Substation Fire Resources: Open Houses July 30 and 31
July 23, 2018 – “The Substation Fire started on private land southeast of The Dalles, Oregon, on Tuesday, July 17, 2018 and grew quickly. Driven by strong winds, the fire moved more than 18 miles in the first burning period and crossed multiple agency jurisdictions.” For more details on the fire: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5963 Local, state, and federal partners will hold two open houses to connect fire impacted families and communities with relevant federal, state, and local programs and information. Date: July 30 Time: 4pm-7pm Location: Fort Dalles Readiness, 402 E Scenic Dr, The Dalles, OR 97058 Date: July 31 Time: 4pm-7pm Location: Sherman County School, 65912 High School Loop, Moro, OR 97039 [Continue Reading]Annual Report Summary Highlights Investment Board
July 16, 2018 – The annual report for the Columbia River Gorge Oregon Investment Board is now available here. With approximately $450,000 in financing provided this year, the cumulative impacts of the programs are substantial. Sustained Impact: From a $4 million allocation, the Board has approved grants and loans (utilizing revolved funds) totaling more than $9.2 million. Leveraging:The Board has leveraged over $14.7 million in private funds and more than $13.3 million in public funds. Employment: Funds are provided through grants and loans to support infrastructure, business assistance, and workforce development to support job creation and retention. The Board has provided funding to projects to directly create or retain nearly 700 jobs. [Continue Reading]RARE Participants Contribute to Economic Vibrancy in Wasco County Oregon
July 10, 2018 – “RARE begins its 25th year with the fall class of RARE planners. Wasco County has benefited from more than a few RARE planners through the years.” Read about their contributions to the local area, including MCEDD! https://www.nwascopud.org/the-rare-effect-on-small-towns/ [Continue Reading]Celebration Highlights New Transit Options in the Columbia Gorge
June 25, 2018 – In June the region celebrated the launch of many new public transportation options. Check out these ones! Columbia Gorge Express daily Portland to Hood River options Mount Adams Transit new cross-river services (White Salmon/Bingen to Hood River and Goldendale to The Dalles) runs four times a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Columbia Area Transit new routes and the weekend Pink Trolley LINK Transportation free weekend transportation to The Dalles Farmer’s Market. [Continue Reading]Let’s Dream Big Beverage Company Becomes Reality with Financing
June 21, 2018 – Carrie and Bruce Nissen, Owners of LDB Beverage Company Bruce and Carrie Nissen came to Stevenson, WA with big ideas. They had run a cider company in Colfax, CA that was sold to MillerCoors in 2012. After integrating their company into the larger organization, the Nissens felt the need to jump into another adventure. They scouted the Gorge, settling on Stevenson and opened a 31,000 square foot beverage production facility leased from the Port of Skamania. Let’s Dream Big (LDB) Beverage Company was born. LDB focuses on producing hard ciders and other soft alcohol beverages as well as non-alcoholic sodas, waters, kombuchas, etc. for many beverage companies headquartered throughout North America. Since LDB’s arrival in late 2014, the bottling company has amassed over 60 beverage clients, with distribution throughout the US, Mexican and Canadian markets. It currently operates from 5 am to 10 pm, Monday through Friday with two shifts employing 30 people. The vast majority of the employees reside in Skamania County, WA. LDB was built to help small, medium and LDB Beverage Company Facility large companies with big ideas bring their products to market. That is why they are called LDB – Let’s Dream Big. Their facility is used to help small and medium companies who do not have a facility of their own and is also a test location for those larger companies who do not want to run their new products in their own existing facilities. The facility can package into bottles, cans and kegs and can process up to 2,000 cases per day. “It is great to see a new producer take a product to market, watching them see their Big Dream come to fruition,” notes Carrie Nissen. “We have now found our rhythm with customer flow and are able to focus more on employee development and community engagement. Our new product, Little B’s Sparkling Apple Juice Drinks, is a perfect example of this transition. Named after Braeden and Brek, two children of the LDB family, this non-alcoholic beverage provides us with a much better vehicle to work with the entire Stevenson area community,” adds cofounder Bruce Nissen. Almost simultaneously with the start-up of the LDB bottling company, the Nissens started Jester & Judge, a brand of hard ciders. Currently Jester & Judge’s ciders are sold in bottles, cans and kegs. Jester & Judge’s line up of ciders include Pineapple Express, Blackberry, Columbia Belle (peach and mint infusion), Sharp Cherry, Passion Fruit and American Apple. Jester & Judge also offers seasonal, limited and small batch ciders, such as Winter’s Courage, Nowhere Special and other new flavors as available. The Nissens are making plans for a tasting room for the thirsty public at their 30 SE Cascade location in Stevenson. Bruce and Carrie express that “the support of Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD), the Port of Skamania, Skamania Economic Development Council (EDC) and the Skamania Chamber of Commerce have been critical to our ability to put together our business and help it to thrive. We are very grateful for their existence and support.” MCEDD and EDC both provided loans to assist the company in getting started and established in the Stevenson facility. More information about LDB Beverage Company and Jester & Judge hard ciders can be found at www.ldbbeverage.com and facebook pages for both LDB and Jester & Judge. You can contact LDB Beverage at 509-651-0381 and info@ldbbeverage.com. The MCEDD Loan Program is available to entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and existing businesses doing business in the five county (Sherman, Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat and Skamania) Mid-Columbia Area. This loan program is part of MCEDD’s efforts to strengthen and support the region’s economy. [Continue Reading]Census Tracts in MCEDD Region Receive Opportunity Zone Designation
June 5, 2018 – The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service recently designated Opportunity Zones, including 10 zones in the MCEDD region. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Opportunity Zones to spur investment in distressed communities throughout the country. New investments in Opportunity Zones can receive preferential tax treatment. For Opportunity Zone resources and a map of zones click here. [Continue Reading]MCEDD Finances Equipment to Help Business Move from R/D to Product
May 30, 2018 – In 2006, Jacqueline Alexander purchased a pear orchard located at 3993 Highway 35, Hood River. Her business Morale Orchards, LLC grows Asian pears in this upper Hood River Valley orchard. “I was interested in developing a value-added product,” says Alexander. Her initial plan was to produce Asian pear schnapps as way to increase revenues from culled pears that otherwise would be destroyed or sold for minimum price to juice companies because they fruit is imperfect from inclement weather, insect damage or from simply falling to the ground. Jacqueline’s twins Morgan and Alexander suggested she make candy instead. With her research, and thinking that more Americans are looking for ways to snack healthier, Jacqueline transitioned their suggestion into a business model for freeze-dried fruits. Jacqueline worked with the Food Innovation Center (FIC) in Portland to develop her ideas and concepts. According to Dr. Qingyue Ling, FIC’s senior development engineer, this dried fruit has a 20- year shelf life, is lightweight, easy to ship and has been shown to bake well in cakes and muffins. Additionally, these fruit puffs preserve all of the nutrition of fresh fruit without any additives while creating a shelf-stable, value-added product that is perfect for snacking as well as adding to baked goods, trail mix, granola, or yogurt as an ingredient to boost nutrition. Founded by both Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the FIC is partly a laboratory for testing food preferences, but it also aims to combine food science with economic development. In 2013, Jacqueline obtained a $92,500 loan from Mid-Columbia Economic Development District (MCEDD) to help build and install the prototype freeze-drying equipment at FIC. With successful testing and product production, Jacqueline has branded her fruit puffs with the Know Your Fruit brand and is nearing completion of the construction of a processing plant called The Puff Factory. The 29,500-square-foot facility, located at 3030 Lower Mill Drive in Odell will house the main processing floor, including cold storage, conveyer belts, an industrial-scale fruit dryer and other required processing equipment. An elevator will lead to a second level with office space.The company plans to have a workforce of about 30 to start with the anticipated September 2018 opening, with up to 50 once operations gear up. For more information about Know Your Fruit and the Puff Factory can be found at www.knowyourfruit.com and on the Know Your Fruit facebook page. You can contact Know Your Fruit at 541-400-0818 and sales@knowyourfruit.com. Know Your Fruit is a single-origin, freeze-dried fruit snack brand. Know Your Fruit uses only the freshest, locally-grown fruit to make its super delicious, single-origin freeze-dried fruit puffs. The MCEDD Loan Program is available to entrepreneurs, start-up businesses and existing businesses doing business in the five county (Sherman, Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat and Skamania) Mid-Columbia area. This loan program is part of MCEDD’s efforts to strengthen and support the region’s economy. [Continue Reading]Per Capita Personal Income Rates Climb
May 30, 2018 – All three Oregon counties in the MCEDD region ranked in the top ten for the state in terms of 2016 per capita personal income. Sherman County’s led the state at $55,846. More information here. Hood River County’s ranked fifth among Oregon counties at $48,498. More information here. Wasco County’s ranked ninth among Oregon counties at $42,287. More information here. Washington counties in the MCEDD region also experienced increases in their 2016 per capita personal incomes: Klickitat County’s increased to $45,595 in 2016, the highest on record. Over the past ten years, Klickitat has moved from 74 percent of the national average to 93 percent. More information here. Skamania County increased to $40,338 in 2016, representing a 2.2% change over the prior year. [Continue Reading]Community Mental Health Facility Breaks Ground
May 29, 2018 – On May 22, 2018 Mid-Columbia Center for Living and local officials broke ground on what will become a regional community mental health facility located in The Dalles. As the Center for Living continues to increase both staff and clients, this facility will be essential for providing access to critical community mental health, addictions and developmental disability services for low to moderate income adults, children and families in Wasco, Sherman and Hood River counties. Read more from The Dalles Chronicle here. The project has been a priority in the Columbia Gorge Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, recognizing the need for one facility which will serve the entire region and increase the effectiveness and efficiency for services. [Continue Reading]$2B Pumped Storage Project Takes Another Step Forward
May 24, 2018 – “A project with the potential to prime the economic engine of the eastern gorge looked a lot closer to reality after a major meeting on the subject last Tuesday. That project, a pump storage station on the site for the former Golden Northwest Aluminum smelter, has been a long-held goal of Klickitat PUD. Recently, it has attracted the attention of major players in the electricity market who have both the money and the know how to finance and construct the facility. Read more from the Gorgenewscenter here. The project is a regional priority in the Columbia Gorge Comprehensive Economic Economic Development Strategy compiled by MCEDD. [Continue Reading]- « Previous Page
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