This issue awards the Governor’s Cups, writes Editor in Chief Mark Arend, but those same governors know how to share the credit with state legislators and local leaders.
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‘And I’d Also Like to Thank…’
One of the privileges of being governor of a highly successful state in the economic development arena is being recognized for that success with an award like the Governor’s Cups. Regular readers know these Cups honor the states — and their governors — that attracted the most qualified capital investment projects the previous calendar year in total and per capita. This year, we salute Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Laura Kelly of Kansas, who both were the Cup recipients last year. This is Texas’ 11th consecutive win for total projects for new and expanding projects in 2022. Governor Kelly claims Kansas’ second consecutive win for total projects per capita. Learn more about how they did this in the Cover Story in this issue.
In recent weeks I also interviewed Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear for that state’s annual Investment Guide that our Custom Content division has published for several years. A common thread runs through my discussions with these and other governors honored with our annual Governor’s Cups in the past. I believe to a person, they have made a point to share credit with their legislatures for enabling them to implement measures that capture the attention of corporate investors.
Kansas’ APEX package of incentives, for example, helped land that state’s largest investment ever (Panasonic Energy in De Soto) in 2022, which was followed earlier this year by its second largest (Integra Technologies in Wichita). Similarly, the Texas Enterprise Fund has worked rather well for Governor Abbott and his predecessors when it comes time to close deals that might well have gone elsewhere.
My point is that without the legislators, or enough of them, agreeing to craft APEX and TEF and many other such programs around the country, how well could their states compete for the industry and projects that create so many jobs? It’s around that point where political differences tend to subside and the good of the state is put first. Governor Beshear was adamant that readers of that interview understand that in his state, there is no room for politics when it comes to economic development.
I commend the winning governors who make a point of sharing credit with their legislators who helped them and their states be successful. Some credit, too, goes to the regions, metros and micropolitans that attracted investment on their own, or closed the deal after the state brought a prospect to them. You’ll find our annual rankings of those communities in this issue too.
Governors and location experts alike will never go wrong giving credit where it’s due.
Till next time,
Mark Arend, Editor in Chief
Features
Here Come The Kings
St. Louis, Missouri, and Blytheville, Arkansas, top this year’s cumulative and per-capita rankings for metro regions along the Mississippi River.
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Features
Findlay On the Move
Features
Places You Can Trust
Cover
The 2022 Governor’s Cups
Kansas claims a second consecutive Cup and Texas an 11th in our annual tally of total and per capita project wins the previous year.
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Online Insider
What Will It Take to Win CHIPS Act Funding?
Something Ventured
Dig into the national data and you’ll find Kansas playing a more and more prominent role in sparking innovation.
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Strength In Small Numbers
Feels Like Home
There’s Fast, and There’s Quantum Fast
When even supercomputers aren’t up to the job, it’s time for quantum computing, and Colorado is rapidly becoming home to a quantum computing cluster.
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5 Colorado Cities to Watch
Colorado Keeps It CHIP-per
How Colorado Became a Research Juggernaut
From life-saving medical breakthroughs to everyday items we take for granted, Colorado innovation has been changing lives for the better for many decades.
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On a Higher Plain
Painting a Picture of Success
Trinidad’s arts industries foster a cultural hub that’s a hit with creatives, entrepreneurs and, possibly, big industry.
Read MoreThe State of SMART
How Colorado Forms Governance, Employment & Energy Policy
Named America’s fourth best state for business by CNBC in 2022, Colorado has been implementing measures in recent years that should keep it near the top of that ranking and others in the future.
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From Chips to Powder, Colorado Has it All
Diversity of the state economy is a harbinger of a bright future.
Read MoreRobust In the Rockies
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Features
Life Sciences Like Ireland
Medtech in particular takes a fancy to the island, where two major companies alone employ more than 8,000.
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Town & Gown Get Along Just Fine Here
Vytelle Chooses Lenexa as Global Headquarters
Vytelle announced on Dec. 6 that it would relocate its global headquarters from Hermiston, Oregon, to Lenexa, Kansas, about 15 months after the company secured $13.2 million in Series A funding from a collection of Midwest- and Kansas-based investors.
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