Illinois River Partnership Summit: The Gateway Building and Peoria Riverfront Museum were hosts to the first-ever Illinois River Partnership Summit. The conference featured three distinct seminars. On Wednesday, the “Green Marine Highway Initiative” and focussed on sustainability issues. Thursday brought the annual meeting of the Illinois River Cities and Towns Initiative, a coalition of 15 mayors of river communities. I was honored to moderate a panel discussion on the topic of economic opportunity along the Illinois River with panelists from Illinois DCEO, Illinois EDC and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. The final day was the Illinois Waterways Port (ILWW) annual meeting. The ILWW brings together all the port districts along the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers to discuss how to protect, enhance and leverage this resource. There were great presentations throughout the three days, but even better opportunities for networking and collaboration. Thank you to the Corn Belts team for bringing such an excellent event to Greater Peoria. And special thanks to the Greater Peoria EDC team (Sally, Kathie, Cynthia, and David) for pitching in to make sure everything from registration to the A/V went smoothly. Some coverage here.
Just Transition: Kathie participated in Just Transition Fund Midwest Gathering and National Convening in Minneapolis last week and reports that it was an incredible week. The Just Transition Fund (JTF) supports local innovators and community advocates in building diverse and resilient economies, particularly in communities experiencing a transition from the coal energy sector. For the last few years, Kathie and GPEDC have been building a strong relationship with JTF. Two years ago, JTF helped fund broadband planning work throughout Greater Peoria. At the Gathering, speakers and attendees challenged their thinking, built powerful networks, and explored opportunities to leverage others’ experiences with energy transition needs and opportunities throughout the Midwest and beyond. Kathie enjoyed reconnecting with so many peers and strengthening ties to this great organization.
Excalibur Seasonings: Sure, in Greater Peoria, we make bulldozers, mining trucks, steel wire, canned pumpkin, and sunglasses, but did you also know we make lots and lots of food seasoning? That’s because Pekin is home to Excalibur Seasonings, which prepares seasoning mixes, rubs, and marinades for food processors, grocery and retail stores, and even home chefs. And they are on the grow. In October, construction began on an expansion to their campus. Their new R&D Center is designed as a fully integrated innovation hub. The 14,000-square-foot facility is divided into sections, including a significantly expanded R&D lab and a comprehensive meat processing kitchen equipped with commercial-grade machinery. If I’m allowed to use a pun, it’s a tasty addition to our regional economy. (Let me know you read this with a reply of “boo” or “ha!”)
ASCM Tour of KK: That’s a lot of letters. Well, for the second time this year, Caterpillar opened another one of their facilities, drivetrain Building KK, as part of their Association of Supply Chain Managers (ASCM) Lincoln Land Chapter affiliation and support. Several attendees had previously worked at facility KK and were impressed by how much it has changed over the years, especially how clean and well-organized it is today. Automation and human-assisted were also seen throughout the facility. KK provides precision machining, heat treatment, and assembly services for drivetrains. Approximately 2000 production and office workers, including contractors, are on-site.
CoLI: Every time you hear about the “Cost of Living Index,” you can thank GPEDC and our colleague Kirsten. It’s Kirsten who literally goes shopping (well, mostly via internet searches) to find the prices of a wide variety of items and services. These are submitted each quarter to the Council for Community and Economic Research, who compile the work of all the Kirstens across the US into the Index. But Kirsten’s work doesn’t stop there – we also ask her to dive into the results each quarter to see how Peoria stacks up. You can read her latest analysis here.
Survey Time: “Peoria County 200+” is the process of updating Peoria County’s Land Use Plan, a document last refreshed in 2009. A lot has changed since then! This updated plan will be shaped by the people who call Peoria County home, helping define how the County grows, changes, and thrives for years to come. To facilitate public input, the team has created a survey that can be accessed here. For more information about this planning process and other opportunities to provide feedback, please visit the project website here.
Have a great weekend.
Chris