Mitchell County Economic Development Commission
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Population Increase is Expected According to a new study unveiled by a demographics company called GeoLytics, the population of Mitchell County is expected to increase by 3.2 percent by the year 2011! GeoLytics is the leading provider of public domain mapping and demographic data in the county and is located in East Brunswick, N.J. The specific data was contained in a report called “GeoLytics 2006 Estimates and 2011 Projections” and discussed recently at a North Iowa Community College Board meeting. The study was e-mailed to NIACC Board member Kevin Kolbet of Osage, who then forwarded the report to other community leaders around the county last week. What is most interesting in the study is that Mitchell is the only county in North Iowa expected to have an increase. Cerro Gordo is predicted to decline by 6.5 percent; Worth by 5.7; Floyd by 5.7 percent; Chickasaw by 8.5 percent and Howard County by 2.0 percent. In the top two tiers of counties Mitchell stands out as the largest increase overall with the exceptions of the counties touching the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Since 1996 GeoLytics has published detailed demographic and geographic data on CD-ROM for business, academic, non-profit, and government markets. Several thousand of GeoLytics customers work in many environments, including libraries, real estate, insurance, banking, telecommunications, healthcare, media, and retail firms; in state, local, and Federal government; and in hundreds of colleges and universities across the country. While positive news for the local area, details on how the populations projection study was actually interpretation. The population of that of Worth County, for example, will supposedly decrease in population by over five percent, according to the new study. “Here I believe it was not taken into account the duties that will be provided to families living in Worth County to give earnings to any person wanting to attend college,” said Walk. “The casino will make a positive difference in Worth County.” Regardless of this, the new population projection has been a talking point around coffee circles and was even a topic at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting. Walk also commented on the new report in his monthly Press-News column “Courthouse Happenings.” “When you crunch the numbers, there is around an 8 percent disparity from our adjacent counties. So why is Mitchell growing and adjacent counties rapidly declining?” asked Walk.” One can only guess. I do believe the positive leadership has had its effects. Volunteers to both social and governmental organizations have had outstanding results. It takes a number of years to see the results of a policy or policy change. Through the years, your Board of Supervisors has done an excellent job in managing the county purse while being a leader in economic development.” Walk said that another positive demographic aspect that may have contributed to the report is that Mitchell County has about a 3 percent unemployment rate. “This is both good and bad,” said Walk. “The downside is we lack some of the quality workers needed to fill the jobs created here in the county. To attract additional industry, we need an expanding workforce. Here is where affordable housing comes into lay. This issue will need to be addressed.” Mitchell County Economic Development Director Brenda Dryer attributes the projected population increase to existing data on the books that shows the county is bless with extremely strong and locally owned industry. “Look at what’s happened over the past couple years to companies like Wold, A to Z Drying, Grain Miller and Fox River Mills,” said Dryer, “Instead of downsizing like many other industries in the state, each of these are expanding and growing. This feeds jobs and population.” “This trend is especially amazing since we are an older county,” said Dryer. “This means we are attracting and retaining young people as well.”
COUNTY GAIN/LOSS Mitchell County..................................... +3.2 Cerro Gordo County............................. -6.5 Worth County ........................................ -5.7 Floyd County.......................................... -5.4 Chickasaw County................................ -8.5 Howard County...................................... -2.0
Interesting Notes:
Beth Henning, coordinator of the State Library of Iowa's State Data Center program, says this marks the 19th consecutive year of population growth in Iowa. "Iowa's population continues its long-time trend of slow, steady growth", says Henning. "The trend has been remarkably stable." However, Iowa's growth rate of 1.9 percent since the 2000 census lags behind the U.S. and most other states. Nevada is the fastest growing state, with a 24.9 percent increase since the census. Other states with double-digit increases are in the South and West: Arizona, Georgia, Utah, Idaho, Florida, Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. Among Iowa's neighbors, Minnesota continues to grow fastest with a 5.0 percent increase since 2000, followed by Missouri, Wisconsin and South Dakota, and Illinois and Nebraska. Louisiana experienced a 4.1 percent drop in population since the last census, all of it in the past year due to Hurricane Katrina. The only other state to lose population was North Dakota, which lost 1 percent of its population since 2000. Births and international migration are key components in Iowa's growth. Between 2000 and 2006, Iowa gained 36,142 immigrants from abroad and 65,553 residents due to natural change (more births than deaths). Together they offset a net loss of 41, 489 residents who moved out of Iowa to other states. The new population estimates are based on administrative records of births, deaths, movement between states, and international migration. The latest population estimates, maps, and charts for Iowa and the U.S. can be found on the State Data Center's web site at http://www.iowadatacenter.org/ The State Data Center is part of the State Library of Iowa and is a member of the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Estimates, a cooperative program with the U.S. Census Bureau.
David Namanny Press-News Editor Osage, IA 50461 PH:641-732-3724 FAX:641-732-5689 |
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