The Show Me State is already well known for two main corridors: the 270 miles of Interstate 70, bisected by the university town of Columbia, that run between Kansas City and St. Louis; and that longstanding north-south channel of development called the Mississippi River.
      But James Driskill is happy with the results of partnerships outside those boundaries as well -- even when they go out of state. "The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) represents areas in Missouri and Illinois," he says. "The RCGA has been a key leader in bringing together a regional partnership to focus on the life sciences and to market the region to attract companies and researchers."
      Internally as well, the state has been partnering with local entities in order to make the research happen, then get the information in the right hands.
      "We feel that the research information we collect and provide to local and regional officials helps them to make wise, informed and beneficial decisions for industry expansion in their respective areas," says Driskill of the information accessible at the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (www.MissouriEconomy.org).
      The state has also launched the Regional Cooperative Marketing Program in order to better showcase rural areas. Driskill points to impressive results since the program's inception in 2000: more than 100 projects, 32 new or expanded locations, more than 1,000 new jobs and more than $126 million invested in new or expanded business facilities.
      Among the state's second-tier cities enjoying a resurgence because of their first-tier quality of life are places like Columbia (home of the Univ. of Missouri), Springfield, Cape Girardeau and Rolla, all of which have used transportation and higher education infrastructure to their best advantage.
      Columbia-Boone County continually boasts the state's lowest unemployment rate, at around 1 percent. Even so, a study conducted in 2001 found that there were around 93,000 jobless or searching workers available to fill new positions, and the area grew its population by almost 10 percent since 1990.
      Girded by the presence of two major hospitals as well as the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, the Cape Girardeau area is also home to closet organizer manufacturer Lee/Rowan Co., a growing Procter & Gamble paper products operation and plastics manufacturer Nordenia USA, which just spent $17 million constructing a new wing that created 120 new jobs. The city's population has boomed by 11.5 percent since 1990, but still hovers around 69,000. Taking advantage of the city's central location and intermodal transportation options are two 300-acre (121-ha.) parks, the Nash Road Industrial Park and Scott City Industrial Park, with site prices ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 per acre.
      One telltale sign for the Lake Ozark-Rolla Region is the recently filed request by AmerenUE to build a 54-mile (87-km.), 345-kilovolt transmission line in Maries, Osage and Pulaski Counties, running from the state capital of Jefferson City to Rolla. In 2001, the Dept. of Economic Development, the Missouri Technology Corp. and the University of Missouri system partnered to create the first ever high-tech research park on an active military base -- Fort Leonard Wood, a training base of the U.S. Army located near Rolla, long known for its university's excellence in engineering and mining.
      "This research park will house entrepreneurs and startup companies interested in doing business and commercializing technologies with the Army, particularly in the areas of environmental security and the life sciences," says Driskill of the $4-million project.
      Last year, Springfield broke into the top 10 of "America's Best Places to Live and Work," as determined by Employment Review magazine.
      Twenty new or expanding manufacturers have invested more than $174 million and hired more than 1,600 people at Partnership Industrial Center West, a 450-acre (182-ha.) industrial park adjacent to the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport.. A chamber offshoot, the Springfield Business and Development Corp. maintains a constantly updated plant database at www.business4springfield .com.
      Through collaborative efforts like the 59-member Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership, Joe Driskill and his locally based colleagues are finding ways to both educate the workforce and market that workforce to scouting companies.
      "We have a renewed focus on increasing the skill and educational levels of our work force, with particular emphasis on developing the training and educational curricula that allow people to excel in life sciences or information technology companies," he says. "An affordable, accessible and well-trained work force is a critical element in drawing new economy companies."