding, Johnston Community Development Director, provided a recap of development in 2018 and outlined several recent and upcoming commercial projects in the community. He also provided important information about plans for updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Adam Plagge, the City Economic Development Manager, concluded the program by providing an update on the Town Center project, including a timeline of development activities for the project including the construction of a new City Hall and adjacent commercial projects. In addition, he provided updates on the City of Johnston TIF incentive policy.

The Johnston Economic Development Corporation was proud to present a gift of $2,000 at the event in support of the City’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Following the program participants gathered to network and learn more about pending development projects such as the Town Center and Birchwood Crossing.

If you missed the event you missed a lot! The good news is that you can review the presentations from the 2019 Development Forum and learn more about how you can get involved with the bioscience sector in Iowa and development in Johnston!

Special thanks to the sponsor of the 2019 Development Forum, JEDCO member Corteva Agriscience. We look forward to seeing you at our next big event, our annual bus tour on October 16, 2019.  See you there!

2019 Development Forum Presentation