News and Resources

the Rural Relief Small Business Grants Program which provides assistance to small businesses in rural communities of 50,000 or less. The grant is being offered by LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation). LISC is a national non-profit corporation that has been around since 1979.  They receive funding from banks, corporations, foundations and government agencies, and use th...Continue Reading

Governor’s Small Business Webinar Series Business Strategies for an Evolving Future: Optimizing Online Marketing & Selling When: Wednesday, October 28, 2020, 1:00 - 2:00 PM Central Time Where: Online Webinar About: It has never been more critical for all businesses to have a strong online presence. The next Governor’s Small Business Webinar will offer guidance on developing effectiv...Continue Reading

The Governor's Economic Development & Tourism Office and AMCHAM Colombia are teaming up to bring you Texas-Colombia Business Trade & Investment Week, a virtual event exploring business, trade, investment and tourism opportunities between Colombia and Texas. Take advantage of one-on-one matchmaking meetings with business prospects from Colombia and participate in virtual sit...Continue Reading

The metal arms of a hydraulic shaker clamp around the trunk of a mature pecan tree, performing a high-speed vibrato lasting nearly a minute. The ripe nuts hit the ground like shrapnel while the violent quivering of the leaves sounds like hail on aluminum shingles. At Swift River Pecans in Fentress...Continue Reading

CareerCraft, The Bastrop Chamber of Commerce, The Bastrop Economic Development Corporation, and Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area are teaming up to support Bastrop ISD Career and Technical Education programs.  Your help is needed to develop and implement two programs for the 2020-2021 academic year.   Program #1: Mentorship Program - - Think bac...Continue Reading

Local Initiatives Support Corporation is accepting applications for Rural Relief Small Business Grants. The application period is currently open and closes on October 5, 2020 at 11:59PM ET. LISC is committed to $18 Million in program funding with an expectation of awarding 900 grants. Click here for additional program and eligibility information.  For MAX-TRAX logi...Continue Reading

After a change in developer, a new design and a $1.1 million cost increase, the finish line is finally in sight for the Downtown Bastrop building under construction on the empty lot at 921 Main St. Bastrop Economic Development Corporation CEO Cameron Cox and project manager Jimmy Crouch both confirmed construction i...Continue Reading

In times of economic struggle — such as the recession that abruptly arrived with the COVID-19 pandemic — analysts and advocates promote an array of options as effective tools for stimulating the economy. One of the most frequently suggested options is infrastructure spending. Proponents of infrastructure spending during dire economi...Continue Reading

As the coronavirus pandemic disrupted global supply chains, a new report released in April by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) urged the U.S. government to develop a national industrial strategy to strengthen the competitive position of advanced, traded-sector industries that are “too critical to fail.” “Even before this pandemic...Continue Reading

Few implications of the COVID-19 pandemic are as consequential to global manufacturers as disruptions to their supply chains. For many, this is the most consequential by far. Supply chains are always a work in progress as such market variables as transportation costs, tariffs and trade agreements force logistics managers t...Continue Reading

AD: Will more companies be re-shoring or near-shoring as a result of the global pandemic? Jensen: For certain, most companies are closely examining the options available to them to avoid future supply chain interruptions. Part of the challenge of making a decision on a future sourcing direction is that this story isn’t over...Continue Reading

For Immediate Release September 22, 2020  Contact: Cameron Cox  Chief Executive Officer (512) 332-8870 cameron@bastropedc.org BEDC Announces Career Training & Technology Center in Partnership with Deep in the Heart Art Foundry The Bastrop City Council approved an agreement between the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation and Deep in the Heart Art Foundry for business development and workforce trainin...Continue Reading

The Brookings Institution hosted a webinar on June 10 titled “Mitigating the Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Rural Areas.” Moderator Tracy Hadden Loh, a Brookings Institution Fellow, engaged three experts on rural economies in looking back at the pandemic’s effect on two small towns and across rural America, and ho...Continue Reading

Somewhere between your umpteenth Zoom meeting of the month and the latest webinar on the economic impacts of COVID-19, this thought probably crossed your mind: “How long will I be working from home?” While an exact answer to that question still eludes most companies, the effects of remote working are startin...Continue Reading

The Covid-19 Black Swan has completely disrupted the U.S. and global infrastructure market, magnifying the cracks in the global infrastructure investment model. The magnitude of the problem is significant, but so is the opportunity. The International Finance Corporation sees emerging market domestic private investment declining by $700 billion this year ove...Continue Reading

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create an environment of unpredictability, the one certainty is that the way in which people previously commuted to their jobs — and the way in which goods and services were traditionally delivered — is likely changed forever. It is still too early to predict th...Continue Reading

Beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and its recessionary shocks, companies across the globe are paring workforces at alarming rates. In the United States alone, some 40 million workers had filed jobless claims by the end of May, with the biggest losses occurring in the leisure and hospitality, professional business services...Continue Reading

A parent-led organization launched the Bastrop Charter Advocate Network, a nonprofit whose mission is to expand school choice in Bastrop County and attract a charter school to the area. “We have been on this journey for approximately two and a half years. The parents in Bastrop want a charter sooner rather tha...Continue Reading

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that Bastrop, having completed the multi-step certification process, has been designated as a Music Friendly Community by the Texas Music Office (TMO). The Music Friendly Community program seeks to foster music business economic development in Texas cities and communities.  TMO Community Relations & Outreach Specialist Chip Adams presented th...Continue Reading

As part of a new series Comparably has in partnership with Entrepreneur, entitled “If I Knew Then: Leadership Lessons,” I have the privilege of hosting virtual fireside chats with high-profile CEOs of major brands, from Waze and Blue Apron to NerdWallet and the Dallas Mavericks. During our one-hour sit-downs, I ask these incredible leaders to share invaluable lessons that the...Continue Reading

The Mayor’s Economic Partnership Group met Tuesday, Sept. 1 via Zoom. John Boswell, Corsicana and Navarro County Economic Development Director, teased the announcement of a $1.2 million Economic Development Administration Grant to awarded to the city of Corsicana to construct an industrial rail spur to serve the Highway 31 Industria...Continue Reading

Dallas-based Panda Biotech has selected Wichita Falls, TX to be the home of the largest and most state-of-the-art industrial hemp processing center in the United States. The Panda Texas Plains Hemp Gin™ will also be the first facility in the nation to cottonize hemp fiber on a commercial scale for the America...Continue Reading

TINTON FALLS, NJ – Business Facilities released its 16th Annual Rankings Report, with Texas leading as the state with the best business climate. Texas, also ranked Business Facilities’ 2019 State of the Year, adds this achievement to its unmatched portfolio of top rankings from the magazine, including a record-breaking four State of the Yea...Continue Reading

The Bastrop Economic Development Council awarded an additional $176,000 in its third round of grants to City of Bastrop businesses during its specially called meeting on August 26, 2020. The BEDC, through a series of special meetings and four resolutions since April, passed and approved $576,000 to local businesses t...Continue Reading