News

Zero Zone Announces its Intent to Expand to Dyersville

Friday, September 10, 2021

Since 1961, when it first began operations in a dairy barn in a small town outside Milwaukee, Zero Zone, Inc. has earned the reputation of producing top-of-the-line commercial refrigeration units at competitive prices. Now—60 years later and over 500 employees strong—the company announces plans to expand its operations to Dyersville, Iowa, conditional upon local and state approvals. “Our values are those of the American Midwest,” says Rick Steer, Vice President & General Manager of the Zero Zone Systems Division, based in Ramsey, Minnesota. “Our corporate ownership is Milwaukee based, and operates multiple facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Our mission is t...

Greater Dubuque Development Receives Recognition from Regional Economic Development Council

Monday, May 17, 2021

On Thursday, May 13, 2021, Greater Dubuque Development received two awards from the Mid-America Economic Development Council as part of their virtual Best Practices Conference. We were selected as winners in two categories: Workforce Development and Economic Impact Deal of the Year. The Workforce Development award is in recognition of our College Recruitment Strategy. Starting in 2019, we developed resources and a year-long schedule of events to connect area employers with college students. This includes the Student Employer Connection Guide, Summer Career Services Visit, Talent Dubuque program, and the AccessDubuqueJobs.com College Career and Professional Development Fair. The Economic Impact Deal of the Year recognize...

Greater Dubuque Development Receives Award for Business Retention and Expansion Efforts

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

On March 18, 2021, the Professional Developers of Iowa recognized Greater Dubuque Development for their Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) effort with area College Outreach and Recruitment at the virtual Best of BRE in Iowa Awards. Greater Dubuque Development has a comprehensive BRE program, highlighting a 12-month College Outreach initiative with the purpose of connecting employers with a pipeline of skilled talent now and into the future. As a result of their efforts, this program has created thousands of student-employer interactions through job fairs, an intern engagement program, Employer Connection Guides and more. The PDI Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Award...

Simmons Pet Foods Moves Forward With Project in Dubuque

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Simmons Foods is moving forward with plans to develop the former Flexsteel facility at 501 Seippel Road for a new pet food manufacturing operation in the Dubuque Industrial Center South. Simmons is the sixth-largest pet food manufacturer in the United States, producing both dry and wet food products. The project includes plans to hire 138 workers in the first phase and a total 271 new employees over the next three years with an average starting wage of $22.18. The project has qualified and approved for both state and local incentives. In reviewing the project, consideration was given to the potential for strong odors. Greate...

Broadband Expansion Initiative Receives Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award

Friday, October 23, 2020

On October 15, 2020, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) awarded the Broadband Expansion initiative with the Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award. The program was recognized in the category of Resiliency, Recovery, and Mitigation—submissions had to represent a successful recovery from a natural or man-made disaster and/or represent replicable measures undertaken to promote long-term resiliency in the event of future disaster. Starting in 2016, Dave Lyons, Sustainable Innovations Consultant for Greater Dubuque Development, worked with the City of Dubuque to build new partnerships in public and private sectors to expand the broadband network and increase providers. Part of the strateg...

Greater Dubuque Receives BEST of Iowa Excellence Award

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

On January 10th, 2020, Business Expansion and Strategic Trends (BEST) released their annual report and BEST of Iowa Excellence Awards. BEST is a collaboration of local economic development groups, Alliant Energy, Black Hills Energy, the Iowa Area Development Group, MidAmerican Energy, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The collaborative focuses on strengthening policies and programs that support Iowa businesses and communities. The annual report is a compilation and analysis of Synchronist business interviews conducted throughout the year. In 2019, 800 interviews were conducted across 66 counties in Iowa. Greater Dubuque Development received a BEST of Iowa Excellence Award for goin...

Two Leading Dubuque Employers Announce Plans to Jointly Purchase the Roshek Building

Monday, December 16, 2019

On November 29th, 2019, Cottingham & Butler and Heartland Financial USA announced plans to purchase the Roshek Building at 700 Locust Street in downtown Dubuque. The two companies have formed a partnership, Roshek Property LLC, in order to make the purchase from Dubuque Initiatives. Together, they have plans to invest an additional $2.85 million to improve the building for their respective operations. They have collectively committed to creating at least 32 new full-time jobs through the project. Cottingham & Butler is the 25th largest insurance broker in the country, employing more than 700 individuals in Dubuque. They currently have offices acros...

Workforce Solutions Team Receives Regional Recognition

Monday, December 16, 2019

In early December, Greater Dubuque Development received recognition from two separate regional organizations for our Workforce Solutions team. The Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) selected our Career Services Visit initiative as the winner of the “Best in the Midwest” in the Workforce Development category at the 2019 Economic Development Awards ceremony held December 9th at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. This prestigious award considered programs in 12 states in communities with populations over 50,000. Kristin Dietzel, Vice President of Workforce Solutions, accepted the award on behalf of Greater Dubuque Development. The awards are part of the annual Mid-America Competitivenes...

Greater Dubuque Area Receives National Recognition for Corporate Facility Investments

Friday, March 15, 2019

On March 4, 2019, Greater Dubuque Development and the Greater Dubuque area were recognized again by Site Selection Magazine with the Big Muddy Cup. The award is given to the leading metro area along the entire Mississippi River in per-capita corporate facility investments. Greater Dubuque Development was involved with 12 projects that qualified for the award, including the relocation of Flexsteel Industries’ manufacturing facility to the Dubuque Industrial Center South, Medline Industries’ relocation within the Dubuque Industrial Center West, and the Camso expansion in Peosta. The projects’ value per capita in the Greater Dubuque area exceeded those of metros includin...

Greater Dubuque Development Communications Receive International Recognition

Monday, October 15, 2018

The Greater Dubuque Development Corporation received both Gold and Silver Excellence in Economic Development Awards for the 2016-2017 Annual Report and "You Can Make It In Greater Dubuque" promotional piece, respectively. The awards were presented by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 2 during the IEDC Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Congratulations to Emily Graves, Director of Communications, for her internationally recognized work.

Another Major Expansion for Camso: $6.3 Million Investment and 40 New Jobs

Sunday, May 14, 2017

For the second time in five years, Greater Dubuque Development had the privilege to work with Camso Manufacturing USA on a major expansion. Camso plans to relocate to a new building within Peosta, Iowa and purchase machinery and equipment. The company estimates a $6.3 million investment in the project and plans to add 40 jobs. Camso is the world leader in the design, manufacture, and distribution of off-road tires, wheels, rubber tracks, and undercarriage systems to serve the material-handling, construction, agricultural, and power-sports industries.

Flexsteel Announces Expansion and Relocation Plans in Dubuque

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Flexsteel Industries announced plans to relocate their manufacturing operations to a new site in the Dubuque Industrial Center South. The company will invest over $28 Million to construct and equip a new state-of-the-art, 250,000-square-foot facility. The current manufacturing plant is located at 3400 Jackson Street. This announcement comes as a welcome development after months of collaboration by private and public entities. The hard work and partnership of Flexsteel management and employees, United Steelworkers Local 1861, Teamsters Local 120, Operating Engineers Local 234, the City of Dubuque, Dubuque County, Dubuque Initiatives, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority once again demonstrates the powe...