Nov. 4--CEDAR RAPIDS -- The Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor needs a brand and a message to be competitive when recruiting new businesses, a regional development expert said Tuesday in Cedar Rapids.

"I do believe the elements are there," Michael Langley, president and founder of the Langley Group, based in Pitts burgh, told 300 to 350 area business, government and education leaders about the region. "Now's the time." Langley even dropped a possible brand name at a breakfast summit Tuesday: the Hawkeye Cor ridor. innovation and entrepreneurship, and inclusiveness and diversity.

Making a difference requires regional marketing and promotion, public policy and analysis that fosters development, and public advocacy at the state Legislature and in Congress, he said.

-- For further discussion, go to http://gazette online.com/ blogs/mulling-it-over/ Contact the writer: (319) 398-8210 or lyle.muller@gazcomm.com The session, held at Kirkwood Community College, was sponsored by Gazette Communications, the Corridor Business Journal and the Corridor Business Alliance.

Langley said Corridor leaders need to band together to be globally competitive. He said the keys to regional economic growth are brand and image, work force and education, infrastructure,

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