New regional development agency may be in the works
We hear it all the time: There are no jobs, people are leaving the area and our income per capita is lower than the state average. But Dan Cravens with the Department of Labor said there is something in the works to help the entire area. It’s called regionalization.
“Regionalization is a reality,” said Cravens, economist. “It’s just how to go about marketing that reality to companies.”
What is regionalization? It’s essentially marketing the whole region for a potential business, rather than individual cities or counties. Cravens said many people commute between Idaho Falls, Blackfoot and Pocatello, so the location of the business will still benefit all cities in the area.
Cravens said as a business, it’s not easy contacting three different agencies for an area that’s spanning about an hour apart from each other. He said a regional agency could find the best fit for a business by promoting all workers in the area.
“If you look at Bingham County, Bannock County, Bonneville County and put those counties together, you get the second-largest workforce in Idaho,” Cravens said.
However, Cravens said there’s still one unappealing aspect to East Idaho: the lack of a higher educated workforce.
“My best advice if an individual wants to help themselves and help our economy is to stay in school,” Cravens said.
There will be a meeting May 30 to discuss how to make this work with the current development agencies. Representatives from area cities and businesses like the Idaho National Lab, Idaho State University and various financial institutions will be discussing ways to form a regional development agency.
