BN Advantage to visit Arkansas communities for inspiration

Posted on October 12, 2017
One Voice
The 2016 ‘One Voice’ delegation is pictured above in Washington D.C. (Photo courtesy Facebook/Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – Local economic developers hope to find inspiration from Arkansas as they look to grow the economy in McLean County.

About 20 members from the group BN Advantage will bus to Arkansas next week for a three-day visit to Little Rock and Conway, a college town comparable to Bloomington-Normal.

Spokesman for the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, Zach Dietmeier, told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin the mission is to see how those communities have grown and what they’ve done that might work here.

“We are just trying to get a feel for what worked, what didn’t work,” Dietmeier said. “We are gong to ask some of the tough questions to really drive our initiative in BN Advantage forward,”

Dietmeier said the trip was spearheaded by McLean County Chamber of Commerce President Charlie Moore.

One Voice

The EDC is also inviting anyone seeking to be included in a federal government funding request through the local One Voice effort to submit their proposal to the EDC by Nov. 29.

“We go to the (U.S.) Department of Education, Department of Transportation, whatever those projects are that come to us,” Dietmeier said.

Dietmeier said the group is looking for three or four projects to present in Washington D.C. next March that have an economic development impact in McLean County and must improve the quality of life here.

Information is available at www.bnbiz.org.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…