COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — The Heartland Developers Conference brought more than 600 guests from across the Midwest to Council Bluffs, generating an estimated $150,000 for the local economy.
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The event for technology devlopers at the Mid-America Center is part of the roughly $300 million visitors spend in Pottawattamie County annually, according to Mark Eckman, Executive Director of the Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The conference, which was in Council Bluffs for the first time, will return next year.
"The fact that we are able to win repeat business I think speaks to the quality of not only the facility but also the customer service," Eckman said.
Dala Alphonso, president and CEO of AIM, the nonprofit that presents the conference, said the organization works to elevate technology skills of neighbors in southwest Iowa and Nebraska.
"But if we are able to grow the numbers and create a true technology pipeline, it means that, one, we can grow economically, number two, we can attract bigger businesses," Alphonso said.
He also sees an opportunity to bring tech training to underserved rural areas. More than 6,000 individuals were served by AIM last year and the organization hopes to double that number over the next five years.
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