Posted: Friday, January 8, 2016 10:28 am

NAUVOO, Ill. – The Mississippi and Des Moines Rivers Confluence Region is kicking off the New Year with continued regional economic development efforts.

The region includes Lee County, Clark County, Mo., and Hancock County, Ill.

 Designated as a Stronger Economies Together Region by USDA Rural Development and funded by Rural Development in partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the region will have its third SET planning session from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 60 N. Bluff St., Nauvoo, Ill.

Light sandwiches and refreshments will be provided. Participants interested in being on the writing team will have an organizational meeting at 11 a.m. at the same location.

SET III will focus on developing CARE models for four major industrial clusters – agribusiness, food processing and technology; advanced materials; chemicals/Chemical-based production; and biomedical/biotechnical (life science).

CARE stands for create, attract, retain and expand. SET III participants will identify strategies to collaborate and grow the economy by growing on the region’s current foundation and meeting the needs of regional industries.

About the SET Initiative

The SET Initiative is a six month collaborative initiative that provides hard economic data on participating communities and a structured process to discuss regional challenges.

Ultimately the grant will culminate in a High Quality Plan approved by USDA Rural Development.

For further information on the SET process, events and progress information are available on Facebook at Stronger Economies Together: Clark, Hancock and Lee counties.

There are three designated contact people for the initiative: Hancock County, Dustin Berg at executivedirector@growhancock.com or 217-357-3811; Clark County, Chris Kempke at kempkec@missouri.edu or 660-465-7255; and Lee County, Shelley Oltmans at shelleyo@iastate.edu or 524-5055. 

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