Sunday •
Sunday, April 19, 2015 • A1 www.magicvalley.com • $2.00
April 19, 2015
Report Card Time for Magic Valley Lawmakers • C1
Second Drive Builds Food Banks Local food needs on steady increase
‘All Things Food’
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Lead Susan Mejia works April 9 at Clear Springs Foods near Buhl. Agriculture and food processing are drivers of Magic Valley’s economy.
Magic Valley Competes for Federal ‘Manufacturing Community’ Status
At a Glance What is a “manufacturing community”? An area recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration as a significant cluster of economic activity. The designation and associated benefits are through the agency’s Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership.
MYCHEL MATTHEWS mmatthews@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS • Too often, food processing jobs get a bad rap. “Young people think these jobs are dark and dirty,” said Carleen Herring, a senior vice president at Region IV Development. That’s not the case, but the word hasn’t gotten out. “Many of the jobs available in the industry are high-level science,” Herring said. Career awareness and work force development are critical challenges for Magic Valley’s food-processing industries. Herring and a team of local economic developers made a bid this month to change that. Their target: a fairly new program called the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership, designed by U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. Herring and her consortium of four dozen industry leaders and agencies, both private and public, hope to put the Magic Valley’s cluster of growers, food
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Many Magic Valley food-processing plants use the same equipment and computer software programs, said Cally Grindstaff of Clear Springs Foods, shown here. Skills learned at College of Southern Idaho ‘translate easily between processing plants.’ processors and food scientists on the map by achieving EDA “manufacturing community” status. If given the designation, the Magic Valley could expect mentoring by federal agencies and preferential consideration when federal money is doled out. Herring has worked on the proposal since the program was announced last year. Her bid was unsuccessful during the first round of designations,
announced in May 2014. The second round of applicants — including Herring — filed their proposals with the EDA this month, awaiting a June announcement.
‘Seal of Approval’
Communities across the nation compete for the “manufacturing community” designation. Only 12 will make the grade this year. Please see STATUS, A7
CSI Develops Automation Training
During each round, communities or whole regions compete for one of 12 “manufacturing community” designations nationwide by submitting proposals to the EDA. Forty-five applications were submitted in the last round. How is a community selected? The IMCP rewards communities that demonstrate best practices in attracting and expanding manufacturing. That means bringing together key players and using long-term planning across a community’s industrial ecosystem. What benefits come with the designation?
MYCHEL MATTHEWS
A federal point of contact is available to help the community access federal funds and resources.
mmatthews@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS • There was a time when computers and robots were perceived as a threat to factory workers’ job security. Instead, robotic equipment produced a different shift: Factories are no longer filled with unskilled laborers who work for minimum wage. Instead of handling a food product directly, skilled workers operate highly technical equipment that handles it more efficiently. “Someone has to tell the equipment what to do,” said Janna Hamlett, a food science quality assurance instructor at the College of Southern Idaho. “Someone has to maintain, troubleshoot and repair equipment to keep it going.” Creating a skilled work force is an important part of economic development, said Carleen Herring, senior vice president at Region IV Development. Her competition for a new federal designation could boost CSI’s training for Magic Valley’s food industries.
How does an area get the designation?
In addition, the community receives preference in award competitions from IMCP participating agencies. Branding and promotion under the IMCP designation enhances the community’s ability to attract suppliers and talent. STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
Food science quality assurance instructor Janna Hamlett explains how a centrifugal pump is used to teach foodprocessing skills at the College of Southern Idaho. She and her husband, Ben Hamlett, teach at the college’s Applied Technology and Innovation Center. Hamlett’s husband, Ben Hamlett, teaches new courses in automation and controls in the Trade and Industrial Education Department at CSI. His students will come out of the program with
If You Do One Thing: Magic Valley Chorale concert, “Rutter High with a Twist,” begins at 3 p.m. in the CSI Fine Arts Auditorium, Twin Falls. Tickets: $10 adults, $7 seniors, $5 students, $25 family.
Sunny. B4
What Does a Food Production Cluster Look Like? Page A7
valuable skills, ready for jobs that pay a living wage. “Look at the factories now. It’s all cutting-edge technology, operated by workers in lab
71° 43°Low
More Inside
Please see AUTOMATION, A7
More Online See a gallery of more photos from inside the Clear Springs Foods plant, on Magicvalley.com.
Bridge E5 Crossword E6
Dear Abby E7 Jumble E4
Obituaries C8 Sudoku E3
TETONA DUNLAP tdunlap@magicvalley.com
TWIN FALLS • The food donations haven’t lessened, but the need has increased. In Idaho, 15.6 percent of the state’s population — 250,830 people — don’t know if they will eat on any given day, says a new study from Feeding America. Every fall, members of the Boy Scouts of America Snake River Council hold a food drive. They leave plastic bags on people’s doors and then return to collect the donated food. They usually gather more than 100,000 food items that are delivered to local food pantries. This year, the Snake River Council decided to hold an additional food drive to meet the area’s increased need. “I asked a few pantries and they were low. I listened to their needs,” said David Kirk, scout executive for the Snake River Council, “It’s been getting worse and worse. Every year I’ve said we need to do another food drive.” The Feeding America study also says food security in Idaho has not been improved despite a more robust economy. In some regions of Idaho, food insecurity and hunger are worse than last year’s study. The hardest-hit county in Idaho for general food insecurity was Madison County with 21 percent. In Twin Falls County, food insecurity went from 15.1 percent in last year’s study to 14.7 percent this year. Child food insecurity went from 20.6 percent in last year’s study to 20.3 percent. On Saturday, Boy Scouts and volunteers took to Twin Falls neighborhoods gathering food donations. Kirk estimated more than 2,000 of the 5,400 members of the Snake River Council were out Saturday gathering food donations in Twin Falls and surrounding towns. “It’s our responsibility to use our resources to benefit them,” he said. Food collected in Twin Falls was dropped off at The Salvation Army. “We wanted one drop off spot in Twin Falls,” Kirk said. “They will distribute it out.” As Boy Scouts started unloading bags of food from vehicles, an assembly line was formed to sort it into different categories. Nicki Kroese, business manager of The Salvation Army in Twin Falls, said all the organizations and agencies that provide food to the community meet once a month to learn about each other’s needs and challenges. “We have a whole family of food banks. ...We are good Please see FOOD DRIVE, A5
Opinion
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Sunday, April 19, 2015 • A7
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Those that do will be rewarded with a specific point of contact from such federal departments as Commerce, Energy, Defense, Labor, Transportation and Agriculture. “Having a point of contact at the federal level means that we have someone specific that we can call on to help resolve issues ... or to provide advocacy for the implementation of the individual strategies identified by the manufacturing community,” Herring said. The communities will also become role models for economic development elsewhere across the nation. “It’s like getting the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,” said Jan Rogers, executive director of Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization.
‘All Things Food’ T h e M a g i c Va l l e y already has a lot going for it, said Shawn Barigar, president and CEO of the Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. A strong foundation, sustainable growth and economic diversity are what the EDA looks for in a “manufacturing community.” Barigar wrote a letter of support to the EDA, endorsing the valley. So
DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
In her Twin Falls office, Carleen Herring of Region IV Development talks April 9 about manufacturing integration.
Areas of Concern DREW NASH, TIMES-NEWS
Cally Grindstaff, Clear Springs Foods vice president, talks about what it would mean to have the region designated a ‘manufacturing community.’ did Rogers and 47 others. Herring declined to release a full list. “The manufacturing community designation is way different than anything we’ve applied for,” Rogers said. “We think the designation will have a positive impact on elevating the value of our existing business community,” Barigar said. “We have to work within our limits, through things like water conservation and recycling.” Agriculture and food processing are the
largest drivers of the regional economy, Barigar said. The proposal’s theme, “All Things Food,” is Rogers’ marketing line for the region. “Food is a basic need of every individual on the planet,” Jeff McCray, of McCain Foods in Burley, wrote in his letter of recommendation. “Southcentral Idaho is the new bread basket for the world and as such needs to be the heart of technology and work force development for this sector.”
What Does a Food Production Cluster Look Like?
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coats,” Herring said. “Where are the workers coming from? Out of state.” But CSI’s new foodscience programs can grow them here. “You could also think of it in terms of talent attraction — not only for employees, but also perhaps for helping to recruit talented teachers, instructors and professors to the region to teach those classes that can change the face of the work force — not only those basic skills, but the technical trades, the higher science jobs, the research and development positions,” Herring said. CSI already plays an integral role in bolstering the Magic Valley’s economy. If the valley is designated as a “manufacturing community” by the Economic Development Administration, the college’s involvement could grow. “The designation may open the door to some innovative funding outside of the traditional mainstream resources — work force-targeting private foundations or other nongovernmental organizations that are looking for a test-case community that is pushing the envelope in making the most of
The Magic Valley already has a substantial cluster in and around food, Rogers said. But obstacles to growth remain: workplace language barriers, transportation issues and limited availability of water, to name a few. Boosting the valley’s economy doesn’t necessarily mean bringing in more factories, she said. It’s more about bolstering existing businesses, building a talented work force and securing support businesses to keep the ball rolling.
MYCHEL MATTHEWS mmatthews@magicvalley.com
STEPHEN REISS, TIMES-NEWS
A robotic assembly machine used by College of Southern Idaho food science students is seen April 10 in Twin Falls. industry collaboration and direct employee education programs,” Herring said. CSI already competes for work force investment dollars — just like other junior colleges. “However, if we get the designation, CSI may get the ‘extra credit points’ in those application processes which may give the college access to some funding for work force that they may not be awarded due to, say, the size of the community they serve, or some other limiting factors,” she said. The college offers various emerging programs in the professional-technical area — including the Hamletts’ food-processing lab and automation lab — at its $8.5 million Applied
Technology and Innovation Center. A $4.4 million EDA grant helped fund the 42,000-squarefoot center. Students learn the ins and outs of the equipment in a hands-on environment, without the risk of shutting down an expensive production line, Janna Hamlett said. Many Magic Valley foodprocessing plants use the same equipment and computer software programs, said Cally Grindstaff, vice president of corporate relations and organizational development at Clear Springs Foods in Buhl. “The skills learned at CSI translate easily between processing plants,” Grindstaff said.
ORTLAND, Maine P • E c o n o m i c l e a d e rs here want to find users for wasted raw food, increase global markets for Maine seafood and replace imports with Maine products. Led by the Greater Portland Council of Governments, Portland was designated as a manufacturing cluster in 2014, during the first round of competition for Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership. In Idaho, Carleen Herring used Portland’s winning 2014 application as a template for the Magic Valley’s 2015 application, filed early this month. Although the Portland area processes different foods than the Magic Valley does, Neal Allen, Greater Portland Council executive director, said the two areas have a lot in common. Though a relatively small city — with a population of 66,000 — Portland serves a large rural
Parrots in Burning House Called Out ‘Help!’ BOISE (AP) • When firefighters arrived Friday night at a house fire just outside Middleton, Idaho, they say they heard what sounded like calls for help
Lewiston Delays Fire Station Construction EWISTON (AP) • LewisL ton airport and fire department officials say they’re delaying the construction of a new aircraft rescue and firefighting station until 2017. The Lewiston Tribune reports the decision to delay was made to allow more time to find the best site for the station. The existing station was built in 1973. Federal Airport Improvement Program funds should pay for more than 90 percent of the airport’s share of the station’s estimated $3 million to $4 million cost.
The federal Economic Development Administration asked: What does the Magic Valley still need? Region IV Development identified these gaps — and others — in the valley’s economic ecosystem: Research and Work force training: innovation: • Career awareness • Water recycling and • Immigration reform recharge and policy changes • Capacity for primary Supplier networks: research • Assessment of freight Infrastructure: types • Wastewater capacity • Regional branding inventory • Small business con• Water recycling and tracting network recharge International trade • Land use planning, and investment: Urban Renewal • Agency and industry Agency development communication plan • Policy changes for • Marketing focus for transportation funding regional sustainability • Product origin labeling
from inside the building. KBOI-TV reports that once fire crews got the flames contained, they found the source of the calls: two parrots.
Firefighters say the birds were actually saying “Help!” and “Fire!” Fire crews got the birds out of the house and gave them oxygen. They’re
expected to be OK. No people were inside. The cause of the fire is under investigation. M i d d l e to n i s we s t of Boise.
s Arot presents n tour
area of 250,000 with an aging population and many immigrants, called “New Mainers.” Since receiving the federal designation last year, the Portland group put together “a consortium partnership — a mixed group from the public and private sector interested in food production,” Allen said. “We’ve had two or three successes finding additional funding for particular businesses. “We plan to build our food cluster to a higher level by focusing more on encouraging development around sustainability,” Allen said. Caroline Paras, an economic and community planner who assembled Portland’s application, is writing her master’s thesis on that subject. “Two decades ago, success for a Maine company might have meant getting bought out by a larger company,” Paras said. “Today, Maine food start-ups are focused on sustainability, includi n g s o u rc i n g M a i n e inputs, eliminating
Say
waste products, reducing dependence on petroleum, launching new products with other food producers, and giving back to the community.” An example is Rosemont Market in Portland. “Launched 10 years ago as a single retail store, Rosemont now operates a central kitchen that makes value-added products for four stores, including soups, pies, quiches, chutneys, stocks and sauces,” Paras said. “Operating under an ethos of zero waste, they work with a variety of secondary inputs, including bumped and bruised produce from their shelves that doesn’t sell or less-than-farmstand-quality product directly from farmers. They also buy entire pigs and cows and use every part of the animal.” In 10 years, the business grew from four employees to 70. Food-processing jobs in Cumberland County, Maine, are 21 percent in dairy, 19 percent in seafood and 16 percent in bakeries.
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