David Van Ahn, owner of Heartland Investments & Insurance, LLC, was named the Small Business Champion of the Year for Iowa by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Van Ahn received the award for his work lobbying the Iowa Legislature and being an advocate for NFIB by recruiting members. “Dave Van Ahn’s expert testimony on small business issues is highly valued by an Iowa Legislature that too often forgets that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses, but instead have uniquely different difficulties in remaining solvent,” said Kristin Kunert, NFIB’s Iowa state director, in a statement. Read more.

Toyota Motor Co. is recalling 138,000 Lexus cars from 2007 and 2008 due to an engine problem that could lead to stalling. The company said it’s more likely that consumers could feel rough idling, a sign that they should have the car inspected. Read more.

Small business loans from the U.S. government dropped 27 percent in the second quarter compared with the first, but are still higher than a year ago. The drop in government-backed loans comes as money from the economic stimulus package starts to run out. Read more.

Although the 2010 FIFA World Cup is predicted to have the largest impact on other countries’ productivity – Germany is expected to have lost $8 billion and Italian workers went on strike when they couldn’t watch a match – it still will have an impact on U.S. business. Fifteen million people watched the U.S. men’s national team play Ghana, and Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. has said that the World Cup is the fourth-largest draw from work in the United States, because most matches occur during regular work hours. Productivity may be lost during the games, but there is also an increase in consumer spending during the month. Read more.

The Better Business Bureau is looking for entries for the 2011 International Torch Awards. The awards are given to businesses that have a “strong sense of accountability and responsibility aimed at advancing trust in the marketplace.” For more information, click here.