(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO) Executive Director Jennifer McEntaffer, Wednesday, spoke with the Atlantic City Council about a Business Plan Competition proposal. The City Administrator John Lund noted the City budgeted $10,000 in the FY 2026 Budget to CADCO from the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) Progress Fund under “Commercial Development Services,” for CADCO, which is looking at a grant from Wells Fargo and City participation that would benefit the competition application.

McEntaffer said “As of this year, there are almost 300-thousand small businesses in the State of Iowa, and most of those business are under 50-thousand employees.” There are regional competitions that don’t include Cass County, and most competitions are run through universities. She said the proposed Business Plan Competition is an event designed to inspire entrepreneurs to compete for seed funding or business expansion funds.

The competition is designed to encourage viable business ideas.

Wells Fargo, McEntaffer said, awarded $250,000 to the Iowa Rural Development Council (IRDC), to continue its support for businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs.

The Rural Business Initiative (RBI) will provide grants of at least $30,000 to community organizations that work with small businesses, dollars that can be directed to the businesses themselves for capital costs, soft costs, training or strategic planning. The application window opened September 29, 2025, for non-metro communities under 20,000 who are at least within 50 miles of a Wells Fargo Bank branch.

McEntaffer said officials with Wells Fargo in Atlantic have expressed an interest in participating in the program.

The Businesses Plan Competition incorporates several facets.

After receiving her presentation, the Atlantic City Council passed an Order to provide the requested $10,000 from the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) Progress Fund to begin the application process.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, passed a Resolution “Designating Mental Wellness Checks as a Health & Wellness Benefit for Atlantic Police Department Employees,” and the 3rd and Final Reading of an Ordinance amending the City’s Code of Ordinances, by adding a new chapter regulating the use of electric scooters, motorized scooters, and low-speed vehicles.