INP FEBRUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER |
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JOIN US FOR OUR
SPRING WEBINAR:
Civic Apathy and Civic Pride
Wednesday, March 23rd
9-11 a.m. (online)
Register here.
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Whether it is low attendance at city council meetings or sparse survey participation seeking residents’ input, most of us have experienced the frustration of community apathy. How can we as community leaders and volunteers move the needle from apathy to pride?
Join Inland Northwest Partners for our 2022 Spring Webinar Civic Apathy and Civic Pride to learn more about using a new approach in helping to restore people’s relationship with their town.
Our Webinar’s presenter Jeff Siegler is a writer, speaker and consultant concerned with the powerful role place plays in our lives. He is the founder of the civic pride consulting firm, Revitalize, or Die. and a co-founding partner of Proud Places. Having grown up in a struggling rustbelt city, Jeff understands the devastating cost of civic apathy and works every day to combat its effects. As a consultant, Jeff's work takes him around the country and internationally to assist cities in their efforts to restore civic health. He believes we must move beyond economic development and tourism and instead focus on making our cities into places residents can be proud to call home.
Jeff shares, “We have to take a new approach and help restore people’s relationship to their town. Only in fostering a sense of civic pride, can we begin to beat back the effects of apathy. We have to bring people together, restore beauty, foster affection and give people more meaning. By taking a small scale, simple and incremental approach, we can begin to replace apathy with pride. The key is getting to work. There is no silver bullet needed and no one is going to come along and fix it for us. We simply have to do our part, every resident, every day, taking part in making the community just a little bit better. When everyone participates, we can all have something truly special, a community we can be proud of.”
Join us for this two-hour webinar Wednesday, March 23rd from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Please register online.
Note: the webinar confirmation email and reminder emails will all come from a University of Idaho email as they are hosting the webinar for INP.
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Please help us welcome KayDee Gilkey, INP's new Executive Director
KayDee Gilkey comes to INP with more than 30 years of service to nonprofit boards on a local, regional, and state level, and is former two-term mayor of the Town of Fairfield, Washington. Gilkey is the economic development organization’s second director and assumed her position earlier this month. She succeeds Sharon Matthews, who held the position for 25 years. Matthews retired at the end of 2021.
“We are so pleased to have KayDee joining us at the INP. Her expertise in non-profit leadership coupled with her passion for economic and community vitality is the perfect combination to help our organization succeed and support our mission, notes INP Board Chairman and Avista Regional Business Manager Paul Kimmell.
Inland Northwest Partners originated in 1986 as an in-house Avista economic development program and became an official non-profit corporation in 1996. In 2004, the organization developed the Inland Northwest Economic Alliance to better support community and economic development professionals from across the Inland Northwest.
“Sharon was the consummate professional leading both organizations effectively for so long. Our Board and the entire region deeply appreciate her efforts and the positive economic impacts she helped foster here,” Kimmell said. See full press release here.
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How do we bridge the gap in our labor force?
EMSI's new book, Demographic Drought, will help build a plan for engaging sidelined workers.
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This free powerful tool is designed to assist small business development & expansion with Competitive Business Intelligence
SizeUp Inland NW is a FREE tool that enables small and medium-sized businesses to access market research and business intelligence that is industry-specific and hyperlocal.
- Rank business performance compared to industry competitors
- Discover potential customers and suppliers
- Better understand the competitive landscape
- Optimize advertising to target ideal customer segments
- Find ways to save their business money
Learn More: View the recordings of our February 3 and March 3 training webinars from last year.
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FIND COVID RESOURCES TO HELP YOUR BUSINESSES
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Inland Northwest Partner Investors
INP would like to thank these progressive companies for their commitment to economic development throughout the region:
FOUNDING INVESTOR
MAJOR INVESTORS
CONTRIBUTING INVESTORS
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Inland NW Economic Developments, WINTER 2021-22
The following projects, initiatives and economic developments are making news in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. This email is distributed by the Inland Northwest Economic Alliance on behalf of its regional partners.
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LEWISTON, IDAHO — In response to the workforce challenges facing the region, a new organization called the Inland Northwest Workforce Council (INWC) has been created from the existing Dream It, Do It council. The INWC will take a holistic approach to solving workforce problems in North Central Idaho and Southeast Washington. It will focus on four pillars: Career & Technical Education awareness within schools; employer needs and practices; talent supplier needs and practices; and, entrepreneurship. The Council meets at least monthly and is currently applying for grant dollars to support hiring at least one full time employee. Contact scottc@lewiston.com for more information.
CHEWELAH, Wash. — 49 Degrees North Ski Resort in Chewelah Washington, has just installed a $7 million high-speed quad chairlift, which is the longest ski lift span in the state of Washington. The lift spans 6,644 feet and rises onto Chewelah Peak by 1,850 feet to the summit. The resort has also installed new snow-making machines, to make conditions more favorable when mother nature doesn’t agree. Contact jkoffel@teddonline.com for more information.
The Spokane Tribe of Indians has begun construction on a 70-room hotel near the Chewelah Casino. This hotel will have an indoor swimming pool, a business and conference center and even have ski equipment lockers for nearby 49 Degrees North. The hotel will greatly increase hotel space in the town of Chewelah, which currently has three small independently owned hotels that have a combined 50 rooms of space. Contact jkoffel@teddonline.com for more information.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Amazon.com Inc. has launched daily air-cargo flights through affiliate Amazon Air at a new location at Spokane International Airport. More than 50 employees will be hired locally for Amazon Air's Spokane operations, the company says in a release. Amazon is leasing a new 30,750-square-foot air cargo facility at the airport. The Airport is leasing the roughly 6-acre site to S3R3 Solutions, which constructed the building and is subleasing it to Amazon Air. Read the full article here.
MOSCOW, Idaho and PULLMAN, Wash. — Final design, funding and construction timelines for a new terminal are nearing completion at the Pullman – Moscow Regional Airport (PUW). The $61 million terminal project includes a new 38,000 square foot building with room for expansion and growth and will be completed in late 2023. PUW is positioned between Washington State University in Pullman and the University of Idaho in Moscow. Recent construction of the 7,101-foot-long runway supports large jet aircraft needed to charter university athletic teams. Several services are available at PUW including commercial airline service to Seattle and Boise. The airport also offers air freight services, agricultural spraying, aircraft charter, and rental and flight training. Local businesses and athletic events frequently attract large private aircraft to the airport. See flypuw.com for more information.
CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University (EWU) cut the ribbon on October 22 to a 100,000-square-foot Interdisciplinary Science Center (ISC) that will play a transformational role in advancing EWU's science and scholarship, especially instruction and research conducted by the faculty and graduate students in EWU's College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Learn more here.
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – Plans were unveiled on November 1 for a $36 million performing arts center in Spokane Valley. The new building will be the homes of the Spokane Valley Summer Theatre and will be located on a 5-acre piece of land along the Interstate 90 corridor near the Tru by Hilton hotel. The center will be a three-story, state-of-the-art, 59,000-square-foot facility housing a 475-plus-seat main stage theater, a 200-seat flexible studio theater, an acting conservatory for area youth and an event and business meeting space. Read more here.
SPOKANE, Wash. — The Grain Shed co-op of bakers, brewers and farmers is moving its brewing operations to the Steam Plant, a Spokane restaurant and brew pub, and can now brew 60 barrels per month. In 2022, the co-op will be building a kitchen and taproom in partnership with Bellwether in the Hillyard neighborhood, and building a stone flour mill, wholesale bakery and retail shop in Liberty Lake. Read full article here.
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Idaho Forest Group LLC is expanding training for millwrights, industrial electricians, and heavy-duty mechanics as the need for skilled laborers remains high at mills in Chilco, Athol, Laclede, Moyie Springs, Lewiston, and Grangeville, offering academic tuition reimbursement of up to the IRS limit of $5,250 a year. IFG has also started on the construction of a new mill in Lumberton, Mississippi. Read full article here.
SPOKANE, Wash. and COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Multifamily housing projects will create more than 500 residential units combined with a total construction value of $73.3 million. River’s Edge Apartments will be located along the north side of the Spokane River, in west Coeur d’Alene. In Spokane, seven buildings will have 35 townhome-style units in the East Central neighborhood. About a mile north of the Spokane city limits, three four-story apartment buildings will have 84 units combined. In Spokane Valley, several multi-unit buildings have been permitted. For details, read here.
DEER PARK, Wash. — Backed by a $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the newly opened all-weather, utilities-adjacent Cedar Road is near to the Deer Park Airport and surrounding industrial land. The road will create acres of fully served industrial land that will bring new investments and jobs to Deer Park. See complete EDA article here.
LEWISTON, Idaho — Clearwater Economic Development Association is hiring a Community Development Specialist to help diversify the economies within the Clearwater, Latah, Lewis, Idaho, and Nez Perce Counties of north central Idaho. Link to apply.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington State University has opened the Steve Gleason Institute for Neurosciences in the Spokane University District. The space features products controlled through voice and/or eye gaze technologies, wheelchair and gaming simulation stations, a voice banking room, an accessible kitchen featuring touch and eye gaze technology, and more. Entrepreneurs, established businesses, and WSU students have products featured in the ATC. See full article here.
PULLMAN, Wash. — The Downtown Pullman Association is looking for the organization’s first Executive Director to lead downtown Pullman’s revitalization and provide expertise, resources, and activities using the Main Street Four-Point Approach®. Link to apply.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Based on the Doug Griffiths’ popular book, 13 Ways to Kill Your Community, Avista Corporation and 13 Ways have completed community assessments in 13 eastern Washington and northern Idaho communities including Medical Lake, Othello, Colville, Odessa, Ritzville, Lind, Davenport, Washtucna, Fairfield, Tekoa, and Sprague, Washington, and Potlatch and Grangeville, Idaho. The goal is to help communities gain a better understanding of who they are and to help future-proof going forward. Check out more at 13ways.ca.
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Inland Northwest Economic Alliance (INEA) is a consortium of fourteen economic development agencies representing fifteen counties in the North Idaho/Eastern Washington region. The collaborative effort is aimed at building economic growth through enhancing the brand recognition of the Inland Northwest and its communities and showcasing its business value. To learn more, visit www.inwp.org.
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Inland Northwest Partners | Website
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