© 2025 WVIK
Listen at 90.3 FM and 98.3 FM in the Quad Cities, 95.9 FM in Dubuque, or on the WVIK app!
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson

New Report Captures Economic Renewal in Left Behind Counties, But Challenges Remain

By Robin Johnson
Published July 19, 2024 at 12:11 AM CDT
Ways To Subscribe
Picasa

Kenan Fikri, Director of Research for the Economic Innovation Group, talks about a new report, “Economic Renaissance or Fleeting Recovery? Left-Behind Counties See Boom in Jobs and Businesses Amid Widening Divides.” ‘Left behind counties’ are classified based on population and job trends and includes most counties in the WVIK listening area and many across Illinois and Iowa, and the Midwest. He discusses the research findings and political impact heading into the 2024 election.

Heartland Politics with Robin Johnson
Robin Johnson
Robin A. Johnson is a governmental relations, public policy and political consultant. He is an expert on government reform issues and has consulted with numerous local governments on consolidation/merger, public-private partnerships and full-cost accounting of public services. Robin has also helped candidates win elections for the U.S. Senate, U.S. Congress, state legislature, judiciary and local government. Robin served as a consultant to the Office of Statewide Performance Review in the Illinois Governor’s Office and is former director of the Illinois Center for Competitive Government, a partnership between the Illinois Comptroller’s Office and the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. Prior to that, he was Director of the Local Government Affairs Division of the Illinois Comptroller’s Office. Robin served on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships (NCPPP) in 1999-2000.
See stories by Robin Johnson