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Greater Des Moines Partnership outlines regional wins, notes budget caution and leadership loss
Summary
The Partnership reported business recruitment metrics and talent-marketing results to the council and noted recent budget pullbacks; council members praised the group's work and mourned the passing of former leader Jay Byers.
Tiffany Taushek, president and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and Stacy LaVaughn, senior vice president of economic development, presented the organization's 2024 and early-2025 outcomes to West Des Moines city leaders on April 21.
Taushek told the council the Partnership represents "over 400 investors" and noted the group is "now the largest regional Chamber of Commerce in the entire country," a point she used to frame the organization's marketing reach. LaVaughn summarized site-selection results: since the Partnership formed in 1999 it has worked on roughly 759 business projects that staff say produced about 37,000 jobs and approximately $14.7 billion in regional investment.
Local highlights and talent work: LaVaughn and Taushek listed recent West Des Moines investments and regional wins with local footprints including Microsoft, Topgolf, Holmes Murphy and others. The Partnership said it conducted 23 business-marketing trips in 2024 and that its 2024 BRE (business retention and expansion) surveys contacted 195 businesses in the region. On talent attraction, Taushek said the Partnership's campaigns have driven traffic to a West Des Moines community profile and that the Partnershipthrough its DSM USA efforthas already drawn thousands of visitor sessions to pages that highlight West Des Moines.
Budget and strategy: Council members asked about tightening municipal and partner budgets. Taushek and LaVaughn said the Partnership has already made budget pullbacks and that planning for 2026 will rely on investor pulses and targeted outreach. LaVaughn said the Partnership will increase investor surveys and meetings in late June/early July to inform strategy.
Reshoring and energy: In response to a question about reshoring and advanced manufacturing, LaVaughn said the Partnership has seen an uptick in international prospect visits and that some prospects demand very large amounts of electric capacity. "The issue is not that we are short on electricity," she said, "the issue is that there is such a high demand and so many developers asking for very, very large amounts of electricity all at the same time." She said MidAmerican Energy is studying generation and distribution needs and coordinating with prospective users.
Community notes: Council members and Partnership presenters also acknowledged the recent death of Jay Byers, the Partnershipformer leader; several council members described Byers as a regionally influential figure. Partnership staff said they will seek community partners to support future naturalization ceremonies and related talent-integration programs.
No formal council action was required for the presentation; council members thanked the Partnership for outreach and said they value continued engagement on economic development strategies and shared regional priorities.
