How about a riddle this morning? What do Marengo County and the ancient Egyptians have in common?

They both know the power of working together in unison.

More hands and more brains equal more productivity. It&8217;s a simple fact of business and one that&8217;s about to become a reality here in Marengo County.

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians realized the power that could be harnessed through working together toward a common goal.

The strength of one man (or woman) is fairly limited. Even the most physically fit among us can only lift so much weight. But put 100 average strength people together and they can literally move mountains of stone.

In the case of the Egyptians, we&8217;ve all seen images of their work. Huge pyramids dot the desert, each one a testament to the hard work of thousands of people, working toward a common goal.

In a similar coming together of community forces, Marengo County recently formed a new county wide economic development authority.

The diverse group has connections with all aspects of the county.

While the new group is just getting off the ground, the mere fact that the authority has been formed is exciting news.

Economic development is a tough business. The communities that are successful are often successful because they&8217;re pulling together and in the same direction.

Like a young colt that just stood up on wobbly legs, the Marengo County Economic Development Authority has just got its feet beneath it.

But we anticipate it&8217;ll be at a full gallop in no time.

Although the group is currently receiving funds from public entities, we expect in the long run, the group will ultimately begin to hit its stride when more of the funding is coming from private sources.

Having private source funding frees up things significantly for economic development authorities, making mountain-moving much easier.

So will pyramids soon pop up along the roadsides throughout Marengo County?

Probably not.

But with the new, combined focus, we look for equally as impressive things ahead on our economic development horizon.