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Dickinson County KS Economic Development Launches Workforce and Business Attraction Website

Monday, August 26, 2019

By 24-7 Press Release “Driving Dickinson County” is the attraction plan initiated by the Dickinson County Economic Development Corporation to promote the region to prospective businesses and workers. Visit https://www.dkedc.com/ to access the newly launched site. Executive Director of Dickinson County Economic Development Corp., Chuck Scott, believes the new website will help business attraction and engage site selectors. “Upgrading the website became a priority as we introduced our area to site selectors and new businesses,” said Scott. “This is a main source of exposure to gain awareness.” Good-paying jobs and low housing provide comfortable and safe communities for families, and residents are prou...

Most Economic Developers Don’t Have A Successful Content Strategy, Here Is One To Try

Monday, August 19, 2019

By Ron Kresha, Golden Shovel's COO/CFO Publishing regular content for your community yields the best results to build awareness. So why aren’t you publishing more valuable content? Content marketing costs 62% less than other marketing and produces 3 times as much traffic. Yet, most organizations ignore content marketing. Every day, workers, site selectors and entrepreneurs search for communities that have a compelling narrative with potential for growth. Your content strategy should feed their insatiable appetite for information. Economic developers know the power of content marketing. Stories are posted when businesses expand or new companies come to town. But only posting major events, give...

Communities Can Gain The Attention Of New Workers By Amplifying Their Social Media: Here Is How

Monday, August 12, 2019

By Ron Kresha, Golden Shovel's COO/CFO Communities need to amplify their digital content to gain traction on social media. To tell your community story, your workforce attraction or business attraction success stories need to be heard. In the noisy world of social media, being heard requires amplification. A successful digital strategy requires discipline and consistency. Posting content impulsively or only when you have time, means your audience will be confused. Good messaging is about repetition. One of my favorite quotes is about motivation from Zig Ziglar: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing that’s why we recommend it daily.” This bi...

Workers Are Migrating And Seeking Opportunities

Monday, August 05, 2019

By Ron Kresha, Golden Shovel's COO/CFO The American workforce is on the move and communities should understand the effects of worker migration. Variance exists between studies on exactly what effects urban, suburban and rural communities can expect. One certainty is that communities must confront the changes of growing racial and ethnical diversity, increasing immigration and rising numbers of older adults. These demographic shifts are touching every community differently. Geographic distribution of start-ups and worker increases are clustered within a few select regions of the US. According to the LinkedIn June Workforce Report, 15 regions account for 80% of high-growth startup employees—40 percen...

Presenting the Power of PlaceVR

Thursday, July 25, 2019

By Aaron Brossoit, Golden Shovel's CEO Relationships are key in economic development. A lot of deals come down to a handshake. But let’s face it: this puts smaller, more remote communities at a disadvantage in business attraction since site selectors don’t often have the time and money to visit smaller towns. When in-person meetings aren’t possible, the right technology can do an excellent job of bridging the communication gap. Virtual reality has been proven the next best method for showcasing community assets and capturing busy site selectors’ attention. We pride ourselves as being pioneers in harnessing innovative virtual reality technology for use i...

Can Opportunity Zones and Adam Smith Spur Economic Growth in America?

Monday, July 08, 2019

Opportunity Zone investments have the potential to unshackle billions of investment dollars from Wall Street and create working capital funds for main street USA. This lucrative tax shelter offers a winning combination of smart tax planning and decreased regulations-- a perfect match to maximize capital gains and increase long-term wealth. Additionally, investing in an opportunity zone fund directs capital into distressed communities who benefit the most from economic growth. But to receive the tax write-offs, investors must commit. Investing in the next 18 months provides the best long-term return, and assets are at the lowes...

What's Wrong with WordPress

Friday, March 09, 2018

There's a war on security and cyber security. If you have a WordPress site, you might be at risk (READ HERE about the 50,000 users who have recently been hacked.) But that's only one of the reasons why a WordPress site might not be the best fit, especially in Economic Development. Another key concern is its code quality. An integral issue is the quality of the WordPress code itself, such as old use of versions and contributors who did not follow the strict structural standards. If that still doesn't have you convinced, remember WordPress is designed for generic use only. WordPress i...

New Website Showcases Minnesota Technology Corridor

Monday, July 08, 2019

Ramsey, Minnesota– A comprehensive new online portal to highlight the Minnesota Technology Corridor was just launched. The website showcases premier project sites that are ready for technology business development. Minneapolis/Saint Paul is one of the largest and fastest growing tech regions in the country. The MN Tech Corridor includes Northeast suburbs of Minneapolis less than 30 minutes from the Twin Cities and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with convenient access to Interstate I-35. The goal of the new site is to promote the MN Tech Corridor to a national/international audience in order to attract new businesses and jobs to the region and spu...

New Website Showcases Gallup-McKinley County’s Business Advantages

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Gallup, NM – The Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GGEDC) just launched a redesigned website to strengthen its online presence and highlight business advantages in this rapidly growing region of New Mexico. “The redesign of the GGEDC website continues a commitment to the City of Gallup and McKinley County to provide a state of the art economic development website to promote the local business climate and opportunities,” said GGEDC Executive Director Patty Lundstrom. The comprehensive website is easy to navigate and includes customized reporting features. It will be a valuable tool for site selectors and businesses as it includes a host o...

New Website Showcases Gallup-McKinley County’s Business Advantages

Thursday, May 30, 2019

By 24-7 Press Release Gallup, NM – The Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GGEDC) just launched a redesigned website to strengthen its online presence and highlight business advantages in this rapidly growing region of New Mexico. “The redesign of the GGEDC website continues a commitment to the City of Gallup and McKinley County to provide a state of the art economic development website to promote the local business climate and opportunities,” said GGEDC Executive Director Patty Lundstrom. The comprehensive website is easy to navigate and includes customized reporting features. It will be a valuable tool for site selectors and businesses as it include...

New Website Demonstrates Carlsbad’s Business Opportunities

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

By 24-7 Press Release Carlsbad, NM – The Carlsbad Department of Development (CDOD) just launched a cutting edge website that showcases business opportunities and advantages in this burgeoning region of New Mexico. The customized online portal will serve as a valuable tool for economic development. “In today’s world, a good website is necessary for recruitment,” said Jeff Campbell, CDOD Director of Marketing and Business Development. “Virtual site visits, coupled with current data make our website a great resource for site selectors and developers alike.”? The user friendly website has a comprehensive array of details for prospective businesses, such as available sites, zoning, busines...

Interpretive Center Meets Goals for Accessibility with PlaceVR Kiosk

Friday, May 24, 2019

By 24-7 Press Release Lower Sioux Agency Historic Site Collaborates with Golden Shovel Agency to Bring Virtual Reality Experience to Visitors (Little Falls, MN, May 24, 2019) – Visitors to the Lower Sioux Agency Historic Site can now experience the expansive trails and outlying structures with an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience made possible by Golden Shovel Agency’s PlaceVR technology. The historic site might be anchored by the museum building where visitors can learn about the history of the Dakota community, but it’s on the prairie and river bluff trails where people can really get a sense for the land where that histor...

Website Illustrates Seguin’s Business Advantages

Monday, May 20, 2019

By 24-7 Press Release Seguin, TX – The Seguin Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) just released a new website that will serve as a valuable tool to promote its economic development mission to support area businesses and families while attracting new ones. “The Seguin EDC is excited to launch our very own standalone website to help strengthen our overall economic development efforts,” said Executive Director Josh Schneuker. Previously, the Seguin EDC had a subpage within the city’s website. Now the organization has its own sophisticated online portal to enhance its online brand while marketing to businesses and prospective residents. The online portal organizes and present...

City of Tracy Launches Comprehensive New Economic Development Website

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

By 24-7 Press Release Tracy, Calif. – The City of Tracy’s Economic Development Division just launched a comprehensive new website to encourage job growth and make the decision to bring your business and family to work, play and live “inside the triangle” simple and more streamlined. The site, thinkinsidethetriangle.com, was created to provide access to resources for community members, as well as site selectors and businesses considering coming to Tracy. “The website is a key component of our strategic effort to refresh the City’s brand, enhance community engagement and attract new businesses to Tracy,” stated Mayor Robert Rickman. “We encourage th...

IRS Releases Latest Round Of Opportunity Zone Regulations: Where Do We Stand Now?

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Article by Forbes AP Photo/Andrew Harnik As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress enacted two companion provisions designed to encourage investment and economic growth in certain low-income communities. First, Sec. 1400Z-1 paved the way for nearly 9,000 such low-income communities to be designated as "qualified opportunity zones" (QOZs). In turn, Sec. 1400Z-2 offers three federal income tax incentives to a taxpayer who invests in a business located within one of these zones: (1) the temporary deferral of capital gains, to the extent the gains are reinvested into a "qualified opportunity fund" (QOF); (2) the partial exclusion of previously deferre...

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