Washington County unemployment rate holds steady at 5.4% in August

Washington County's monthly unemployment rate for August 2010 held steady at 5.4% for the second month.  This is the second lowest unemployment rate in all of Eastern Iowa, behind Johnson County with 5.1%.

Washington County's labor force is over 12,200 and there are about 700 of those people that are considered unemployed.

The State of Iowa's unemployment rate in August is unchanged from July at 6.8%, and the national rate increased slightly to 9.6%.

The State and County data is from the Labor Market and Economic Research Bureau of the Iowa Workforce Development.

MD Orthopaedics of Wayland among fastest growing companies in America

MD Orthopaedics of Wayland, Iowa, has been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in America. The company, started by entrepreneur and CEO John Mitchell, is listed as the 704th fastest growing private company in 2010.

The company was reported to have 435% growth over the past 3 years, and sales of $4.2 million in the last year.

MD Orthopaedics has also been recognized by the Corridor Business Journal as one of the top 10 fastest growing companies in the greater Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area in Eastern Iowa for the past two years.

Mr. Mitchell started his company in his garage in rural Washington County, Iowa almost 7 years ago.  He developed and manufacturers the Ponsetti clubfoot brace. Developed with the encouragement of Dr. Ponsetti at the University of Iowa as a part of his revolutionary, non-surgical method for treating infant clubfoot.  This methodology has been adopted worldwide, and MD Orthopaedics ships its clubfoot brace to doctors and families around the globe.

Mr. Mitchell received support and encouragement from many sources while starting his business, including the Washington Economic Development Group, the UI's Small Business Development Center, Dr. Ponsetti and the Ponsetti Foundation, the Iowa Dept. of Economic Development, and parents around the world that provided feedback about how his device helped their babies.

There were a total of 26 Iowa companies that made Inc.'s list of the top 5000.  This includes Marion-based Involta (#40), Clickstop from Urbana, TMone from Iowa City, and Hybrid Transit Systems, Geonetiric, Raining Rose, Circle Computer Resources, RuffaloCODY and TrueNorth from Cedar Rapids.

Sign up for FastTrac® New Venture Entrepreneurial Training course

The UI's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the UI John Pappajohn Entrepreneruial Center (JPEC) are again offering a 7 week entrepreneurial training course, beginning Sept. 28.

This initiative is designed to provide a wide range of learning experiences for individuals who wish to create a venture, learn the entrepreneurial process, or need to update their knowledge and skills to grow their businesses. FastTrac® New Venture is a program designed for aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage ventures. The seven-session program focuses on the development of a plan to successfully launch a new sustainable venture.

During the 7-session program, participants will:

• Research the down market and learn how you can succeed with your business
• Evaluate the financial potential of your venture
• Identify sources of capital for financing your new venture
• Network with successful entrepreneurs and business experts
• Learn to benefit from the current economic environment
• Receive excellent materials!

Where & When
Tuesdays, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
September 28 - November 9, 2010
C129 Pomerantz Center
The University of Iowa

To Register, visit www.iowajpec.org or call (319) 384-1968.  The cost (including course materials) is $149. For students, the cost is $75.