An op-ed from leaders at two organizations long associated with successful deployment of the federal immigrant investor program make their case for graduating it from perpetual renewal status.
Workforce, healthcare and infrastructure initiatives create a “virtuous cycle” in the Mountain State, says Gov. Patrick Morrisey in an interview with Site Selection Managing Editor Kelly Barraza.
Plus: An online-only look at the state’s successful Ascend West Virginia remote worker talent attraction program includes her interview of former Intuit Executive Chairman and current Marshall University President Brad D. Smith.
Joined by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker, Do it Best Group CEO Dan Starr (left) on July 1 announced “the company’s strategic decision to align the headquarters of Do it Best and True Value in Fort Wayne, Indiana.”
Photo courtesy of Do it Best Group
Following its acquisition of True Value in 2024, Indiana-based Do it Best Group in July announced it will relocate True Value’s headquarters from Chicago to Fort Wayne, Indiana, following a May 2026 announcement that integrating the two brands as one organization was the best path forward. “Do it Best Group, Indiana’s largest privately-held company and the world’s largest member-owned home improvement company, will operate both brands from its world headquarters in Fort Wayne,” the company stated, characterizing the move as “creating a global center of gravity for the hardware and home improvement industry.” Partners in the cooperative, which boasts $6 billion in annual sales, have the flexibility to operate under the Do it Best or True Value brands or their own local store identities.
The HQ consolidation isn’t all that Do it Best has been up to: At the company’s third quarter earnings call in May, documents described the February rollout of a distribution center optimization plan that “generated more than $10 million in savings in its first month alone and contributed to a 9.3% reduction in year-to-date expenses.” The quarter also marked the debut of a new marketing campaign for the relaunch of the True Value brand that features actor, woodworker and DIY champion Nick Offerman.
While those in Illinois may lament the loss of the True Value headquarters, graduates of a certain university in Fort Wayne could rejoice on the brand’s behalf as Do it Best announced early this month that True Value has been named the official home improvement partner of Notre Dame Athletics. Illinois is the No. 1 state by number of Notre Dame alumni, with more than 18,000 alumni, family members and friends of the university engaged with the Notre Dame Club of Chicago alone.
A photo tour of the Sooner State takes you to places that include Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Scissortail Park in Oklahoma City, Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa and Tucker Tower overlooking Lake Murray.
In May, NWLA FAME employers, students and their families, FAME alumni, leadership from Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) and the North Louisiana Economic Partnership (NLEP) gathered to celebrate the newest graduating class of FAME students.
Photo courtesy of NLEP
In May, representatives from Benteler Steel/Tube and Ternium USA participated in a signing ceremony for the new class of students they will sponsor in the Northwest Louisiana Chapter of the Louisiana FAME program. “The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) is a two-year work-study program of the Manufacturing Institute, with over 40 chapters nationwide,” explained a release from the North Louisiana Economic Partnership. “Its graduates are prepared to enter the workforce as multiskilled maintenance technicians, a role in high demand among companies in the advanced manufacturing sector, where the increasing use of automation has driven the need for highly skilled workers. Frymaster and Pratt Paper will also be sponsoring students in the new class.”
Originally launched in partnership with Toyota, FAME in 2019 became a Manufacturing Institute program and today has expanded to more than 46 chapters engaged with 500+ manufacturers. The program has more than 2,700 graduates, at least 85% of whom have gone on to full-time employment with their sponsoring companies. Six new chapters will soon come on board thanks to $10 million in funding from Google that will in part support two new AI training tracks.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Photo by CHEN Xi Studio courtesy of GOA and v2com newswire
“Nestled in the valleys of Mingling Mountains near Yixing, China’s ‘Pottery Capital,’ the Earth Valley Theater is a pioneering 9,200-square-meter open-air venue dedicated to human-avian interaction.” Thus begins a release about the site in Yaohu Village, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province from Chinese architectural design firm Group of Architects (GOA).
“Designed as an integrated ‘total work of art’ (Gesamtkunstwerk), the project transcends traditional boundaries between architecture and landscape,” GOA continues. “Conceived as an alternative to traditional, anthropocentric enclosed aviaries, the theater functions as a piece of responsive land art that facilitates genuine interspecies cohabitation and autonomous avian flight.”
The project was completed last year. “By seamlessly aligning rigorous architectural engineering with avian ecology,” GOA states, “the Earth Valley Theater creates a transformative sanctuary where humanity and nature reconnect in a profound spatial dialogue.”
