AABP EP Awards 728x90

Economic Development

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Eckert to direct SBA’s Cedar Rapids office

Former West Des Moines economic development official Jo Eckert has been named branch manager of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Cedar Rapids office. Eckert ran the West Des Moines Business Incubator from 2010 to 2017. …
By BPC Staff | Aug 7, 2018
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In Iowa, joblessness dives, wages struggle

Quad-City Times: Even as Iowa’s unemployment rate has nose-dived, the pay that workers in the state are earning on the job has struggled to make gains. It’s a trend across the country. But economists in the …
By BPC Staff | Aug 3, 2018
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Cownie, city of Des Moines lay groundwork for key Market District development site

Businessman Jim Cownie could sell the site of a scrap metal operation on the southern fringe of the East Village in Des Moines to the city if development plans do not work out, according to …
By KENT DARR | Aug 3, 2018
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NOTEBOOK: Durham: String of new records in business filings evidence that Iowa is on right track

Iowa’s economic development director said the state’s latest record for annual business filings isn’t a surprise and shows the state’s economic power.

Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, responded to a question …
By PERRY BEEMAN | Aug 2, 2018
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Auditor questions time sheets, background check policy at Iowa Workforce Development

An annual review by the state auditor’s office found not all Iowa Workforce Development employees appear to be reporting “actual hours worked” on specific programs, Radio Iowa reports. According to the auditor’s report, payroll costs may …
By BPC Staff | Aug 2, 2018
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Central Iowa Works receives $1.5 million grant to help ex-offenders get jobs

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded United Way of Central Iowa’s Central Iowa Works a $1.5 million grant to support individuals returning from prison to become employed and avoid re-offending.

The grant will allow …
By BUSINESS RECORD STAFF | Aug 2, 2018
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Iowa economic index remained stagnant in June

The Iowa Leading Indicators Index remained unchanged in June from a revised 108.7 in May, the value of the index since March, the Iowa Department of Revenue said. Revisions to the May figure occurred after Iowa …
By BPC Staff | Aug 1, 2018
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Eurofins completes $670 million acquisition of Covance Food Solutions

Eurofins announced it has acquired Madison, Wis.-based Covance Food Solutions, which will operate as Eurofins Food Integrity and Innovation. Eurofins, an international life sciences company with more than 30,000 employees globally, has operated its U.S. …
By BPC Staff | Aug 1, 2018
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NOTEBOOK – One Good Read: Hot item for sale at small companies: The business itself

Another consequence of a tight labor market and the need for skilled workers like we have in Greater Des Moines: Small businesses are getting snapped up. Our neighbors to the north at the Minneapolis Star Tribune took …
By SUZANNE BEHNKE | Aug 1, 2018
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SBA to provide disaster loans for seven Iowa counties

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday that the U.S. Small Business Administration has granted her request to provide assistance in the form of low-interest disaster loans for Marshall County, along with six contiguous counties affected by …
By BPC Staff | Aug 1, 2018