Editor's note: This is the cover story of North Idaho Business Journal's January issue.

Chobani, yogurt maker, 500 jobs in a new $450 million plant.

Glanbia, cheese manufacturer, 100 jobs.

Frulact Group, fruit processor, 100 jobs.

Clif Bar, organic energy foods maker, 250 jobs in a new $160 million plant.

Between November 2012 and November 2013, the greater Twin Falls area has sited or gotten commitments from these and three other companies with a combined economic punch of $750 million in capital investment and more than 1,200 jobs.

The way he was talking about Twin Falls last month, Gov. Butch Otter, addressing a packed Chamber of Commerce house in Coeur d’Alene, was preaching the gospel of the Father, the Son and the Magic Valley. In the quest for Idaho to grow its gross domestic product to $60 billion a year — Project 60 — the good guv made it sound like Twin Falls might generate $59 billion of that all by itself.

Candidates in local elections seemingly wound along the Centennial Trail all the way down through Twin Falls. No discussion about urban renewal and the importance of creating jobs was complete until Kootenai County-based candidates had genuflected southward and said, in essence, that the greater Coeur d’Alene area would do well to emulate whatever it is the folks in the Twin Falls area are doing.

So what’s their secret? How can a city the size of Coeur d’Alene kick economic development booty like Twin Falls has when they aren’t on an interstate highway, don’t have immediate access to a major airport and, from a provincial perspective, anyway, can’t begin to compare with a place like Coeur d’Alene for natural beauty?

Put simply, what have they got that we don’t?

When asked that question, Steve Griffitts, president of Jobs Plus, unleashed a four-letter word as if it was the only explanation needed.

Cows.

The engine in Idaho economic development’s fastest race car is powered by cows.

Herding success

Whatever his faults or shortcomings, bovine envy isn’t one of them.

When he mentions cows, Griffitts, the leader of North Idaho’s regional economic development effort, is simply understating a greater truth.

The Magic Valley is an awesome cradle of agricultural endowments, and the region’s ability to focus on that strength has flung open the doors to economic growth. According to Griffitts, nobody deserves more credit for that success than his counterpart, Jan Rogers, executive director of the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization.

In a December interview with North Idaho Business Journal, Rogers cited two key reasons her region has racked up the staggering totals of 30-plus company sitings or major expansions in the past decade or so, with seven biggies in just the past year.

First, the business model. SIEDO, Rogers said, is a sturdy three-legged stool consisting of:

1. Business Plus, private businesses that raise funds for SIEDO. Business Plus contributes just over one-third of SIEDO’s annual budget of about $260,000, Rogers estimated. (The budget for Jobs Plus is about $300,000.)

2. College of Southern Idaho, which contributes about 40 percent of SIEDO’s budget.

3. Cities and counties in the region, which together contribute about 25 percent of the budget.

“The thing that makes our organization different is we don’t have multiple businesses as partners individually,” Rogers said. “I don’t go out and make the ask. My organization doesn’t actually go out and raise funds. That makes us sort of a unique model. It allows me, the executive director, to focus 95 percent of my attention on business development, whether that’s retention, expansion or attraction.”

While Rogers lauded the model, she said that isn’t the biggest reason her organization is on top of the Idaho jobs game.

“What is our secret sauce?” she asked with a slight Texas twang. “I’ll tell you right now what I think it is. I think it is absolute teamwork. Everyone leaves their ego at the door. It’s all about everybody’s got their expertise in whatever role they play on the team. We’ve got some great quarterbacks; I’m the head cheerleader. Off we go.”

Off SIEDO went, and here the success stories came. And not just to Twin Falls, the urban center of the region. McCain Foods’ expansion in Burley netted 150 jobs. In tiny Filer, with fewer than 1,500 residents, Monsanto’s Wheat Technology Innovation Center created 30 jobs — not a staggering number until you learn that salaries start at $45,000 and go up. Rupert, population 5,500 or so, just landed Portugal-based Frulact Group and its first-ever foray into the U.S.: A $40 million capital investment starting with 100 jobs.

Did somebody say “cows?”

Well, that’s part of it, but Rogers quickly pointed out that Frulact came here without the Magic Valley growing fruit.

“You have to understand what your core industry is, and you build off that,” she said. “It’s not just about the cows here. We are the food basket of Idaho — period.”

Rogers rattled off agricultural-based assets like row crops, beef, milk, fish, pork, ham and honey as being grown or raised in her region. And she said that southern Idaho ranks something like 13th nationally in cattle production, but in all those other categories they’re in the Top 10 in the nation.

“If you look up America’s most diverse food basket, it’s gonna show southern Idaho,” Rogers said.

But of course, there’s more to the secret sauce than that.

“Clif Bars is not here because of the cows. We do a lot of the grain, but we don’t process it. They’re here because we are a close fit to the aspirations Clif Bar lives by as a company,” she said.

Saying Twin Falls “syncs up very nicely with the brand,” Rogers related the story of Clif Bar founder Gary Erickson and his wife, Kit, during their site evaluation.

“It’s one of my favorite quotes: They said, ‘We could live here,” Rogers recalled.

Chobani Yogurt was the snowball that started the latest avalanche of economic good news, Rogers acknowledged, but again she stuck to her theme: “We’re not the only place that has milk.”

It’s the teamwork that ultimately makes the difference, she said, noting that Chobani could easily have set up shop in nearby Nevada, which is closer to even more ample access to dairy products in California.

“It’s not about the organization of a single community or a single person,” Rogers said. “It’s everyone working together under one umbrella to present the best proposal for a project.”

If it’s just a matter of teamwork, then how come southern Idaho’s secret sauce tastes so much better?

“We never take our eye off the endgame, which is to create good-paying jobs for our citizens who live in our region, and capital investment to help with the tax base,” she said. “It’s all about that, and we never take our eye off that.

“It’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s about, ‘How do we close this deal?’”

To close more deals, Jan Rogers and her team embrace three potent assets: Their community college, CSI; urban renewal; and a legislative contingent that speaks as one voice for the economic betterment of the region.

CSI and NIC

Former CSI President Jerry Beck, now retired and living in Hayden Lake not far from former NIC President Priscilla Bell, is acknowledged statewide as a giant who shaped his community college into a powerful force for economic development.

“The college is what we call our secret weapon, and Jerry was a huge part in developing that,” Rogers said.

She referred to CSI as her organization’s PT boat — an offensive weapon that moves quickly with almost immediate results, versus four-year institutions — battleships — which move more slowly and deliberately, particularly with important workforce issues.

“The other thing I love about the College of Southern Idaho is, they were and still are a key player in this regional concept,” she said. “They stepped up to the plate with resources and funding to make this a reality, and they are heavily invested in making this a regional success.”

Mark Browning, North Idaho College’s vice president for community relations, was formerly the communications head for the Idaho Board of Education. In that role, he got to know Beck well.

“He was able to establish a culture there of ‘We will do this,’” Browning said of Beck. “People understood what the mission was and they got on board.”

Griffitts, too, is among Beck’s staunch admirers. He thinks Beck put southern Idaho — the region, not just the community college — at the top of the state’s economic development dogpile a decade ago, when North Idaho College wasn’t as adroitly on board.

“Jerry Beck was phenomenal in integrating CSI and the business community,” Griffitts said. “He could make calls and get stuff done immediately. We were so far from that.

“If you look at NIC now, though, Priscilla brought us down a new road and with Joe Dunlap now we are probably as good as CSI, and that’s saying a lot.”

Browning agrees.

“Joe’s one of the best I’ve ever been around,” he said. “There’s no pretense about the guy. He’ll tell you, ‘Here’s the problem and here’s how I think we can solve it together.’

“When everyone wakes up and sees what we have here, they’ll move mountains.”

Legislators, south and north

Rogers praised every member of her region’s legislative delegation, saying, “They are on board with what we’re doing here, and they have been since the get-go.”

In fact, she said legislative heavyweight Sen. Dean Cameron of Rupert helped close the Frulact deal in his hometown.

“They brought in Dean to meet with the company to talk about the region and the state,” Rogers said of the co-chair of Idaho’s powerful Joint Finance Appropriations Committee. “That’s one of the great opportunities we have in the region: Everybody’s working toward the goal of good-paying jobs and capital investment. Our state representatives have always been extremely supportive of our efforts.”

How supportive have North Idaho legislators been toward the goal of good-paying jobs and capital investment? Griffitts thought carefully before answering.

“Their legislators leave to go to Boise and there’s no surprises when they go to Boise. We have some issues with infighting among our legislators,” Griffitts said, noting how Rep. Luke Malek was vilified by fellow legislators for his stance on the state’s health insurance exchange. “That doesn’t happen in Twin Falls.”

But Griffitts was much more comfortable talking about the upside of North Idaho’s contingent.

“Frank Henderson’s phenomenal,” he said. “He provides direction and guidance and solutions. Luke, whether you agree or not with his decisions, he did his homework and figured out the best option he could for our community and our state.”

From a strict economic development standpoint, what might align North Idaho’s legislative strategy more like southern Idaho’s?    “We need legislators who are willing to analyze, discuss and build — like Frank Henderson has done throughout his career,” Griffitts said. “Despite our differences, what will set us apart in economic development is a unanimous commitment to follow the example of Frank Henderson.”

With praise like that, NIBJ sought out Henderson for his thoughts on what would make the greater Coeur d’Alene area more competitive in economic development. Henderson, chairman of the House Business Committee and the state’s eldest statesman at 91, had this to say:

“The major difference is that Twin Falls has a strong relationship between the private sector and the community college. The college is totally responsive to economic opportunity and the business community provides development strategy that involves them, the college and local legislators. I think the college president, Jerry Beck, provided the key leadership.”

Henderson remembered a time Beck came to the legislature’s appropriations committee and asked for $250,000 for CSI’s nursing program — but only after he had an equal $250,000 commitment from the private sector.

“How could we have turned that down?” Henderson said. “It’s that local leadership. I’m not sure we have that here, although NIC is being more responsive to industry needs.”

From a legislative perspective, Henderson, too, sees room for improvement. One key is keeping those who best understand business on board.

“If we can keep people in our delegation — like Ed Morse and Luke Malek — they’ll provide the kind of business understanding and the kind of strength we need,” Henderson said.

Urban renewal

In southern Idaho, the Clif Bar deal included a $19 million Twin Falls urban renewal commitment for infrastructure improvements on land where Clif Bar is building its plant, according to the agency’s Nov. 12 board minutes. That money will pay for water storage, pipelines and other improvements on a whopping 90,000 acres. Clif Bar’s plant will be located just south of Chobani’s 1 million square-foot facility.

How key an ingredient is urban renewal in southern Idaho’s secret sauce?

“We wouldn’t be sitting here on our success stories without it,” Rogers said emphatically. “It’s literally the only tool they have. . . when competing with other states.

“The reality is these large projects require substantial infrastructure that the cities aren’t able to produce on their own. If you’re going to be able to attract them and set up an environment for a company to actually operate, the only way to do that is through increment financing.”

Rogers was also quick to point out that urban renewal funds aren’t corporate gifts. In the Clif Bar deal, a line of credit was extended to the company.

“The monies from the taxes that are generated are being paid by the project,” Rogers said. “It’s their money; they’re paying taxes for their project and that’s the money that’s going into infrastructure improvement. It’s not anybody else’s money. It’s the company’s money.”

In a tale of two cities, Griffitts and Henderson — the latter a former Post Falls mayor — point to different ways urban renewal has helped Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls.

“When urban renewal [statewide] was created, it was job-oriented,” Henderson said. “It was on the basis of jobs, and Post Falls was the first to use it the way it was meant to be used. Since then, urban renewal has been stretched in how its funding has been used, and it’s weakened the job creation role of urban renewal.”

Both Henderson and Griffitts hold up the Kimball Office plant — formerly known as Harper’s — in Post Falls as an urban renewal ideal. Using tax increment financing, street, curbs, sewer and water were provided for the company, Henderson said.

“It was repaid in eight years and the district was closed,” Henderson said, “which is the concept that urban renewal was born with.”

Griffitts, too, lauds the urban renewal model employed by Post Falls. He’s particularly proud of what the Jacklin brothers have done with Riverbend Commerce Park, which he refers to as “our Chobani-Plus” because of the number of great companies located there with jobs that pay well.

Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal — managed by Lake City Development Corp. — has tended to follow a different flight plan, Griffitts said. With a financial commitment to McEuen Park almost equal to what Twin Falls has done with Clif Bar infrastructure, Griffitts said the philosophies might differ but the results could easily align.

“The money spent to enhance Third Street, midtown; that was a pretty good investment,” Griffitts said. “Did it help me in economic development? No. But I think McEuen has. I think people will see the vibrancy, a commitment to improvement. You have to have the downtown to get the other growth, to get the vibrancy.”

Griffitts’ sentiments are shared by one of the region’s most knowledgeable urban renewal insiders. Not only has Deanna Goodlander served on the Coeur d’Alene City Council for 16 years, but more than three quarters of that time, she’s been a council liaison on the Lake City Development Corp. board.

According to Goodlander, Post Falls has focused its urban renewal efforts directly on jobs, while Coeur d’Alene’s thus far has been more quality-of-life oriented.

“When the Lake District was formed, the original mission was to develop downtown Coeur d’Alene,” Goodlander said. “That’s been done. It’s going to be a healthy downtown, and that was the goal.”

Both Griffitts and Goodlander said geographically, Post Falls is perfectly suited for further expansion, particularly with retail and manufacturing. It can grow, physically, in most directions. Not so with Coeur d’Alene — and that’s all right, Goodlander said.

“I believe we have created an atmosphere that encourages people to bring their companies here,” she said. “We might not have vast tracks of land such as Post Falls, but we do have a quality of life issue that works very well.

“Steve shows people the Kroc Center, the library, downtown, all of which LCDC had a part in making happen. In fact they would either not be here or would be less attractive without LCDC. We have benefited the entire area with what we have accomplished. Public art is one example and you know of many others. Coeur d’Alene is the focal point for the health of the entire area and you can see that by how people are involved in our political world even though they live in Hayden, Dalton, Post Falls and so on.”

Griffitts said Lake City Development Corp. is an invaluable tool in cultivating economic development.

“Every time I meet with them they ask what they can do to help me,” he said. “This goes back forever.”

Moving forward

If Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, separated by just a few miles, are so different, it’s clear that north and south Idaho are going to share even less in common.

And that’s OK, said Griffitts.

“It’s great to see Jan’s successes with those world-renowned companies,” he said. “But we’re not going to get them, just like they’re not going to get ALK-Abello. They’re not going to get Buck Knives. When you look at Chobani and some of the others, they needed cows. They needed milk. When you bring one food processing company in, others will follow. We don’t have that capability.”

Goodlander agreed.

“They’ve got dairy and they’ve got farmland, all of the things that fit the culture of that area. Post Falls is far superior to us in terms of their ability to attract new business because of their vast tracts of land. But also, if they succeed, we succeed. We’re so closely aligned and so closely tied.”

Goodlander said that with the Lake District’s mission basically accomplished — downtown and midtown enhanced by urban renewal energy and effort — the agency will likely focus increasingly on its other district, the River District. That’s where Riverstone resides, but as Goodlander notes, Riverstone is well on its way to build-out.

“What’s the next step? For the River District to potentially focus on — and this is my personal opinion — to work with Steve and make it a jobs corridor.”

Goodlander said some of the available property along Seltice Way could also be used for residential development including apartments, but that might not be the best use for that valuable land.

“I’d hate to see more apartments go in there,” she said. “I think that would be the wrong direction.”

Goodlander also said the River District is “pretty flush right now, sitting on some pretty good cash. That district has got some real potential for good jobs if we get the right developers in place.”

As of October, the balance in the River District’s account was $2,865,165, according to LCDC’s website.

Henderson said two efforts — one in Boise and one here, with Jobs Plus — could boost regional economic development efforts.

Henderson said he and others are working with Commerce Director Jeffrey Sayer to develop performance-based incentives for companies much like Utah’s been doing so successfully for several years. The idea, Henderson said, is that a percentage of new revenue created by the growth of companies goes into a pot for economic development. That money goes back to the corporations that created the growth in the form of corporate profit tax reduction, worker’s comp and so on, he said.

“We don’t spend any money until after the jobs are created,” Henderson said. “It’s new revenue from new jobs.”

While legislation for that plan is forged for the upcoming session, Henderson said he’s going to encourage formation of a Jobs Plus executive committee to create a local economic development strategy. The group would consist of experienced local business executives and key legislators from Districts 2, 3 and 4. This group — between seven and nine people, Henderson recommends — would finalize a plan that would be presented to the Jobs Plus board, which then would “provide a budget and make all involved accountable for their area of responsibility.”

“With these fundamental changes, I believe our area would quickly become effectively responsive to economic opportunities,” he said.

In the meantime, Griffitts, Goodlander and Henderson all agreed that North Idaho has a ways to go to catch up to the Magic Valley’s exemplary teamwork.

Asked how well North Idaho legislators do in presenting a unified front for job growth, Henderson shook his head.

“Not well,” he said. “Not well.”

With Morse and Malek clearly on board the economic development express, Henderson said he’ll reach out more to other legislators and to North Idaho College officials to help bring together that unified effort.

Goodlander said that from a legislative perspective, the local economic development challenge is greater than it needs to be.

“Kathy Sims is absolutely opposed to our urban renewal district,” Goodlander said of the Republican representative from District 4. “She tries to encompass all of urban renewal, but it’s totally focused on our urban renewal district. And she’s our representative.”

Goodlander said it’s difficult “when she’s actively working to get us disbanded. You couldn’t call Kathy Sims and ask her to help land a US. Bank call center.”

But it is Henderson who perhaps best sums up the biggest difference between southern and northern Idaho economic development efforts, and what needs to be done for better results here.

“The difference is the level of teamwork,” he said. “We don’t have leaders planning and plotting an economic strategy.

“If you ask why they’ve been so successful, it’s that local, local leadership. And I don’t think we have that here. Something’s missing, and it’s been leadership.”

“We’re really in a groove,” Rogers said of SIEDO. “We still have projects in the pipeline that could come to fruition, but quite honestly, it’s been one heck of a year.”

So what could the northerners do to succeed at southern Idaho’s latest levels?

Teamwork.

“Everybody likes to be part of a winning team,” Rogers said. “To win, you have to do x, y and z, and when they see that happening all over the place, everyone wants to get on the team.”