Branstad's Plan, Major Garrett New Job

Terry Vilsack: I followed former Governor Terry Branstad's campaign stop in Pella this week at Vermeer Manufacturing (since his campaign chair, Mary Andringa, is the President/CEO there, I doubt it was tough to get a room:). A few things stood out. First, part of his economic plan is called IGNITE. It's an acronym. I assumed I would use it on the air during my tv story and then say what each letter of IGNITE represented. I figured I would spend 10 to 15 seconds of my minute-and-a-half long story on that. Oops. Good luck with that. Check out the mouthful of words behind the word, IGNITE and try to say it in 10 seconds!

Initiate contacts with employers in all sectors of Iowa’s economy to visit with them about barriers that exist which are hindering their ability to grow and what programs are available from the state to assist them in employing more Iowans. The state needs to be proactive and demonstrate initiative in addressing barriers to growth.
Gaining new job-creating opportunities by contacting prospective employers and site selection professionals, be it across the country or globally.
Negate the declining image that employers nationwide have developed of Iowa over the past 4 years and let them know Iowa is once again open for business.
Involve existing Iowa employers in a peer-to-peer global marketing campaign. The best sales pitch comes not from a state employee, but from a business owner who can testify to why Iowa is a great place to bring their business.
Target immediately industries where Iowa is poised for growth (such as advanced manufacturing, value added agriculture, insurance and financial services).
Energize the Iowa economic development community with strong, committed leadership from the Governor and a focused mission. That means reconnecting with site selection professionals.

Branstad said he would focus on four things: advanced manufacturing, value-added agriculture, biotechnology and insurance and financial services. Sounded a bit familiar to me. Those were the same four areas the man who succeeded Branstad as governor, Democrat Tom Vilsack, concentrated his efforts. Branstad also released part of his plan (yes, another acronym) called INET, the Iowa Network of Entrepreneurial Transplants. It includes going after former Iowans who have started or worked for companies outside the state. Vilsack also did something similiar. I don't recall it having an acronym.

Mizzou Man: Fellow University of Missouri alum, Major Garrett, of Fox news just made a high-profile job change. He will now write for the National Journal. Sounds like he felt the drama.

Getting Sleepy: My son, Hayden, turns five weeks old tonight. Perhaps, he could give us a present: sleep through the night. At this point, we would take a solid four straight hours of shut-eye. He slept one time for that long, but it wasn't overnight. He is usually up after 2 or 2 1/2 hours of sleep at a time. This gets easier, right?