Greater Dubuque Carries the Region’s Workforce Message to Washington

Greater Dubuque Development Corporation joined business and community leaders from across the region in Washington, D.C., June 9–11, 2026, for the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce's annual DC Fly-In.

Nic Hockenberry, Director of Regional Development for Greater Dubuque Development, represented Greater Dubuque Development and the employers, investors, and partners across our region. He traveled alongside delegates from the Chamber, the City of Dubuque, the Dubuque Regional Airport, and the East Central Intergovernmental Association (ECIA) – a cross-section built to deliver one coordinated message rather than several competing ones.

The delegation met with Congresswoman Ashley Hinson and Senator Chuck Grassley, and also held a session at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the Brownfields program and site redevelopment.

Each priority was carried by the person closest to it: John Deere Dubuque Works on permitting reform, ECIA on surface transportation reauthorization, the Dubuque Regional Airport on the rural air service funding gap, Medical Associates on healthcare access, and the City of Dubuque on Brownfields.

Hockenberry led the delegation's ask on expanding legal pathways to meet national workforce demand, urging Congress to modernize visa programs and align immigration policy with real labor market needs. For manufacturers, health systems, and small businesses in the Greater Dubuque region and across the country, labor availability isn't a future risk. It's a present constraint.

The delegation also thanked the congressional delegation for recent federal funding wins, including the $25 million RAISE grant supporting the Building Bridges to Employment and Equity project and the 14th Street railroad overpass, and $2 million for taxiway reconstruction at the Dubuque Regional Airport.

Greater Dubuque will continue tracking federal action on these issues and report back to investors as progress is made. To learn more about our federal outreach efforts, contact Nic Hockenberry, Director of Regional Development, at nicolash@greaterdubuque.org or 563-557-9049.