Local economic and community leaders hosted Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Executive Director, Debi Durham, as she visited several Carroll County businesses Tuesday. Durham began the day with a tour of Templeton Rye Distillery, which opened a new production facility and aging warehouse in 2018, before heading to Western Iowa Networks’ (WIN) new headquarters in Carroll. Durham was joined during the noon hour by the Carroll County Board of Supervisors and area mayors, city councils and business owners as she outlined the state’s economic position. According to her, available labor remains a key concern in nearly all industries as recent data from Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) show Iowa had nearly 5,000 more jobs than unemployed people in December 2021. She highlighted some of the changes potentially coming to the state’s unemployment system, which will refocus on helping Iowans get back to work and cut the maximum benefit period from 26 weeks to 16. Durham notes there is much uncertainty ahead with high inflation, which is being significantly outpaced by the price of input commodities. She finished her time in Carroll at the Chamber office with the Highway 30 Coalition regarding their effort to four-lane the highway across the state.
