New Economic Development Director Likes Potential For Mills County
The Mills County Economic Development Foundation (MCEDF) has found its new director.
Mark Norman, a southwest Iowa resident with three decades of economic development experience on both the Iowa and Nebraska sides of the Missouri River, has been named the replacement for Andrew Rainbolt, who recently left the position for a job in private business.
Norman was hired as part of MCEDF’s partnership with the Greater Omaha Chamber Economic Development Partnership, a collaborative agency set up to create jobs and encourage business investment in eight counties within the Omaha metropolitan region.
Under his arrangement with MCEDF, Norman’s time will be split with about 60 percent of his workoad dedicated to Mills County and the remainder of his time focused on doing site development throughout the eight-county region served by the partnership.
Larry Winum, a member of the MCEDF Executive Committee, said Norman has the experience and knowledge to lead the foundation.
“With as much as we have going on and the potential we have in Mills County, I don’t think we could have found a better guy with his experience and his track record of attracting pretty good businesses to both Iowa and Nebraska, Winum said.”
Winum noted that Norman played an instrumental role in getting Google to build in Council Bluffs and was involved in Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy (SIRE) locating along Interstate 29.
“Mark is familiar with everything that’s going on in Mills County,” Winum said. “He’s aware of the mega site, the Glenwood Redevelopment Corporation, the Cattleman’s Heritage and the other things that are up at the 370 and I-29 corridor.”
Norman said he’s intrigued about the potential for development in the Mills County area.
“I’ve looked at the opportunities that are available for development in Mills County, and the potential to work on some really exciting projects, and that’s kind of what really got my attention,” he said. “What I really love to do, is I love to work with potential projects, selling the area to companies, helping them find the right location and get a successful start-up and get a healthy operation up and running.”
Norman acknowledged the impact the recent closure of the Glenwood Resource Center has had on the community, but also sees potential for development at the site.
“You hate to see that facility close, but it’s also a great opportunity to say, ‘How can we reinvent Glenwood? How can we reinvent Mills County to provide a new amenity and growth center for the area?’”
Norman said the designated mega site, east of Glenwood along Highway 34, and the Interstate 29 corridor both offer opportunity for future development, possibly in warehouse distribution or manufacturing.
“Over the last several years, there has been an increasing need for warehouse distribution. It was kind of brought into focus because of the supply chain issues that developed during the COVID pandemic,” he said. “That has continued to be a growth sector as companies look to strengthen their supply chain. I think we’re going to continue to see a lot of that.
“I think that’s a good opportunity for Mills County.”