Iowa ag boss tours educational ‘working building’ 

ELDRIDGE, Iowa – The state’s top agriculture official last week toured a new $18.7 million educational facility in this community that will help train students for future jobs, keep the economy strong and become a “working building” for the region. “This is an amazing facility. It’s a great space. … This place is all about […]

ELDRIDGE, Iowa – The state’s top agriculture official last week toured a new $18.7 million educational facility in this community that will help train students for future jobs, keep the economy strong and become a “working building” for the region. “This is an amazing facility. It’s a great space. … This place is all about creating pathways for students. We need a prepared workforce,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said Friday, Jan. 24, while visiting the new Regional Innovation Center (RIC), located at 2202 S. First St.  

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Mr. Naig joined about 20 local school officials, teachers and lawmakers in looking over the new building. The RIC, which began to host classes Tuesday, Jan. 22, in fact, is so new it still doesn't have any address markers or an outside sign designating it as an innovation center. “I just tell people to stop by the big red building,” said North Scott School District Superintendent Joe Stutting as he helped conduct the tour of the RIC. Mr. Stutting told the state’s ag secretary and others that the center – in the planning stages for about eight years – was built when education leaders realized that a facility was needed to help make high-quality career and technical education available to students in eastern Iowa to fill jobs. Some of that education focuses on building trades in plumbing and electrical, health care courses, food production, diesel tech, construction, robotics and much more. During the event,  Iowa Rep. Mike Vondran, R-Davenport, said he was especially impressed with the education facility because it will help prepare students for high-paying jobs and keep young people in the community. “This is a great place for young people to explore careers. … This is a working building for the community,” he added. The guests also visited several classrooms in that working building including the construction tech lab, where Mr. Naig and others watched as students took part in building trades lessons, completing various electrical and plumbing assignments. “If you are going into construction, this is the lab you want to be in,” said Mr. Stutting. The superintendent added that almost all the current students taking classes at the center are from the North Scott School District. But that will change. He said the RIC is available to thousands of students from the region. “It was truly designed to benefit all kids within driving distance. … The potential for them here is huge,”  he said. In addition, the RIC is available to students at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC). One of the students taking classes at the RIC is Evan Keppy, a junior at North Scott. He is  taking classes in food development and hopes to become an inspector at a meat production facility. “This place is very open. … It’s open to any career I’d like to have,” he said. Some of the features of the new innovation center include: 

• Size: 84,000 square feet.
• Cost: $18.7 million. School officials, though, said the investment will be around $22 million once all the high-tech equipment and furnishings are in place. As of Friday, the RIC was still a work in progress as some classroom equipment was still in boxes, ready to be unpacked.
• Classrooms: The facility’s classes include: animal science, diesel tech, building trades, construction, robotics, agri-science, food science and health care. In addition to the classrooms, there is an arena, commons area, small animal and dog kennels, livestock show area, computer lab, greenhouse and a student store.
• Financial support:  The RIC was made possible through a $12.5 million investment from the North Scott Community School District, funding from EICC, public and private grants, and support of businesses and individuals.
• Classes: There are more than 12 different courses available including animal care, food product development, nurse aide, greenhouse and floral products, biology lab, veterinary assistant, human anatomy and physiology.
• Future classes and developments: Some of the second semester classes at the RIC will include bakery, renewable resources and intro to early childhood. Mr. Stutting said that in the coming years, he hopes the center will be a very busy place with thousands of students taking classes.
• Students and partners: The RIC will be available to more than 9,000 students in the region. Educational partners include EICC and Bettendorf, Central DeWitt, Davenport, Durant, North Scott, and Pleasant Valley community school districts. The partnerships also will include area businesses. Leaders from some of those businesses will have a role in helping teach students about various job fields. “We want to link students to businesses in the community,” John Maxwell, chairman of the Scott County Board of Supervisors, said on the tour.

After touring the innovation center, Mr. Naig said he was impressed with the education facility and the partnerships that have been forged to help thousands of students in the region. He added that he believes the RIC will help get young people ready to take over jobs, and convince them to stay in Iowa instead of leaving the state for other parts of the country. “Shame on us if we don’t help our kids understand the opportunities that are here in this state,” he added.