Happy Valley is a hotspot for food-based startups

On October 9, the CBICC launched an Economic Development Strategy aimed at addressing the county’s economic challenges while leveraging its unique assets to foster a resilient and diverse economy.  The 2024 Centre County Economic Development Strategy brings together four high-level priorities to shape the region’s future: Business Retention and Expansion, Targeted and Emerging Industries, Workforce […]

By Holly Riddle Currently celebrating its 70th year in business, Leonard S. Fiore, Inc. (LSF) has helped build the Happy Valley we know today. You can’t stroll through downtown State College and not see a structure the company is responsible for. LSF has completed more than four hundred projects for Penn State alone (out of […]

By Holly Riddle In the past, HappyValley Industry has covered the ongoing industry talent shortage occurring both nationwide and regionally. One of the major forces combatting that shortage, connecting talent with industry? The region’s handful of industry-focused educational institutions — like Pennsylvania College of Technology.  Penn College has rolled out a number of impressive initiatives […]

By: Holly Riddle Penn Highlands Healthcare, State College It’s no secret that Happy Valley is experiencing a massive increase in new healthcare facilities. Mount Nittany Health has multiple projects underway, as does Geisinger. The latest project to open its doors to the public is the new Penn Highlands State College, lauded as “the hospital of […]

By: Sarah Taylor Photo: First Citizens Community Bank on Beaver Avenue in Downtown State College, PA In 1872, the predecessor to today’s First Citizens Community Bank (FCCB) opened in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, as Ross and Williams Bank. Now, more than 150 years later, and with a downtown State College branch opening in 2017 following the acquisition of S&T […]

By: Holly Riddle Image Credits: Nittany AI Alliance Instagram Earlier this year, McKinsey looked at research that showed that “gen AI talent,” or employees who use gen AI in the workplace to gain efficiency, are in high demand, providing value to their employers — but also presenting a flight risk. This talent knows its worth […]