ATTN: Iowa writers, entrepreneurs, and bloggers –

Travel Iowa has a blog that seems underutilized, especially considering how accessible it is to small business owners. I wrote this post about an awesome new venue in the Village of East Davenport called Baked Beer and Bread Company:

From the partnership that brought you Brew in the Village: Bill Sheeder and Stephanie Sellers welcome visitors to their new venture, Baked Beer and Bread Company, which opens full time this spring. Be among the first to sample their kitchen menu items…

Source: Quad City Tastemakers Tell Locals to #GetBaked

It’s also super easy for owners and operators to post listings and events on Travel Iowa‘s main site.

Like anything else, it’s not perfect. You have to host your own media and wait up to 72 hours for post approval (so you can’t plan for your post to go live at lunch time on a Friday). And get ready to roll your eyes at lists with titles like, “A Girlfriends’ Getaway” and “This is Foodie.” Don’t let these things turn you off, though.

Hosted by Iowa.gov, the Iowa Tourism Office of the Iowa Economic Development Authority manages the site.

Can I tell you a secret? I freaking love economic development groups. I love what they do. I love working with them. It’s better than being a rock star, which is my back-up back-up career.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority does nothing but work to attract more jobs, increase tourism, and promote economic stability. Travel Iowa is part of an initiative to increase public participation, which, in turn, offers individuals/average citizens more opportunities to invest in their community and their local economy.

AND, with more participation, we can make the site our own, promoting the programs we value and the events that best represent who we are.

*inhales* I love the smell of democracy on the internet.