One of the most common questions I hear is simple and fair:
“What’s going on with economic development right now?”

Sometimes, the honest answer sounds like “a lot,” even when there hasn’t been a public announcement in months.

Here’s why.

Economic development rarely starts with an announcement. It starts quietly — often years before the public ever hears a name, a building size, or a location.

When a company begins looking for a new facility, they don’t call one community. They call dozens. Those conversations happen under strict non-disclosure agreements, which protect both the company and the communities involved. At that stage, even confirming that a conversation exists can remove a community from consideration.

Behind the scenes, companies are evaluating power capacity, water availability, workforce data, logistics costs, permitting timelines, and long-term risk. Communities are being narrowed down, removed, revisited, and re-evaluated — often multiple times.

Silence doesn’t mean inactivity. In fact, it often means progress.

Announced projects are the finish line, not the starting point. By the time a project becomes public, months or years of conversations, analysis, and preparation have already taken place.



Economic development requires patience — not because nothing is happening, but because the most important work happens before the ribbon cutting.