How can businesses help to improve their employees’ health and control health-care costs? A full-day conference on Nov. 30 at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown, “Building a Healthier Workforce and a Healthy Iowa,” will provide a host of strategies to consider. Scheduled to speak at the event are U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, Gov. Chet Culver and Gov.-elect Terry Branstad, as well as health-care and business leaders from across the state. Insurers and employers will also present information about effective health and wellness programs, said Dr. James Merchant, director of the Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, one of the event’s sponsors. Advance registration for the event is $100, with the cost rising to $120 the day of the event. For more information and to register for the conference, go to www.medicine.uiowa.edu/cme and click on Upcoming Conferences.