Twin Falls' secret sauce

Editorials that open with an apology should be heeded with caution.

This is one of those times.

We apologize in advance because some heavy reading is headed your way. On Tuesday, the last day of the year, North Idaho Business Journal hits the streets with a long cover story. Hence the beg-your-pardon right up front.

We devoted extra space, however, because we think the topic is so important. Looking ahead to 2014, there might not be a more important issue for North Idaho.

We're talking about economic development, which means that for the most part, we're talking about jobs.

And that means we're taking stock of where we, as a region, stand compared to another hunk of Idaho that has experienced a year of unprecedented affluence.

In that short time span, the Magic Valley - a predominantly rural area where Twin Falls resides - has brought in seven companies that are investing three quarters of a billion dollars in capital improvements. If that windfall in tax generation isn't enough, consider this: Those companies are creating 1,200 jobs.

They're new jobs, too. Riverstone in Coeur d'Alene, an urban renewal success story, is responsible for roughly 800 jobs over the past decade, but many of those have simply moved from locations outside Riverstone to somewhere inside. Their overall impact to improving the jobs landscape in Kootenai County and North Idaho is therefore somewhat negligible.

So we put forth the grammatically awkward but completely relevant question, "What's Twin Falls got that we don't?" and the answers that lurk within a 4,000-word magazine article. And in truth, much, much more could be said.

Economic development is foremost in our outlook because it pays for essential services, it generates wealth for businesses and their employees, and it creates opportunities for better jobs - for you, for your children, for your grandchildren.

We hope the time you invest in reading the new issue of North Idaho Business Journal will encourage discussion and action toward building a stronger local economy. We think you'll agree that Twin Falls offers some valuable lessons.