With a well educated workforce, a central location, low taxes, and an outstanding quality of life, mid-Missouri is extremely attractive to companies looking to expand their operations.

"It's natural for us to try to draw businesses from our larger metro areas - St. Louis and Kansas City," says David H. Meyer, vice president, economic development and workforce issues of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce. "Since there are very few cultural differences, St. Louis and Kansas City companies expanding their operations to mid-Missouri feel very much at home here. We're close enough to the larger metro areas that a branch office here can be easily managed." Meyer said efforts to recruit businesses from the state's larger population centers are paying off.

"We're trying to nurture the idea of businesses from our larger metro areas expanding into mid-Missouri," he said. "We want businesses to know there is life beyond Blue Springs and Wentzville. We've seen some benefits from our efforts and we're confident we'll see more."

Several recent recruiting successes are generating a great deal of excitement in Columbia. In addition to winning the headquarters of Ozark Air Lines, Columbia is the new home for the digital services bureau of Miller's Professional Imaging. Based in Pittsburg, Ks., Miller's is the second largest film development company in the nation. The company provides high-quality photo processing and printing services for more than 3,000 professional photographers. After a nationwide site search, the company selected Columbia. The city's tech-savvy workforce and convenient access to Airborne Express's truck hub and regional sorting center were key factors in the selection process. The company will initially employ 60 at its new 37,000 sq. ft. facility with a projected need for 200 employees in five years.

With investors eager to back economic development in mid-Missouri, there's no shortage of capital for new projects.

"So far, we've been able to meet our needs for capital investment," Meyer says. "We've had investors from all over the U.S. looking at us for things as diverse as new housing developments. Throughout the area, new housing and commercial developments are thriving."

While job growth in mid-Missouri is typically driven by education, government, health care and insurance, numerous small business start-ups are making an impact.

"As a whole, we're seeing a lot of small information technology companies start up here," Meyer says. "Internet services and web design businesses are hot right now, mirroring a national trend. We see our small businesses as our major growth factor here."

Another likely area of future job growth is within the state government.

"As the federal government continues to push more programs back to the states, we're going to see more job growth at the state government level," Meyer says. "That bodes well for our economy. It's a trend that will likely continue regardless of who is elected president."