Golden Shovel Keeps You Informed
Your place to keep up with trending economic development news.

WALL, SD -- Wall Economic Development Corporation recently launched a newly designed website, created by Golden Shovel Agency, to further strengthen its online presence and economic growth. The new site is much more user-friendly, is now able to market the Industrial Park area in Wall, SD, and is designed t...

CONROE, TX -- Conroe Economic Development Council recently launched a newly designed website, created by Golden Shovel Agency, to further strengthen its online presence and economic growth. The new site is very robust in terms of information available and is easily navigable.
“We are really happy with the site and feel i...

As we enter a new year, you may be wondering how to include remote workers in your workforce attraction strategy. Government regulations and efforts to slow the pandemic have forced workplaces to embrace remote work options. 88% of businesses all over the world authorized their employees to work from hom...

The Golden Shovel Agency is built of many unique, passionate, hard-working individuals. Whether you are a client or not, we're going to bet that you don't know everyone on our team personally. So it's time we introduced ourselves and tell you some fun facts about us.
Meet our team!
Ron Kresha, CFO/COO
Favorit...

Best Economic Development Websites for 2021
Dec 18 2020A common question that our team is asked is "Can you give examples of the best economic development websites for 2021?"
Each year, backed by research, conferences, and the latest trends, the Golden Shovel Agency team puts together a list of what we consider to be the best economic development websites...

The strategy of simply creating a website and hoping new businesses will look at your community isn’t going to work by itself. You need a marketing plan to work along with it. A workforce attraction and business growth strategy need to target specific industry sectors. A solid strategy will hav...

Authors don’t write books for librarians, they write books for readers. So why are economic developers creating websites just for search engines?
The sole focus on search engine rankings has moved economic development website marketing away from the true intended purpose - connecting communities to business owners and expanding economic growt...

ELK RIVER, MN -- The City of Elk River recently launched a redesigned website to further strengthen its online presence and economic growth. The newly redesigned website includes an updated homepage with video and better organization of relevant content.
“The opening video montage on our homepage was a priority that showcase...

Phelps County Development Corporation received the 2020 NREDA Organization Excellence Award for implementing a successful rural economic development program for their area.
"In addition to addressing housing and workforce issues through their GO! Home and High Demand Jobs Scholarship Programs, the Phelps County Development Corporation has had a creative and aggressiv...

FREMONT, NE -- Greater Fremont Development Council (GFDC) recently launched a redesigned website to further strengthen its online presence and economic growth. The newly redesigned website includes a more uniform flow of content with an appeal to a diverse variety of website visitors.
“This update to our existing GFDC website allow...

Did you know??
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 43% of the workforce worked from home at least some of the time according to Gallup data. With the pandemic, that percentage increased and many people have switched to completely remote work.
With the switch, many found a certain freedom.
In April 2020, people i...

So your community didn’t get on the finalist list of Amazon HQ2. Now what? The site selection process is changing and adapting with the trends in business. While it may still be important for you to look for potentially large company relocations, many good business expansions can occur with smal...

Pasadena Economic Development Corporation Receives Excellence in Economic Development Award
Oct 19 2020The Pasadena Economic Development Corporation (PEDC) was awarded a Gold Rank for its Pasadena Pulse E-Newsletter, a project in the category of Magazine and Newsletter of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented on October 15, 2020, at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference.
"Over th...

Rural Electronic Economic Development (REED) Fund provides businesses and community project financing in partnership with commercial and other economic development lenders to leverage private investment and make a difference in the region it serves. Established in 1996 and governed by 25 electric cooperatives, REED assists projects that promote growth an...

The Pflugerville Community Development Corporation received top honors as a statewide recipient of the Community Economic Development Award (CEDA) for Texas populations 50,001 - 100,000 by the Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) during their 2020 virtual annual conference this week.
“The CEDA award recognizes our partnership with Amazon who worked hand-in-han...

Follow these Steps to Prepare for Site Selector Requests
Community leaders, property managers, and developers should prepare for the opportunity to attract new manufacturing companies to the area as a result of the recent onshoring trend. Site selectors have been issuing requests for information as companies throughout the United States an...

The Seguin Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) received recognition for its success in bringing Continental Structural Plastics and United Alloy, Inc. into the Rio Nogales Industrial Park in Seguin.
The Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) recently awarded the SEDC its 2020 Community Economic Development Award (CEDA).
"We're super excited about this recognition," Segui...

This Is Exactly What We Signed Up For
Sep 30 2020Being an early adopter of technology is like being on a roller coaster. You start out chugging uphill, while you get the work started. The first descent is exhilarating and scary at the same time as you launch your product. You don't know what's around the next bend in th...

Linda DiMario is currently an Economic Development Consultant at the Greater Irvine Chamber. She is convinced that she has always been in economic development. Whether the political area of elections and policy or influencing and contributing to the economic vitality of a community by hotel sales, tourism development, marketing, o...

Who has heard the phrase, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”? In any industry, introductions are important, and building your network makes a big difference. For economic developers, having a robust network and access to tools and resources can define how you do business.
You can build you...

On Thursday, September 17, 2020, the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and East Metro Chamber partners hosted the annual Leaders in Local Government Awards Ceremony. The Chamber honored five organizations that exemplified and demonstrated innovation, excellence, and success in local government. Nominees were selected based on the contributions wit...

As you know, your job is all about building communities. Successfully transforming a community requires leadership and hard work. The economic developers we see every day have a range of skills and wealth of experience to draw from to perform their jobs, and these individuals are community leaders. Some economi...

360-Degree Video and Virtual Reality Enables Economic Recovery Strategy for Small Businesses
The Future doesn’t seem so bleak for Agritourism destinations in Northeastern Oregon thanks to a new 360-degree video produced by Golden Shovel Agency. The video, created in collaboration with Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative and their tourism partners, takes viewer...

Rajiv Somepalli is currently the Communications Coordinator in Marketing for Yankton Area Progressive Growth (YAPG) and has been in his role for about a year. He grew up in Yankton, SD, and lived there until graduating high school in 2004. He then moved away for approximately ten years, spending mos...