West DSM News

The Greater Des Moines Partnership has several key strategic priorities for 2020, including the Des Moines International Airport, Future Ready Des Moines and downtown Des Moines.

“We're one region, one voice; we do things together. We leveraged the communities, we pulled together businesses, and we pulled together local, state and federal agencies to really allow us to play above our weight," said Tom Mahoney, 2020 partnership board chair and chairman of the board of ITA Holdings Group.

According to the Business Record, the five strategic priorities of the Greater Des Moines Partnership for 2020 are: Partnering on the advance of the Des Moines International Airport project, enhancing downtown Des Moines through activation of the downtown riverfront and rivers, increasing the number of working-age adults who have completed a post-secondary education experience in alignment with Future Ready Iowa, creating a long term Downtown Vision Plan and increasing support for minority-owned businesses.

Supporting minority-owned businesses has become a priority as focus has grown on making sure Des Moines is welcoming and inclusive for all visitors and residents.

Future Ready Des Moines has a "75x25" goal – having 75 percent of the workforce complete some kind of post-secondary education by 2025, the Business Record reported. 

“If we want to grow our businesses, there's not enough Iowans to fill the jobs if you look at our unemployment rates and what's available. We need to be able to grow not only our economy but what our workforce looks like,” said Kathryn Kunert, past board chair and vice president of economic connections and integration at MidAmerican Energy Company.

The partnership also advocates for increased funding for Iowa airports, including the new terminal at Des Moines International Airport. They are awaiting federal action that will increase an airfare fee that would generate the $500 million needed for improvements.