ILLINOIS CURRENTS NEWS ¦ LEGISLATION ¦ TRENDS ¦ RESEARCH

Co-ops Could Boost Rural Economy

The National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) recently called for a major new federal commitment to cooperative businesses to boost America's struggling rural communities.

In comments prepared for at the Agriculture Department's annual Outlook Forum, NCBA policy chief Jeannine Kenney called for both more federal money for co-ops and better coordination across federal agencies so that the "promise of cooperatives in sustaining and improving rural communities can be realized."

Specifically, Kenney urged increased funding for several Agriculture Department grant programs that benefit cooperatives, new programs to assist rural communities in starting co-ops, expanding the mission of USDA's Cooperative Services office to include support for all rural cooperatives, and a government-wide coordinating council for cooperative development.

"The list of financial and other needs for improved rural cooperative development is long," Kenney said. "But the list of opportunities for cooperatives to substantially improve rural economies is even longer."

Kenney prefaced her call for a new commitment to cooperatives with a discussion of all the types of co-ops that could benefit rural America. In addition to farm and electric co-ops, these included forestry co-ops to help manage harvests on private forestland; housing co-ops for both rural seniors and low-income farm workers; healthcare co-ops including consumer-owned HMDs, hospital purchasing co-ops, home health-care co-ops, health insurance purchasing co-ops, childcare co-ops, and retail food, hardware and drug co-ops that help independent businesses succeed in rural communities.

May is Electrical Safety Month -Is Your Home Safe?

The latest figures from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) indicate that there were 400 accidental electrocutions in 2000. But that is only part of the story. The CPSC estimates there is an annual average of 165,380 electrical-related home structure fires, taking an average of 910 lives, injuring nearly 7,000 and causing nearly $1.7 billion in property damage.

Is your home safe? Do you know of an electrical hazard in your home and haven't had it repaired yet? Do you have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) installed? Have you installed smoke alarms and checked them regularly?

Contact your local electric co-op, a local licensed electrician, or visit www.safeelectricity.org or www.esfi.org for more information on how to protect your home and family.

Creative Marketing Tool to Fuel Illinois Business Growth

Illinois now has an innovative new marketing tool designed to promote local business growth and job retention. Community economic development agencies can promote, through a state Web site, available properties in their area for business relocation.

The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's (DCEO) Web site now has a listing of community profiles and available real estate sites throughout the state, vastly increasing a community's exposure to site selectors seeking industrial and commercial real estate opportunities. Location One, which is aimed at helping business creation and retention, is the newest innovation from Opportunity Returns, the comprehensive plan designed to spur Illinois economic growth and create jobs.

More than 85 percent of real estate site selection searches now begin on the Web. It is nearly impossible to be a viable candidate for relocation without having listings marketed on the Internet. Making Location One available on the DCEO Web site will assure communities that their available building space is highly visible and easily accessible.

"By using our Web site as a marketing tool for each region, we are linking two vital players in the economy: buyers and sellers. Transactions produce a duel benefit - the sale of real estate brings money into the local economy while the purchased property means attracting a new business, creating new jobs and increasing the economic competitiveness for the community," DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.

Location One can be found on the DCEO Web site at www.illinoisbiz.biz or www.commerce.state.il.us by clicking on the brown "Buildings and Sites Locator" button. DCEO also offers system access and training to communities who want to make use of the listing site.

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Co-ops Push for High-Speed Internet for Rural Areas

Rural communities must be included in an Internet-wired world. That was the message from Mark Brown, senior vice president of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperatives (NRTC), delivered earlier this year at a forum of the Federal Communications Commission.

But he warned that the present information age might not be heeding the hard economic lessons of the past industrial age. "An unfortunate history is repeating itself. The result is like that which occurred during the Industrial Revolution," said Brown, who heads the NRTC member services department.

"The young, our greatest resource, are leaving for opportunities in 'wired' areas," Brown noted. "Businesses looking to relocate do not consider areas without broadband connections. This is a history that does not have to repeat, if we can bring broadband to areas in need of it."

Brown said that NRTC's plans to unveil a satellite-based high-speed Internet service in partnership with WildBlue Communications by early summer should help. The service will provide customers even in the remotest areas with the same digital resources as cities and suburbs, he said.

WildBlue is a Denver-based company that will launch and maintain satellites capable of beaming high-speed Internet to virtually anywhere in the nation from space. It will offer a new service to the estimated 32 million rural and suburban consumers who have inadequate or no Internet access.

Brown said to make sure no rural community is left behind, strong federal partners are needed, such as the Rural Utilities Service and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to help fund technological programs.

He told FCC members that the Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantee Program need "to find creative solutions to ensure that satellites are treated fairly."

Michael K. Powell, FCC chairman, said, "Because satellite technology has the ability to reach the entire country, it holds tremendous potential as an effective Internet solution for many parts of the nation, especially rural and remote areas, at affordable rates," Powell said.

Source: Electric Co-op Today, George Stuteville.

Small Sawmills May Benefit From Cooperative

Owners of small sawmills might be able to ratchet up their profits by starting a cooperatively-owned kiln for drying raw lumber.

"Drying would add a lot of value to the boards by making them ready for the secondary processors," said John E. Phelps, Chairperson of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's forestry department. "Some mills are putting in dry kilns on their own, but a lot of smaller operations can't afford to do that. A cooperative is a way to make it possible."

Such cooperatives might also help save a rural industry that is dying. At one time, there were more than 300 sawmills in the state - now there are less than 100.

Members of the Illinois Wood Products Association have long agreed on the need for a drying facility, Phelps said. What's new is the cooperative element.

A feasibility study and the resulting workshops are all part of a $29,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to producing the feasibility studies and associated workshops, the grant underwrites training courses in lumber grading, skidder use and logger safety.

Most workshops and training courses are held in the spring and summer at various locations around the state. "They fill up quickly, so sign up soon," Phelps said. For more information, call Phelps at (618) 453-7464 or e-mail him at jphelps@siu.edu.

Source: Southern Illinois University, K.C. Jaehnig

This Las Vegas demonstration home has solar cells on the roof, radiant barrier roof sheathing, low air infiltration, advanced HVAC systems, a solar hot water system, high levels of insulation, energy efficient windows and fluorescent lighting and 5,300-sq.ft.

DOE Lab Unveils 'Zero Energy' House

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is promoting a house that uses renewable energy to produce as much electricity as it uses. The house in Las Vegas can be connected to the grid. Because it uses solar power and other technology to produce about as much energy as it consumes, it is considered to achieve "net zero" energy consumption.

The Energy Department launched the "Zero Energy Home" project to bring its latest research out of the lab and into the new-home construction industry.

"The house shows that energy efficiency and solar energy can be incorporated into attractive homes that come with all the features home buyers are looking for," said Tim Merrigan, project manager at the lab.

"Co-ops are about service first. Keeping energy costs low while keeping your standards for comfort and reliability high meets goals of good service," said Bob Gibson of the Cooperative Research Network. "A challenge for co-ops and all utilities is to capture the value of energy efficiency and on-site power in ways that will benefit all the customers of the utility."

Source: Electric Co-op Today, Hannah Kamenetsky

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