If the Quad Cities is going to win hundreds of federal jobs, it's going to have to work very hard. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it's received 136 "expressions of interest" from 35 states for two programs scheduled to leave the Washington D.C. area next year.
Last week, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce said it will apply to host the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Economic Research Service - together they would bring more than 600 jobs. The local application would put these federal programs on Arsenal Island, in already existing office space.
So far there are five other cities in Iowa interested in these jobs, and 14 from Illinois - including Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Peoria, Decatur, Champaign, and the Chicago suburbs.
The USDA plans to select a new location or locations by January.