Poised in the nation’s heartland between two big farm states, Omaha-Council Bluffs officials hope to benefit from the region’s strong agricultural sector to become one of the world’s top five agri-business leaders. Randy Thelen, senior vice president at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, sees value-added agriculture as a key to making the metro area a global leader in food processing, biofuels and biochemicals.  “We’ve seen tremendous growth of the Cargill campus up in Blair over the years,” Thelen says. “We want to see that continue to grow and we see a new wave of investment taking place across the country in that space and we want to be a leader in that.”

Thelen says other opportunities include the growing precision agriculture industry as well as managing the huge amount of data collected to aid modern ag practices. Thelen says, “How can we best translate the data that’s being collected today in a meaningful way that provides better abilities to manage the farms, manage these businesses around the world, not just here locally, but around the world?”

Thelen says the region’s strong agricultural sector provides urban centers with great opportunities to foster agri-businesses.

(Radio Iowa)

One-quarter of the businesses in the state have plans to hire more employees, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today (Tuesday). Manpower spokesperson Karen Miller says the survey covers employers’ staffing plans for the months of April, May and June. Twenty-five-percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more workers. “We had another 70-percent that expect to maintain their current staffing levels,” Miller says. “So, we’re looking at a solid 95-percent of employers that are maintaining their workforces or adding.”

Just three-percent of the companies surveyed indicated they’ll decrease staff levels in the months ahead. The last survey conducted by Manpower, released back in December, found 21-percent of Iowa businesses planned to add workers between January and March.  “First quarter was good, but second quarter is looking fantastic for those job seekers out there,” Miller says.

Another report released last week also indicated Iowa employers are optimistic about boosting their workforces. The Iowa Business Council survey found 55-percent of the CEOs of the state’s largest businesses anticipate hiring more employees over the next six months, while 40-percent expect “no change” in employment levels.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic Kiwanis Organization has agreed to pay for the installation of playground equipment near the Little League ballpark. Parks and Rec Director Roger Herring said the group asked the City to play a role in the process. The Kiwanis want the City to maintain the playground equipment. Herring said the answer to that is “…of course, yes.” A rubber matting will be laid down as a cushion to prevent injury if a child should fall near the equipment.

The group will give the Parks and Rec Department money that’s been raised. Herring will then order the equipment and the Department will oversee its installation. The Parks and Rec Board approved the proposal as presented.