Midwest Governors Seek Ways to Increase Economic Clout

Governors of Midwestern states should combine forces, like southern states did in 1971, to spur economic growth and fight the loss of manufacturing jobs, a group of experts recommended yesterday.

A committee, chaired by Gary Thomas, chancellor of the University of Missouri at Rolla, issued the recommendation at a meeting of the Midwestern Governors' Conference in St. Louis. While Thomas acknowledged that conference recommendations often are ignored, he said this suggestion may take root because it's designed to stem the loss of jobs.

The committee recommended the creation of a "Midwestern Growth Policies Board" modeled after a 13-state organization of southern states and Puerto Rico. The board is a nonpartisan public think tank that develops and pushes economic development policies for the southern region. It focuses on research, innovation and technology, globalization and the changing nature of the work force. Thomas said the board had played a role in the prosperity of cities such as Atlanta and Dallas, and the research "triangle park" of North Carolina, formed by Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.

The recommendation will be presented to the Midwestern Governors' Association at its meeting in February in Washington.

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