Long-held opinions are hard to change. The state of the US manufacturing sector is a good example. Many people, particularly those in the Northeast and Midwest, hold tightly to memories of mass layoffs and factory closings nearly 20 years ago.

The Vermont Economic Progress Council has named Fred Kenney as Executive Director. VEPC is the nine-member panel established in 1994 with members appointed by the Governor to provide long-term economic policy planning. In 1998 it was given the responsibility of implementing the Economic Advancement Tax Incentives Act and reviewing applications for tax incentives.

Dr. Paul Hale has been named the Executive Director of the Vermont Technology Council. Among other tasks, Dr. Hale is working on the state’s EPSCoT award in cooperation with the Vermont EPSCoR Program.

With the start of the new year, a number of state legislatures are reconvening. Quite a few states have significant research, science, and technology issues on their legislative calendar, including the following:

The Rural Policy Research Institute, a consortium of Iowa State University, the University of Missouri, and the University of Nebraska, has published a Directory of State Assisted Venture Capital Programs on-line.

Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns has appointed Richard Baier as the state's first rural development director. Baier will work closely with the new Nebraska Rural Development Commission.

Capital for start-up and early-stage business ventures should become more plentiful in Vermont based on legislation, S. 178, passed in late May. A spokesperson for Governor Jim Douglas appraised the act's total impact as representing a $105 million investment into the state's economy.

Package Isn't All Governor Expected; Veto Possible

Carla Patterson is the new director of the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Molly Lambert, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development since 1998, is resigning July 1 to become head of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association. The Agency is comprised of the Departments of Economic Development, Tourism and Marketing, and Housing and Community Affairs.

Economic development leaders within the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor have joined other areas of the U.S. in marketing the area as one unified region. Elected representatives from 10 cities and two counties located in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor recently signed a joint proclamation as a statement of support for the Corridor’s targeted industry cluster development regional efforts.

Governor Tom Vilsack has announced a plan to invest $50 million into the creation of a life sciences initiative to help establish Iowa as a leader in the life sciences. Developed with the Regents Universities, Iowa Business Council and leaders in Iowa's biotechnology industry, the biotech plan's success hinges on a three-part strategy:

Kevin Dorn has been named secretary of the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development by Gov.-elect Jim Douglas.

Chuck Henderson has announced he will retire as president of the University of Nebraska's 130-acre Technology Park next June.

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack announced that the Director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, C.J. Niles, will be stepping down effective December 31.  Mary Lawyer, the department's chief of staff, will serve as interim director.

Dan Curran is the new director of the Business Development Division of the Nebraska Department of Development.

Vermont’s high-tech businesses now can take advantage of new tax credits with Governor Howard Dean, M.D.’s signature on H. 239. The bill creates a set of five incentives for high-tech businesses in industries including computer hardware or software, information and communications, microelectronics, semiconductors, digital communications, medical devices, energy technologies and electric vehicles.

A wake-up call. That's what the final report of the Lincoln Technology Council said the city received after learning one of its top employers was expanding its operations in a nearby city instead of Lincoln because of perceived weaknesses in Lincoln's telecommunications infrastructure.

A recent study by Iowa State University researcher David Swenson suggests the ISU Research Park's substantial and diverse economic activity bolsters Iowa's economy. Focusing on current tenants, Swenson's research shows that the park links directly to almost $88 million in total industrial output. Businesses that provide goods and services to park customers and employees are said to generate an additional $46.3 million in economic activity.

U.S. Senator Olympia Snow (R-Maine) recently introduced a bill to boost the flow of venture capital to small businesses by allowing tax-exempt entities, such as pension funds and university endowment funds, to invest in Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) without incurring unrelated business taxable income.

The University of Nebraska Technology Park has named Steve Frayser as president.