2010 graduate, Matt Fisher, recently compiled data for a demographic report of a seven-county region in Iowa which included Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. The report, commissioned by the Corridor Business Alliance, with direct support from Kirkwood Community College, is "considered a fundamental step in creating a regional economic development strategy." The results show population growth, levels of education that top state and national levels, labor market information, housing costs, business starts and other demographic trends. “This gives the Corridor Business Alliance a common platform of information and an understanding of what changes are occurring on a regional scale,” according to Dee Baird, chairwoman of the Corridor Business Alliance. The inclusion of not only traditional economic development factors but also community information will allow the report to be used as an important economic development tool. More on this story may be viewed here. The full report is also available.