Kaukauna’s location on a two-mile stretch of the Fox River with a fifty-foot drop and significant rapids means that the city can produce its own hydroelectric power and offer its residents as much as thirty-five percent savings on their monthly utility bill. To learn more, Business in Focus spoke with Mayor Tony Penterman, Director of Planning and Community Development Bob Jakel, and Kaukauna Utilities General Manager Jeff Feldt.

In 2017, Business in Focus spoke with Economic Development Director Tim Burg about Shawnee, the eastern gateway to Oklahoma City. A lot has happened since then, and amongst other things, the development organization name has changed from the Shawnee Economic Development Foundation to the Shawnee Forward Business Alliance. I had the privilege of speaking with one of the new people brought on board: President and Chief Executive Officer Tracy Qualls.

St. Tammany is a bustling parish in southern Louisiana. Set on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, an estuary separating the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico, this industrious place is known as one of the state’s finest – in part thanks to the hard work of the St. Tammany Corporation, its brand new economic development organization.

Madison County, Illinois is rooted in history, having been named in 1812 for James Madison, fourth president of the United States and one of America’s founding fathers.

Named after southern Spain’s province of Granada, Mississippi’s historic Grenada County is earning a reputation for its many business success stories, entrepreneurial growth, workforce training and development, available land and resources for development, and a great deal more.

When you are named “One of America’s Prettiest Towns” by Forbes magazine, you know you have something special.

In northern New York State, the County of Franklin Industrial Development Agency is small but mighty. Growing to a team of four, doubling in size, strength, resources and capacity, this organization knows the way to maximum impact is fostering entrepreneurship in its communities.

The need for efficient land usage and affordable housing weighs heavy on urban development everywhere. From its incorporation in 1961, Tigard, Oregon has grown from a Portland suburb to a thriving urban center with a population of over 50,000. With strong development assistance programs already in progress and others in the works, the town is just getting started.

Along the pristine shores of Lakes Muskegon and Michigan lives a community with a fundamental understanding of economics and transformation. Here, the only lazybones around are the lakes, but, with their twinkling shimmer, even these freshwater havens contribute their fair share of economic drivers to the City of Muskegon, Michigan.