Idaho Falls is only 100 miles from Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and Craters of the Moon National Monument. The Jackson Hole and Sun Valley resort communities are an easy day or weekend trip. And nearby are 12 wilderness areas, 11 national forests, 8 ski areas (Grand Targhee, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley and Big Sky, to name just a few), and too many trout streams to even begin to count. The hunting is legendary, the hiking, climbing, and kayaking are beyond words. With such abundant recreation, we have an incredibly profitable industry based on tourism. This includes hospitality-based businesses, recreational equipment manufacturers, and all the attendant services required to meet the needs of the millions passing through each year.
- 2013 GIFI Annual Report
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- Workforce Overview
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- Calendar of Local Events
- Operation FACELIFT
- 2012 COLI Annual Review
Target Industries
Tourism and Gateway Community Services
When visiting Idaho Falls please consider staying with any of these fine hotels:
Energy and High Technology
For decades, our community has been leading the world in the development and testing of nuclear energy technology. Today's focus on sustainable, carbon-free energy has put us back in the spotlight, with programs for the development and use of hydrogen power, as well as biofuels, wind, geothermal, and fossil resources. There is a multitude of opportunities and incentives for energy-related companies, including commercialization programs between national labs and private industry that facilitate technology transfer, and a growing number of research parks and incubators.
Workforce Information for this Industry
Video Links:
Idaho National Laboratory Overview Video
Where Idaho's Power Comes From
Taking Inventory at Idaho's Site
August 3, 2012 -- This weekend, a NASA rover named Curiosity will make a never-before-attempted approach to landing on the surface of Mars and begin a two-year mission exploring the planet's Gale Crater area for signs of past and present inhabitability. Curiosity was launched from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 26, 2011, aboard an Atlas V rocket.
Curiosity will carry the most advanced payload of scientific gear ever used on the red planet. Those instruments will be powered by electricity generated from the heat of radioactive decay of Pu-238. The rover's power system was assembled and extensively tested by employees at Idaho National Laboratory.
August 23, 2012 -- Curiosity took its first test drive around the gravel-strewn Martian terrain Wednesday, preparation for the ultimate road trip to find out whether the red planet's environment could have supported life.
The six-wheel NASA rover did not stray far from the spot where it landed more than two weeks ago. It rolled forward about 15 feet, rotated to a right angle and reversed a short distance, leaving tracks in the ancient soil. Video
Agribusiness and Food Industries
Potatoes, Idaho's most famous commodity, along with wheat, barley and more, are grown in the rolling fields surrounding the city. A complimentary array of facilities for creating value-added products — biofuels, distilled spirits, malt, and potato flakes — abound as well. Some of the nation's leading food technology developers call
the area home. If you are looking to add value to agricultural commodities, or to develop new products and processes for the food industry, Idaho Falls is the place to be.
Medical Technologies and Services
The Idaho Falls area is a medical service hub for the region, serving the growing medical needs of patients from Idaho's Snake River valley, Yellowstone, and Teton areas of Montana and Wyoming. In addition to having two modern hospitals, a cancer center, and a cardiac center, there are supporting diagnostic facilities, medical laboratories, outpatient facilities, and medical support businesses. There is always room to make your medical business part of our community.
Workforce Information for this Industry
John Andary, M.D. Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery
Idaho's 2010 Top Projects Awards include our own Idaho Falls Mountain View Hospital with their $9 million dollar expansion!
THE POST REGISTER - An Idaho Cornerstone September 28, 2010
Recently, Idaho Governor, C.L. "Butch" Otter lauded the health care and hospital sectors as drivers of Idaho's economy. When considering the impacts community hospitals have on Idaho's cities and towns, it's recognition that's well deserved.
As one of the state's largest economic sectors, community hospitals employ a significant number of Idahoans. With over 23,000 employees, Idaho hospitals provide more jobs than transportation, computer and electronics manufacturing, wood products or mining. The jobs are along a wide continuum of career options-from nursing and medical specialists, to technology, finance and management. The average statewide salary in community hospitals-$45,000 per year- remains higher than many other sectors.
In a recent study, the economic impact of Idaho's community hospitals was assessed by a University of Idaho economics research. The study focused on not only the direct numbers of employees and dollars hospitals generate but the subsequent jobs and economic activity that hospitals have on local economies. The numbers were significant:
- For every job at the hospital, another 1.49 jobs are created in communities throughout Idaho. In total, more than 57,800 jobs are directly land indirectly attributable to Idaho's community hospitals.
- Payroll for hospital employees reached $1.06 billion for the fiscal year 2009. When the unique multipliers for the health care sector in each county are assessed, the impact of these payroll dollars on our state total more than $2.39 billion. These employee wages help them purchase all types of local goods and services as well as supporting civic groups, churches and philanthropic giving.
- Hospitals also contribute significantly to the state and local tax base, most often in the realm of sales and property taxes. Last year, hospitals accounted for more than $115 million in state and local tax contributions.
- As a major industry, hospitals are a cornerstone for significant economic activity. When the impacts are full assessed, Idaho's hospitals are responsible for $5.67 billion of Idaho's economy. In most communities, hospitals are one of the top five employers. In addition to providing high quality local health care, they are crucial in contributing to the economic health and growth of our cities and towns. Consider the impact on attracting and retaining businesses of local medical employees and their families.
Community hospitals are an important element in our economic development and the recovery of our state. Idaho's community hospitals prove time and time again to be critical to the stability of local economies, while providing good jobs for Idaho Families. It is vital that we focus on strengthening out local communities in the tough economy we currently face. Investing in good jobs and economic growth, Idaho's community hospitals provide a sound strategy.