Drew Langenberg
FOCUS Marketing and Communications Director

A community forum hosted this week by FOCUS St. Louis^®, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Metropolis St. Louis and the St. Louis League of Women Voters is starting a great community conversation.  A blog on stltoday.com and a lengthy article in the post have popped up on the topic since Wednesday evening.  During the forum, experts Rob Paral and Richard Longworth along with former Missouri Governor Bob Holden asserted that the midwest has what it takes to be a global leader but needs to work as a region instead of a fractured group of states to keep up with a changing global economy. 
They discussed utilizing the valuable resources already in our region to make the mid-west a world leader.  Those include:plant science, intelligent residents, newcomers and immigrants.  Paral and Longworth say we can use our existing assets to develop something new for the future.  That something could replace or supplement the industries and jobs that are already declining in the region.  They say we have what it takes but right now aren't using it. 
What do you think?  Join the conversation and post a comment!
Also check out the blog at:
http://tinyurl.com/ox37ze
and the closely related Post-Dispatch article at: http://tinyurl.com/nh4saw