by ADAM BRUNS

Chris Nelson, president of nutrition company Kemin Industries, again has found Des Moines an ideal place to grow.

I

s it accidental that Fairfield, Iowa, known worldwide as the home of Transcendental Meditation, is now the home of growing financial services firm Cambridge Investment Research? That all depends on how urgently you define the phrase "be here now."
      Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack thinks a lot of companies want to be there now. His evidence? Between January 2003 and January 2005, the number of active corporate prospects in the state has sprouted from 51 to more than 400, he said in his 2005 state of the state address. That wasn't a bad way to lead into a legislative session where he's pushing for an US$800-million, five-year commitment to the Iowa Values Fund and Vision Iowa He also wants an overhaul of the state's property tax system, in order to be more equitable to the business community.
      That legislature recently received more attention for another proposal however, introduced by GOP elected officials in early 2005, that would have exempted all people under 30 from paying state income taxes. While the measure garnered more attention than momentum, that hasn't kept companies with youthful energy from growing on their own.