Amesedc

The Ames Regional Economic Alliance, referred to as "the Alliance" and abbreviated AREA, is a membership-based economic development and community development organization serving Boone, Greene, Hamilton, and Story counties in Central Iowa. It describes itself as an alliance of people and businesses ranging from entrepreneurs and small business owners to large employers and investors in the community, partnering to advance economic growth in the region.

The Alliance's activities span business development, member networking, professional development, and policy events, along with advocacy and project facilitation intended to move community and business initiatives forward. It works with community partners including the cities of Ames, Boone, Huxley, Nevada, Story City, and Webster City, as well as Iowa State University and the ISU Research Park. The organization also maintains a set of affiliate organizations that provide additional service and programming depth to members, and publishes Traction, a quarterly magazine covering the organization and regional developments.

Business model

Membership-based organization: businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals join the Alliance and receive access to networking, professional development, and policy events, a membership directory, and affiliate organization programming. The quarterly Traction magazine carries sponsors.

Traction

The Alliance reports more than 750 members, $660 million in capital investments, and more than 200 business and community events.

Latest developments

In August 2026, the Alliance announced a strategic partnership with the Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce and named Taylor Nokes executive director of that chamber. Other August 2026 announcements included an Alliance vice president joining the Leadership Iowa 2026-27 class and staff member Jennifer Luengas-Otto participating in an Economic Recovery Corps fellowship.