Today's Farmer Magazine
State of Mind
The Great Flood of 1993 was the most devastating ever in the history of the Mississippi River. Approaches to the many bridges that cross the Mighty Mississippi were cut off. You couldn’t go from the IL side to the IA or MO side from the Quad Cities down to St. Louis. Normal business and trade along the river slid precipitously.
Community leaders along the river saw the impact and began meeting on a regular basis to 
discuss the things that the 35 counties in western IL, northeast MO and southeast IA had in common with each other. Their initial efforts led to the construction of a number of highway projects that have greatly improved infrastructure in the region, including the construction of the Avenue of the Saints, a new interstate from St. Louis, MO to St. Paul, MN that cuts right through the region.
I was there for their Tri-State Development Summit, pulling together 450 people interested in their regional approach. Current efforts include regional initiatives in entrepreneurship, agriculture, housing, tourism, rivers, workforce, media and transportation. Each area offers some unique opportunities to work together for the betterment of the entire region.
Calling themselves the State of Mind, their new mythical state of 35 counties with 18,815 square miles is larger than the states of RI, DE, CT, HA, NJ, MA, NH, VT and MD. And with almost 700,000 people it would exceed the populations of WY, VT, AK AND ND. Yet, this area is represented by five U. S. Congressmen and six U. S. Senators, giving it much more clout than any of the 20 states shown in red. 
This idea of regionalism is brilliant and a major wave of the future that I see developing throughout the USA. Most regionalism efforts stop at state borders because of natural rivalries, silo-thinking mentality and the hassles inherent in working in multiple states. However, the people in the State of Mind (I love that name!) have conquered those barriers and are positioning themselves for great things in the future.
What barriers do you need to tear down to be working more on a regional basis, like the State of Mind?
posted by BoomtownUSA
Press Release
For Release Tuesday, October 10, 2006
9:00 a.m.
Tri-State Development Summit Marks 10th Anniversary
Leaders of the Tri-State Development Summit took advantage of the tenth day of the tenth month of 2006 to mark the 10th anniversary of the regional initiative.
“Today is a time to commemorate milestones of achievement and to celebrate the future of the summit with several important announcements,” said Jim Mentesti, president of Great River Economic Development Foundation of Quincy, and a member of the summit steering committee.
Mentesti said the steering committee’s original vision was to convene a group of about 100 tri-state area leaders annually from 1996 to 1999 to build on the strong foundation of regional cooperation forged during the Flood of ’93. But over time, the summit grew beyond expectations.
The steering committee announced that a Coordinator has been hired to manage the summit and its ongoing efforts.
“Because we have grown from an annual gathering to an ongoing initiative, because we’ve experienced success through regional cooperation, and because there appears to be no end to what can be accomplished together, we hired Shelby Crow in June to give the summit the attention and support it needs and deserves,” said Mentesti who introduced Crow.
Crow, a native of Liberty, Illinois, has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and a Masters degree in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration from Western Illinois University. One of her first areas of focus will be coordinating the next summit which she announced will be held on Wednesday, April 4, 2007 on the campus of Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri where the first summit was held in October, 1996. About four hundred people are expected to attend.
“Jack Schultz has been secured as keynote speaker and we are seeking commitments from political leaders to speak,” said Crow. Schultz, the author of Boomtown USA, is a premier authority in economic development recognized for his ongoing research and vast knowledge of rural America.
Crow also announced that a new website, www.tristateofmind.org, has been launched. Eric Thomas Computers (ETC) developed the site, based on design concepts provided by Truman State University. Adams Networks hosts the summit site.
Crow also announced two new summit task forces, Entrepreneurship and Housing. Existing task forces include Transportation, Workforce Development, Agriculture, Media and River Issues. Crow, who has a strong background in tourism, says re-invigorating a Tourism Task Force is also a priority.
Three new counties have been added to the summit region, taking the “Tri-State of Mind” to 35 counties, and the total population from 575,000 to 700,000. Randolph County in Missouri, home of Moberly Area Community College which for years has been a partner in regional workforce development, has been officially added to the summit map. Knox and Fulton Counties in Illinois have been added due to their important roles in the Ill 336 and US 34 Corridors.
Crow says building relationships with people and communities throughout the summit area and understanding the many economic development-related issues of the tri-states are important. In her first 90 days as summit coordinator, Crow has attended the ribbon cutting for the Avenue of the Saints in Mount Pleasant, a public hearing of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Upper Mississippi River Comprehensive Plan, and the Tri-State Housing Summit sponsored by Regional Planning Councils in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. She has met with the leadership of the Transportation, Workforce Development and Agriculture Task Forces and has visited many communities in Missouri and Iowa with Gordon Ipson, Manager of Economic Development for Northeast Missouri Electric Power Cooperative.
The steering committee points to the passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) and the tremendous progress that has been made toward completing a tri-state transportation network as just two milestones of regional achievement.
According to a summit report prepared by Pat Poepping, 102 miles of four-lane highways were completed in the summit region in a 30 month period from April 2003 to October 2005. More importantly, the number of miles of unfunded highway priorities decreased from 488 to 310 miles in the same period. Poepping says the progress made on four-lane highways in the region is “nothing short of phenomenal.”
In the past twelve months Missouri and Illinois have put regional highway projects on the fast track. Ill 336 is scheduled for completion in 2008, and Missouri is scheduled to complete U.S. 36 in 2009, providing the final link the Chicago-to-Kansas City expressway. Missouri will also complete The Avenue of the Saints in 2008. Other regional highway priorities include U.S. Highways 34, 63 and 67.
“The importance of our unified regional voice cannot be under-estimated,” said steering committee member Tom Boland of Hannibal. “A half million people working together across state lines makes a real difference.”
In addition to her role as Summit Coordinator, Crow is also coordinating a new initiative called YP Quincy, a program for young professionals who share the goal of enhancing the quality of life in the Quincy area through career networking, social activities, recreation and community service. While these are two separate and distinct jobs, Crow says she finds strong interest in the YP concept throughout the region.
“Several other communities are initiating programs that target young professionals. This is just another example of common issues we face and the opportunities to share our knowledge and experience regionally.
Anyone wishing to be added to the summit mailing list can contact Shelby Crow at
217/223-8380, or visit the website at www.tri-stateofmind.org.
The Tri-State Development Summit Steering Committee:
Tom Boland, Tom Boland Ford Sterling, Hannibal, MO (573/221-9350)
Jim Mentesti, Great River Economic Development Foundation, Quincy, IL (217/223-4313)
Pat Poepping, Poepping Stone Bach Associates with offices in IL, MO and IA (217/223-4605)
Chuck Scholz, former Mayor, Quincy, IL (217/222-4800)
Dan Wiedemeier, Retired, Burlington, IA (319/754-2272)
Summit Coordinator, Shelby Schoonover Crow (217/223-8380)
discuss the things that the 35 counties in western IL, northeast MO and southeast IA had in common with each other. Their initial efforts led to the construction of a number of highway projects that have greatly improved infrastructure in the region, including the construction of the Avenue of the Saints, a new interstate from St. Louis, MO to St. Paul, MN that cuts right through the region. 
