Dear Ms. Abdel,
Congratulations on your appointment as president and CEO of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance. While you may be new to the Corridor, your new role places you immediately among the region’s most influential leaders.
As we noted in this space in the last issue, it’s also one of the most challenging positions in the region.
Since our founding in 2004, the Corridor Business Journal has been an outspoken advocate for greater regional cooperation. Unfortunately, despite some progress over the years, the Cedar Rapids–Iowa City area still struggles to function as a truly unified region. By comparison, the Des Moines and Quad Cities markets have forged ahead with far more cohesive regional models – consolidated convention and visitors bureaus, unified economic development entities and chambers, and shared, well-recognized regional brands.
It appears that the Tulsa market from where you came also has an established regional approach.
A bit of history: In the 1990s, Cedar Rapids business leaders made an ambitious push to attract an auto manufacturer, but realized that it wasn’t going to be successful unless the entire region got behind the effort. The effort ultimately failed, but it revealed a hard truth – no single city or county could succeed alone. That realization sparked broader conversations and gave rise to the term “Corridor,” a name now embraced by dozens of organizations, from Corridor Construction to Corridor Endodontics to Corridor Radiology to the Corridor Wealth Management Group.
While the name mostly stuck – and cooperation among economic development groups has certainly improved – we remain a divided region. Too often, leaders become mired in the perceived differences between the north (Cedar Rapids/Linn County) and the south (Iowa City/Johnson County).
To be clear, the region is diverse – and that’s part of our strength. Few regions offer the same lifestyle range: urban amenities, a Big Ten university, vibrant suburbs, rural communities with excellent schools and health care, all within a short drive.
In the not too distant future, there will be difficulty in discerning the separation between counties and municipalities along Interstate 380.
What’s consistent, however, is that the business community has little patience for antiquated political boundaries. Companies hire, sell, and grow across the region. Two of our strongest regional institutions – Kirkwood Community College and the Eastern Iowa Airport – depend on a regional economy. Their success reflects the region’s success and vice versa.
Still, one reason collaboration lags is that both ends of the Corridor are doing reasonably well. The urgency isn’t always obvious. “What’s the point?” some might ask.
But we believe the better question is: What more could we achieve if we truly worked together?
We are optimistic that your background and leadership can help push these conversations forward – not just for the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, but for the entire Corridor.
We wish you the best.
