$20 Million In State Aid Could Help Add 1,500 Jobs

New technology developed at Phytodyne Inc., an Ames biotech company that modifies plant genes with "surgical precision," will transform Iowa's farm economy, state leaders said Thursday. Phytodyne Inc. has "developed a technology that will literally revolutionize the way crops are improved," said Gov. Tom Vilsack, as he announced $20 million in financing for 28 Iowa companies. Phytodyne received $5 million. At the top of the list, along with Phytodyne, was another Ames company, NewLink Genetics, that's developing new drugs to treat lung and breast cancer. NewLink received $6 million. The boards of the Iowa Values Fund and the Iowa Department of Economic Development on Thursday approved grants, loans and tax credits for the projects spread across Iowa. The projects are expected to spur $426 million of new investment and create 1,500 new jobs, while helping to retain 100 existing jobs. Among the projects receiving assistance were Integrated DNA Technologies in Coralville, which will receive a $5 million loan guarantee for a $26.5 million expansion; VeraSun, a group that will receive tax credits to help build a $100 million ethanol plant near Fort Dodge; American Republic Insurance, which will receive $247,000 to help build a call center in Council Bluffs that will employ 130 people; and Hormel, which will receive nearly $200,000 for a $13 million expansion of a packing plant in Osceola.

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