Dubuque County looks much different now than it did 40 years ago.
A recession and layoffs at two of the largest employers in town, John Deere Dubuque Works and Dubuque Packing Co., were part of a major economic downturn for Dubuque in the early 1980s. Unemployment in 1982 peaked at 23%.
These conditions led a group of business leaders, nonprofits and government representatives to come together in 1984 to analyze economic development opportunities and community needs. This laid the groundwork for Greater Dubuque Development Corp.
GDDC held its annual meeting at Q Casino + Resort on Wednesday to celebrate 40 years, recap its annual report and elect certain leadership positions. The atmosphere was overall positive.
“There’s been an extraordinary transformation of this community in the 40 years of GDDC’s existence,” said Rick Dickinson, the organization’s president and CEO.
Dickinson announced at the meeting that he will step down from his role by the end of 2025 and that the organization is working on a succession plan.
Kay Takes, president of MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center, was elected GDDC board chair. Zach Keeling, of Medical Associates Clinic and Health Plans, will assume Takes’ former role of vice-chair.
Takes cited her experience as former chair of Dubuque Area Chamber and her collaboration with various sectors of the economy as MercyOne president as reasons she believes she will succeed in her new role.
“MercyOne has been a community leader for a long, long time,” she said. “(GDDC) will be making sure the region is well positioned for success.”
The organization is making progress on some of its goals that are part of a five-year plan ending in 2027. A goal of creating over 64,000 jobs in Dubuque County is within reach, as the figure grew by 1,100, to 61,500, between May 2023 and May 2024. The city’s unemployment rate is 2.7%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics — a far cry from 1982.
GDDC’s goal of $1 billion in cumulative new residential and commercial construction across Dubuque County is also on track, as it has reached nearly half that goal two years into the five-year plan.
Hoping to reach a median household income of $76,000 in the county by 2027, the organization reports that this figure has grown from $68,198 in 2021 to $73,495 in December 2023.
Progress on some other goals is more stagnant. Dubuque County’s population has remained about the same at just under 99,000 since 2021 — the goal is 105,000 by 2027.
The county’s poverty rate was at 10% in December 2023; the organization is aiming for 8.8%. Dickinson attributes recent bumps in that rate to the end of federal COVID-19 relief funds, which were still in place when GDDC laid out the five year plan.
“There were people pushed out of that category because of the (relief) funds that are now back in,” Dickinson said. “I am convinced we’ll hit (our goal).”
Other successes of GDDC’s collaboration with Dubuque’s public and private sectors were highlighted, such as the launch of Bright Minds Campus to address a child care shortage in the region.
Outgoing board chair Alex Dixon, president and CEO of Q Casino + Resort and DRA, stressed the importance of maintaining Dubuque’s generally positive trajectory.
“Keep your foot on the gas pedal,” he said. “Keep developing.”