ICR IOWA is a nonprofit organization launched in 2017 by the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and the Iowa City Area Development Group. This joint venture was developed to ensure Iowa City-Cedar Rapids (ICR) prospers through community-aligned business attraction and workforce development. Our partners include the seven counties of Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Washington.

OUR COLLECTIVE VISION

ICR is striving to become a nationally-recognized, inclusive, and prosperous region filled with community-minded businesses and diverse people at all career stages. ICR IOWA pursues this vision in close collaboration with dozens of partnering organizations, communities, employers, and educators with a collective-impact culture developed through our core values:

• Visionary Leadership: ICR IOWA inspires the businesses and communities of the region to strive together toward a shared bright future.
• Collaborative Competitiveness: The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. ICR IOWA recognizes that our region will achieve the greatest national recognition and economic success when all elements work together.
• Bold Creativity: Creativity is in the DNA of ICR IOWA and is an essential trait of the big ideas that drive the work and sustainable prosperity of our region.
• Inclusive Diversity: ICR IOWA honors and embraces the wide range of people, skills, industries, and communities needed to realize the full potential of our region.

OUR CORE INITIATIVES

• Choose ICR: a coalition of economic development partners working together to attract new interstate employers and high quality jobs.
• ICR Talent: a coalition of employers and organizations working together to attract and retain qualified and diverse professionals.
• ICR Future: a coalition of employers, educators, and organizations working together to develop our future workforce.

Iowa City-Cedar Rapids (ICR) is home to the University of Iowa; private colleges including Coe, Mount Mercy, and Cornell; and one of the best community colleges in the country, Kirkwood. We love learning and have an economy built in part around educational technology and assessment. Leaders in this field include legacy companies like ACT and Pearson, as well as newer businesses like Leepfrog Technologies and Pear Deck. This industry permeates through our communities where weekly meetups are likely to include lectures by professors, authors, and international leaders. We love to learn!

But education is just one component of our diverse economy. High tech manufacturing continues to thrive in our metro. Collins Aerospace, Quaker Oats, Oral B, Whirlpool, and many others enjoy access to our technical workforce and easy transportation systems. (Did I mention we are at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and 380?) Cereal production is something we are known for, so next time you eat that bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios or Captain Crunch Berries, know you are enjoying something made right here in ICR.

So, this is all great—but what makes us truly special? Our culture.

When you are in the Ped Mall in Downtown Iowa City or in NewBo in Downtown Cedar Rapids, you will find a large collection of locally owned restaurants, markets, quirky shops, restored theaters, wine bars, breweries, and live entertainment venues. The diverse college students and professors, medical professionals, and entrepreneurs generate an atmosphere that can typically only be found in a large city. And we have that amazing culture without the hassles that come with large city living—like congested traffic and high housing costs.