Home Base Iowa attracting veterans to the Quad Cities

A commercial featuring John Deere’s iconic green machines planted the seed for BJ Keating’s family to think about returning to Iowa. But the idea blossomed when the veteran landed an internship at John Deere Davenport Works and learned about a new Home Base Iowa (HBI) incentive program administered by the Quad Cities Chamber. 

Keating, a native of Center Junction, Iowa, relocated to the Quad Cities last spring to enroll in a Department of Defense (DoD) SkillBridge internship at Deere as part of his transition out of the Iowa National Guard. A 30-year veteran, he retired in August as a Command Sgt. Major and a job that had him on the move for most of his career, including stints at Camp Dodge in Iowa and installations in Alabama and Georgia.  

Keating said his family was watching one of their favorite farming YouTube videos when a John Deere commercial aired. “One of my boys said, ‘Dad, you should work for John Deere.’ We all laughed, but three days later an internship popped up at John Deere.” 

“The military took me away from my roots in Iowa, and Home Base Iowa let me come back,” Keating said. 

Keating was introduced to the HBI program, now active in more than 100 Iowa communities, while stationed at Camp Dodge in Iowa. The program allowed his family to come back home to be closer to family. Through HBI, he received a $1,500 relocation award for moving into Scott County.  

Charles Wheeler, a 24-year U.S. Army veteran and retired Chief Warrant Officer, also credits his DoD SkillBridge internship with John Deere and the HBI relocation incentives for putting Iowa on his radar. The two retired veterans since have become co-workers and full-time employees at Davenport Works and have forged a new friendship. Both families now live in Eldridge. Wheeler and his wife, Emily, have two sons, ages 11 and 13, and Keating and his wife April have two sons, ages 10 and 11.

Wheeler actually learned about HBI months ahead of Scott County joining the statewide veterans program this summer. The local program, administered by the Quad Cities Chamber, offers up to $8,000 in relocation incentives to veterans who move into Scott County. The program is a partnership between HBI, Scott County, the City of Davenport, the Chamber and area employers, including Deere.

“I came to Iowa because there was plenty of manufacturing jobs here. The Home Base Iowa program definitely was an incentive for me and my family to choose Iowa,” said Wheeler, who is a native of Douglas, Wyoming, and has also lived in Alaska. “I originally was looking to move farther west – Idaho, Montana or Washington.”

But as he began planning for his second career, Wheeler said, “COVID happened. I didn’t even look at Iowa, but one of my students (in the military) brought it up. I probably had looked at every other single state. As far as a state-based veteran’s program, HBI is by far the best one I’ve looked at.”   

Although Wheeler landed his own Deere job and did not use HBI’s network of Iowa employers, he said the employer partnerships are a strong benefit for veterans. He did receive the $1,500 housing relocation award from Scott County and wished he known about HBI’s interview expenses reimbursement. Scott County’s program reimburses veterans with up to $250, up to two times, for hotel and meal costs incurred while interviewing for a job with a Scott County employer.   

“I just kept getting the HBI emails and they were more welcoming to vets,” he said, adding, “A lot of vets need to consider that.” 

Keating agreed that HBI was a strong factor in his decision to locate here. But he said, “You have to look at the total package of Iowa,” from its school systems, small town communities, lower cost of living and its Iowa values. Another attraction, Keating said, was “Iowa’s agriculture as a whole; we feed the world.”