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The Insider Notebook

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NOTEBOOK: East Village coincidence spurs a ‘This Is Iowa’ moment

I heard about an unscripted “This Is Iowa” story when I interviewed Chris Blunt, the new CEO of insurance company F&G, for an upcoming Closer Look profile. 

When Blunt was looking for a place for …

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NOTEBOOK: Issue spotlight: Workforce housing

At the Aug. 28 Capital Crossroads quarterly meeting, area leaders received a two-page snapshot of challenges with the housing market. Here’s a mixture of intrigue and alarm:

In the next 20 years:

– Our metro …

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NOTEBOOK: The story behind a new Waukee event center

For Daniel and Rachael Pettit, finding space in which to host events for their charity, Trailhead International Builders, has been difficult.

“It’s always been tough to get space,” Daniel Pettit said recently during an interview …

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NOTEBOOK – One Good Read: Red lights mean stop, not read phone

The number of motorist deaths at traffic signals is rising, and some are blaming distracted driving related to smartphones, Fast Company reports. The 939 U.S. deaths involving collisions at red lights hit a 10-year high of …

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NOTEBOOK – One Good Read: Andrew Luck’s retirement shows what happens when you don’t fix an employee’s demotivators

Imagine the “Andrew Luck of your company” deciding to leave after just a short stint with your organization. It can happen – probably not because of the physical pains of a job, but the psychological …

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NOTEBOOK: Private equity firms point fingers at each other after failed American Equity bid

An article in the Financial Times this past week details an ongoing legal battle in New York involving private equity firm Apollo Global Management — a major investor in Athene USA’s parent Athene Holding Ltd. …

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NOTEBOOK: Scorched: Heat changes real estate world

The Urban Land Institute, a real estate professional group with a branch in Iowa, recently released “Scorched: Extreme Heat and Real Estate.” The national group’s Katharine Burgess, vice president of urban resilience, was in town …

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NOTEBOOK: American Water uses AI, eyes tap water threats

When American Water President and CEO Susan Story stopped by our offices during a routine Des Moines business trip, the leader of the nation’s largest water system had two particularly intriguing things on her mind: …

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NOTEBOOK: Who’s in the Aug. 30 issue?

Here’s a list of local people in the Aug. 30 issue of the Business Record and the page number of the article in which they are mentioned. Members can read all of this week’s stories …

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NOTEBOOK – One Good Read: Self-driving cars get test in rain

Waymo is testing its self-driving cars in Florida’s substantial rain, engadget reports. The Chrysler Pacificas and Jaguar I-Paces will have their cameras, radar and other guidance systems checked. “Heavy rain can create a lot of noise …