(The Center Square) – Iowa has budgeted $305,000 in federal funding for a brand development project to attract businesses and workers, a state official said Wednesday.
Iowa Economic Development Authority Chief Strategic Communications Officer Staci Hupp Ballard told The Center Square in an email Wednesday that the state plans to use American Rescue Plan Act funding for the marketing campaign Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday.
In a July 19 news release, Reynolds introduced a state logo that executive branch departments will use to market the state to bolster the economy and grow the state’s population. FleishmanHillard, which created the “This is Iowa” tourism campaign for the Iowa Economic Development Authority, developed the logo and brand strategy.
“Iowa’s national profile is on the rise, our reputation is strong, and Americans all around the country have taken notice. We are perfectly positioned to capitalize on this point in time by building Iowa’s brand,” she said. “A strong brand will sharpen our competitive edge and help us stand out from other states.”
The logo features a landscape scene with a road to the horizon that represents opportunity, the release said. The tagline, “Freedom to Flourish,” indicates the state has unlimited opportunities for success. State government websites will be the first to use the new logo to make the sites more consistent recognizable. The state also plans to update welcome signs along Iowa’s primary entry points on interstates and other roadways.
“The brand implementation will be a phased, months-long approach using existing budgets to replenish or refresh materials as necessary,” the release said.
A 2021 bill to redesign welcome signs at the state’s borders didn’t make it out of committee.
Reynolds also announced in the release that her administration has reduced its departments, eliminated unfilled positions and is on track to save taxpayers $214 million over four years.
The changes follow a bill that legislators passed in the 2023 session that became effective July 1. The bill reduces cabinet-level departments from 37 to 16 by consolidating similar agencies and centralizing programs.
Reynolds said her administration and state agencies’ leaders began a state government efficiency assessment about a year ago that identified ways to better meet Iowans’ needs through operations and services. More than 100 state employees were involved in alignment planning, preparation and implementation.
According to the Legislative Services Agency’s final fiscal note on the bill, SF514, the bill’s impacts include reducing the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing’s expenditures by about $1.6 million, the Economic Development Authority’s costs by nearly $500,000, the Department of Workforce Development’s costs by about $4.2 million and the Public Employment Relations Board’s total costs by $120,000. For the Public Employment Relations Board, costs are supposed to increase by $157,000 for the executive director but decrease by $277,000 by moving the board’s members from full-time to part-time employment. Several sections of the bill are estimated to have no fiscal impact to the state.
