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Business  |  Business Directory  |  Economic Development  |  Chamber of Commerce  |  Main Street Manning


Economic Development  |  City of Manning, Econ. Development  |  Betterment Foundation 


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In 2015, the inaugural year for the award, Manning received the Iowa Small Business Administration Community of the Year award.  Manning won against cities of all sizes and was highlighted for demonstrating ideal collaborative community efforts to support small  business success. 

Economic Development

Manning is a progressive, traditional agricultural based community that is comfortable with contemporary.  Our range of businesses in town today (from technical support call centers to tractor dealerships) demonstrates that.  Whether your business needs involve state-of-the-art telecommunications, a skilled and dependable labor pool, access to transportation, industrial development parks, or business incentives, Manning has the tools for growth- for developing a strong economic development base. Manning, Iowa is right for your business- right now!

The City of Manning, Main Street Manning and the Manning Betterment Foundation partner together to develop and improve Manning.  While Main Street Manning concentrates on the Main Street District, any of the three can be contacted.  Further details and contact information is provided to the right.  Any of those organizations would help find the site or building that works best for you and are willing to help however possible. 

Planning for the future:  Many hours went into creating a plan for the community for the future.  It addresses current resources as well as identifies some future needs of Manning for the next 5, 10, and 20+ years.  A copy of the full 2017 Comprehensive Plan is available Here

Local Business Advantages

CENTRAL LOCATION
Manning's central location is ideal for businesses.  Not only does it help with transportation and supply opportunities, it opens the field of available workforce.  Many Manning employees make the short drive from Carroll, Denison, Audubon, Harlan or the other rural communities in the area.  Because of this prime location, Manning's 20-mile radius available workforce is greater than any of the county seats around us.  Distance and drive times are:    

                                               Miles            Travel Time
            Audubon, IA             19.8               24 min
            Denison, IA               23.2               28 min
            Carroll, IA                 22.3               29 min
            Harlan, IA                 32.1               39 min
            Atlantic, IA               37.6               1 hour
            Omaha, NE               90.9               1 hour 38 min
            Ames, IA                    87.2              1 hour 41 min
            Des Moines, IA        91.4              1 hour 52 min
            Sioux City, IA           98.9              1 hour 54 min


A DIVERSE, QUALIFIED WORKFORCE
Manning’s largest employers by occupation are careers in the management, professional and related occupations sector.  This sector accounts for 28.7 percent of employed individuals. Other significant occupations include service occupations (25.4%) and sales and office occupations (16.3%).  This shows a wide skill set of Manning employees.  Additionally, when age statistics are studied (showing a large increase in ages 30-44 over the past decade), an employment pull factor in Manning is indicated.

RAIL ACCESS
Manning has several industrial sites for sale near the railroad.  Manning’s rail services are provided by Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Trains travel through Manning about three times a week and connects to Council Bluffs. This provides easy and convenient transportation of freight, grain, and ethanol to and from surrounding communities. According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, the railroad has an annual gross ton per mile of 1-3 million.

QUALITY UTILITIES
Manning is fortunate enough to have all municipally-owned utilities, giving potential developers the ease of working with local people to get needed services and infrastructure.  Manning owns water, sewer, electric, gas, television, internet, and telephone.  By keeping these services local, rates are lower than most privately-owned utilities.  Another highlight of the local municipal utilities that business have found helpful is the high-speed internet service and cable television using a hybrid fiber coax (HFC) broadband system.  Along with this HFC, there is a redundant fiber ring installed throughout the community.  The electric utility undertook a large generator project in 2012 and now has the ability to supply whole-town generation in case of power outages.  This ensures businesses less downtime than communities without this ability.  

ECONOMIC & POPULATION STABILITY
When compared to other communities in Western Iowa, Manning's population has been more stable than most with less than a 8% fluxuation in the past 60 years.  Of similar-sized communities in the area, Manning was the only community to see an increase in population the last two decades and the only one to see an increase from 2000-2010 (0.7 percent) while Carroll County and other communities decreased at rates ranging from 2.8 percent to 12.1 percent.  This is further evidence of Manning's continuing viability.   

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
With three banks,tax incentives, and local revolving loan funds, businesses find it easy to secure financing for start-ups and expansions.  Below are a list of many of the financial incentives available. 

WORKFORCE

Manning is conveniently located within 35 miles of four county-seats (Carroll, Denison, Harlan, Audubon), giving Manning business a unique access to a large, diverse, qualified workforce.  To list job opportunities and find workers contact:

IOWA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT  |  www.iowaworkforce.org

CAREER OPTIONS, INC.  |  careeroptions.us

CARROLL AREA DEVELOPMENT CORP.  |  http://www.carrollareadev.com/

Area Education & Workforce Development Opportunities

With Manning's close proximity to four county seats, area residents can enjoy continuing education opportunities and workforce development opportunities through Des Moines Area Community College, Western Iowa Technical College, and Iowa Western Community College without driving more than thirty-five miles.  This offers employers and employees unique access to resources. 

Why Manning?

Manning residents are very proud of  Manning's accomplishments.  But the acknowledgement of Manning's accomplishments go beyond our city limits. Manning has been described by outside marketing consultants as being "a traditional agricultural based community but comfortable with contemporary".   In addition, they described Manning to "have a deep-rooted history of thinking ahead, stepping up to the plate, and getting things done...together."  The Carroll Iowa Daily Times Herald described Manning to have "a separating quality among the Hawkeye State's small cities".  The Eldridge Iowa North Scott Press wrote "places like Manning are few and far between, which is why it's refreshing to discover and celebrate such a community when we find one.".


Manning Retail Analysis Report by Ron Prescott, Retail Trade Expert , Department of Economics, Iowa State University


Want a business location in an award-winning downtown district?! Check out these opportunities!!!
available_main_street_properties_09_24_19.pdf
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BUSINESS RESOURCES & FINANCIAL INCENTIVES


CITY OF MANNING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY  |  webpage
REVOLVING LOAN FUND

Dawn Meyer, City Administrator/Clerk  |  712-655-2176  |  dawn@manningia.com

The Manning Economic Development Agency works to help retain, attract, and expand the business community.  The Economic Development Agency Staff can help answer questions about potential locations, who to contact to do a business plan or find out about grant and loan opportunities, and can point you in the direction you need to go to start or expand a business.  Additionally, the Economic Development Agency oversees three revolving loan funds that have invested over $800,000 in business retention, attraction, and expansion.  These low-interest loans can fund up to 40% of the total project cost and have no payments and no interest for the first year to really help businesses get off their feet.  
The City of Manning is an Equal Opportunity Provider. 

MANNING BETTERMENT FOUNDATION  |  webpage
President  Kevin Boyle, President   712-655-3541

The Manning Betterment Foundation's "can do" attitude helps businesses turn challenges into opportunities and hopes and dreams into realities. The Foundation has revitalized and enhanced the overall business climate and quality of life for area residents.  The Betterment Foundation works with current or potential business owners to find the solutions to your challenges.  The foundation recruits businesses, helps with start-ups and expansions, manages properties and an industrial park, and more.

MAIN STREET MANNING  |  webpage
307 Main Street  |  712-655-MAIN
Sarah McPherson, Executive Director

Manning has been a Main Street Community since 2009.  This gives Manning businesses, particularly those in the downtown area, access to additional state and local resources.  Main Street Manning staff can help businesses or connect them with the appropriate resources at the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Main Street Iowa.  

MANNING MUNICIPAL UTILITIES
Jeremy Carroll, Utility Director
jeremy@manningia.com  |  712-655-3214

As a municipal, Manning Municipal Utilities is an eligible lender for many specialized loan programs.

CITY OF MANNING  |  webpage
TAX INCREMENT FINANCING AND TAX ABATEMENT

The City of Manning utilizes Tax Increment Financing and Tax Abatement when enticing businesses to build in Manning.  Tax abatement allows building owners to ease into paying property taxes by abating a portion of their taxes for the first five years.  If you are going to build and would like to exercise this, stop by City Hall to pick up an application.  Additionally, Manning has several Tax Increment Financing districts.  When building in these districts, a builder or developer can utilize this program to help pay for some of the infrastructure or building costs.  More information on this can also be obtained through City Hall.   

NORTHERN IOWA POWER COMPANY (NIPCO)
 712-655-3214

There are additional revolving loan funds available through Northern Iowa Power Company (NIPCO).  

CARROLL AREA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION  |  www.carrollareadev.com

The Carroll Area Development Corporation (CADC) helps potential businesses narrow the field of prospective communities for location and expansion.  Once a prime location if found, the CADC will quickly provide creative solutions and demonstrate the unique advantages of locating here.  More information can be found on their website.

WESTERN IOWA ADVANTAGE  |  www.westerniowaadvantage.com

Western Iowa Advantage is a collaborative effort of economic development officials in Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Ida and Sac Counties. Our objectives are to embrace, leverage and promote our strengths of the region which are: quality of life, renewable energy, manufacturing and biosciences.  More information can be found by visiting their website.

IOWA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER  |  www.iowasbdc.org

The Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) conducts research, counsels, and trains business people in management, financing, and operating small businesses, and provides comprehensive information services and access to experts in a variety of fields.  They help people start, grow, buy, or sell a small business.  The also offer succession planning for established businesses.  More information can be found on their website.
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Manning It's Refreshing

Local News & Blogs

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Contact Us

www.ManningIA.com was created and is maintained through the collaboration of:

Main Street Manning
Manning Chamber of Commerce
City of Manning

Questions? Call City Hall: 712-655-2176 
or Email Us: cityofmanning@manningia.com