January 17, 2025 (DES MOINES, IA) – Today (Friday), the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved awards for two manufacturing companies located in Newton and Waterloo, which will assist in the creation of 410 jobs and result in over $263.2 million in new capital investment for the state. In addition, three innovation companies located in Coralville, Des Moines and Washington were approved for financial assistance. Projects in Cedar Rapids and Le Grand received IEDA board funding approval through the Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) program. The University of Iowa’s biomanufacturing facility also received a grant through the Strategic Infrastructure Program.

TPI to make upgrades at Newton facility
TPI Composites, Inc. manufactures and services wind turbine blades. The company plans to make renovations and update their equipment and technology to restart manufacturing operations after ceasing production in 2021. The project represents a $3.2 million capital investment and was awarded a $500,000 forgivable loan through the High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program. It is expected to create 320 jobs incented at a qualifying wage of $23.81 per hour.

International Paper to construct facility in Waterloo
International Paper is one of the world’s leading producers of renewable corrugated packaging and cellulose fibers, with their Iowa locations focused on creating material for fiber-based packaging products. The company plans to acquire land and construct a 900,000-square-foot corrugated products manufacturing facility. The project represents a $260 million capital investment and is expected to create 90 jobs incented at a qualifying wage of at least $23.01 per hour. The board awarded the company tax benefits through the HQJ program.

CAT grant awarded to two projects
Community Theatre of Cedar Rapids was awarded $500,000 through the CAT program for their Dream Here, Do Here project, which focuses on the renovation of the historic building’s upper stories to accommodate additional classroom and rehearsal space. The theatre has been a regional arts attraction since 1925 and anticipates increasing the number of visitors by 45% annually with this project.

The City of Le Grand was awarded $44,750 to make park improvements, which includes new playground equipment, upgrades to surfacing, installation of pickleball courts, replacement of dated fixtures and the addition of accessible pathways. In addition to the overall community benefit, the project will complement the new nearby housing development.

The CAT program provides financial assistance to communities for the construction of recreational, cultural, educational or entertainment facilities that enhance the quality of life in Iowa. Award recommendations for these funds are made by the CAT Review Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

Awards made to two startups
Coralville’s Reality Wave, LLC utilizes AI technology to provide objective evaluations of academic manuscripts and grant proposals. ReviewerAI, their flagship product, ensures scholarly articles meet high quality standards in a timely manner. The company was awarded a $50,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance loan for key personnel and market analysis.

Des Moines-based Tumbleweed Vida, Inc. offers a step-by-step approach to managing end-of-life and post-loss plans. Their legacy planning software guides individuals, families, executors and trustees in organizing records, logging final wishes, storing legal documents, sharing grief resources and more. The company was awarded a $100,000 Demonstration Fund loan for product refinement, key personnel and market planning and entry activities.

Award recommendations for these funds are made by the Technology Commercialization Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

University of Iowa’s Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing approved for Strategic Infrastructure Program grant
The Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing (CBB) at the University of Iowa was awarded a grant of just over $1 million through the Strategic Infrastructure Grant program to expand the existing biomanufacturing infrastructure in the state by doubling the pilot-scale fermentation capacity with the acquisition and installation of a second fermentor. The assets, technologies and infrastructure will be made available to industrial, governmental and academic partners to scale contracted bioprocessing services. The increased demand will support high quality jobs and bolster student training and exposure to the industry.

The Strategic Infrastructure Program supports projects that develop commonly utilized assets with the goal of providing a competitive advantage to one or more private sector entities or that create necessary physical infrastructure in the state, and such projects are not adequately provided by the public or private sectors. Award recommendations for these funds are made by an internal and external review committee and presented to the IEDA Board for approval.

SSBCI Innovation Fund award made to rural startup
Continuum Ag, Inc., based in Washington, offers advanced software solutions that enable large-scale adoption of regenerative and climate smart practices. Regen Roadmap, their premier product, is delivered through their proprietary TopSoil platform to provide farmers with custom, data-driven recommendations to improve profitability through enhanced soil health. The company was awarded a $500,000 Innovation Acceleration Propel Fund loan for IP development and evaluation, product refinement, key personnel and market planning and entry activities.

The SSBCI program’s Innovation Fund increases assistance available through Iowa’s innovation continuum to support entrepreneurs through concept, launch and expansion. Award recommendations for these funds are made by the SSBCI Review Committee to the IEDA director for approval. The committee met on January 14, 2025, to review eligible applications.

(Charter Oak, Iowa) – A man and woman from Crawford County are facing Child Endangerment – resulting in serious injury charges, after an infant was severely harmed allegedly due to the delayed response in seeking medical attention following an incident of neglect. Our sister station KDSN in Denison reports court records reveal that on the day of the injury, 23-year-old Chad Gibbs, of Charter Oak, was holding his infant when he fell down a set of stairs, causing the baby’s head to strike a door frame.

Additionally, Gibbs allegedly dropped the infant from a height of approximately three to four feet. Despite the baby’s visible distress, Gibbs did not seek medical help until several hours later, when the baby lost her pulse. At that point, emergency responders were contacted.

Sarah Lembke and Chad Gibbs (booking photo)

The baby’s mother, 22-year-old Sarah Lembke, also from Charter Oak, reportedly failed to recognize the seriousness of the situation. Although she admitted that the baby had been crying incessantly for five hours and had developed a bruise on her face, Lembke did not suspect that Gibbs might have been responsible for the injury. Court documents also note that Gibbs had a previous history of causing harm to Lembke’s children.

Chad Gibbs has admitted to having caused earlier harm to the infant, stating that six days prior to this incident, he had accidentally elbowed the baby and, frustrated by the baby’s crying, had squeezed her tightly to his chest.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Tourism Officials says the Annual report from Travel Iowa for 2023 was recently released. The report shows Iowa had $7.3 billion in visitor spending, which means that approximately $20 million was spent EVERY DAY by visitors to Iowa. Visitor Spending includes categories of Lodging, Food & Beverage, Recreation, Retail and Transportation. Cass County had $3.03 Million in Sales and Lodging tax collected in 2023.

Cass County’s Food & Beverage spending was up $80,000 and was $3.8 million in 2023. Sales and Lodging tax collected in 2023 in Cass County were slightly lower, as well as our total growth rate overall for 2023 was 1% lower compared to 2022. The Western Iowa Tourism Region share of the state for Economic Impact is 18%, and by spending category the area had a 19% share of the state.

Cass County Tourism Committee’s goal is to continue strong tourism trends in the western Iowa region. Officials say “We had a great 2024 and look forward to that Tourism Annual report. We [remain] focused on marketing and ease of visitor information. These goals wrap into 2025 for our Cass County Tourism Committee.”

A new webpage can be found here https://www.casscountyia.gov/county-departments/tourism/ and you can follow Cass County Tourism on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CassCountyIATourism . In 2024 CCT unveiled water bottle stickers and postcards available at places like Cappel’s Ace Hardware, Homebody, and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce office. An updated brochure will be finished in 2025 and housed at the website listed mentioned above.

Cass County Tourism Committee meets four times a year, at 9-a.m. on the first Wednesday of February, May, August, and November. If you are interested in the future of Tourism in Cass County please plan to attend the next Tourism Committee meeting, Wednesday February 5^th at 9-a.m., in the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Meeting room.

Additional details: Cass Econ Imp 2023   WITR Econ Imp 2023 pp1-10-1

Des Moines, Iowa – The Iowa Insurance Division today announced that it has joined a taskforce of state securities regulators and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a $106 million settlement with Vanguard Marketing Corporation (VMC) and The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard) for failing to supervise certain registered persons and failing to disclose potential tax consequences to investors following a change in investment minimums for certain target date retirement funds.

“These Iowans were not warned about potential tax consequences that would likely result from changes Vanguard made, and I am pleased they will receive remediation for the capital gains they incurred holding this product,” said Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen. “We will continue to protect Iowa investors and ensure that companies operating in Iowa follow our securities laws.”

The settlement stems from a three-year multi-state task force investigation coordinated through the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Enforcement Section Committee, to conduct a comprehensive investigation, parallel to a concurrent investigation by the SEC.

The investigation revealed that in 2020, Vanguard lowered the investment minimums for its Institutional Target Retirement Funds (TRFs). As a result of the lowered investment minimums, a large number of retirement plan investors redeemed their Investor TRF shares to purchase Institutional TRF shares. The large number of redemptions caused Vanguard to sell highly appreciated assets in the Investor TRF, which triggered significant capital gains taxes for hundreds of thousands of retail investors who remained invested in the Investor TRF. Vanguard did not disclose the potential capital gains and tax implications to Investor TRF shareholders which was a consequence of the migration of shareholders from the Investor TRF to the Institutional TRF.

The Vanguard Group, Inc. is the parent company of Vanguard Marketing Corporation, a FINRA and state-registered broker-dealer. Vanguard markets and sells target retirement funds to investors who hold shares in qualified accounts that offer special tax treatment, including deferred taxes, as well as to investors who hold shares in taxable accounts. Historically, the amount of capital gains distributions and resulting tax liability for shareholders in Investor TRFs has been modest. The SEC will notify the investors that were impacted by this action and will administer the remediation payments, through its Fair Fund program, to compensate investors for the capital gains taxes.

If you have questions or concerns about your investments or financial professional, please contact the Iowa Insurance Division at 515-654-6600.

(Des Moines, IA) – Through the Safe Haven Law, a baby boy, born December 3 is now in the care and custody of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will be placed with a foster family until permanent placement is determined. This brings the overall total to 74 infants since the law went into effect more than two decades ago.  This brings the total to eight cases in 2024, including a baby girl born October 13 and a baby girl born on November 11. In 2023, ten infants were relinquished to HHS custody under the Safe Haven Act.

Iowa’s Safe Haven Act is an option for parents in crisis who determine they cannot care for an infant up to 90 days old. Designated safe havens are locations like hospitals and police and fire stations. Iowa HHS then works to place infants in an approved foster home while awaiting permanent adoption.

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent or adopting a child, visit https://iowafosterandadoption.org/ to learn more about becoming an approved foster or adoptive family.

For more information on Iowa’s Safe Haven, visit https://hhs.iowa.gov/programs/CPS/safe-haven.

(Radio Iowa) – Three of Iowa’s mayors are joining more than 250 of their counterparts from across the country in Washington D.C. for the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 93rd Annual Winter Meeting. The three-day bipartisan summit opened this morning and Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart says it’s an ideal opportunity to discuss solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the nation’s cities, large and small. “Just listening to some of the most pressing issues that are faced by cities all across America,” Hart says, “and sometimes it feels good to know that you’re not alone.”

Hart plans to attend a series of workshops on a host of topics, including the affordable housing crisis, public safety, immigration, climate, technology and cybersecurity, and infrastructure investment. He’s also hoping to learn about more innovative ways to help established small businesses — as well as start-ups — to grow and thrive. “We know that small businesses are the backbones of our community,” he says, “and so hearing what other mayors are doing, hearing what other leading thinkers are doing to help small businesses really helps us to craft what we want to do within our local community.”

As the 2025 session of the Iowa legislature opened this week, Republican lawmakers said setting new limits on property taxes is their top priority. While that may sound attractive to many Iowans, Hart says it’s also a cause for some concern. “Seventy to 80-percent of our city budget that our property taxes go to are for public safety,” Hart says, “and so any changes, any losses in revenues have an overall impact to our ability to be able to provide safe communities, thriving communities as well.”

Mayor Quentin Hart (City of Waterloo photo)

A new administration will take over the White House next week and there’s much discussion about tariffs and the impact on trade. President-elect Trump has singled out Quad Cities-based ag equipment giant John Deere, saying he’ll impose a 200-percent tariff on any Deere imports from Mexico. Deere is Waterloo’s largest employer and Mayor Hart says he’ll be watching developments carefully, both at the federal level and with tax changes on the state level.

“I am hoping that’s going to increase business opportunities, that’s going to bring more jobs,” he says, “and as mayor, regardless of what side of the aisle I sit on, I want to see that happen for our community, but on the state level, we really need to continue to balance out those cuts based upon the services that they’ll impact.”

Dubuque Mayor Brad Cavanagh and Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen are also attending the conference, which concludes on Sunday.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is planning to meet with key Trump Administration officials after she attends Monday’s presidential inauguration ceremony in the U-S Capitol. “I was there for the first one and it was an exciting time to just be a part of it,” Reynolds said. “I had never gone before. I had no idea what to expect.” Reynolds was Iowa’s lieutenant governor in 2017 when she attended Trump’s first inauguration. Next week, while she’s in Washington, Governor Reynolds is scheduling a meeting with Trump’s choice to lead the U-S-D-A — to discuss the bird flu outbreak. Reynolds says in all her meetings with Trump’s cabinet secretaries, she’ll make a pitch to send more federal funds to states in the form of block grants, so state officials have more authority in how the money’s spent within their borders.

“I really think there are opportunities for block grants and to get some of those agencies out of D.C.,” Reynolds said, “and out in the country where the real people live.” Reynolds says relocating the headquarters of federal agencies in states around the country would be another way to shrink the federal workforce, as some D-C based employees would quit rather than move. Monday’s inauguration will be held INSIDE the Capitol, due to the frigid forecast for Washington on Monday. Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion expects Trump’s second inaugural address to cover issues he raised during the 2024 campaign.

“I believe he’s going to lay out an agenda that’s very, very bold in terms of making our country safe again, making our country prosperious again and making the American people successful again,” Hinson said, “and so I think Iowans are cheering the president on.” Hinson expects “several hundred Iowans” to make the trip to D.C. for Monday’s festivities. Trump announced on Trump Social that Capitol One Arena in Washington will be open for LIVE viewing of the inaugural ceremony, which will be held indoors for the first time since 1985.

The temperature was in single digits the day of Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration — but the wind chill was minus 25. Forecasters expect strong winds on Monday in Washington will make the feels like temperature to hover around 10 degrees at noon, when Trump takes the oath of office.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines-based agriculture co-op with locations across the state is laying off workers. WHO-TV reports a spokesman for the company confirmed the company is letting some employees go. Landus, which works with farmers to buy and sell grain, provides agronomy services, and conducts sustainable soybean processing. In a statement provided to the television station, a Landus spokesperson said:

“Today we announced internally that we are executing on our strategy and are in a strong position to become the ag retailer of the future. As we have seen with many companies across the US, we needed to make changes in both our personnel and our structure to better support our farmer-owners and accomplish this bold strategy, which unfortunately means saying goodbye to some colleagues. This was not an easy decision, but it was a necessary decision as we move forward into 2025 and beyond. Landus is poised and ready to take the next step in growth and efficiency.”

The spokesperson did not provide the number of employees who were laid off. He did say rumors about a buyout of the company were not true. According to Landus’ website, the company employs 600 people and has 50 locations throughout the state of Iowa. There’s also a location in southern Minnesota. It serves 5,500 farmers and impacts 34 states and 16 countries. Landus has an international office in Guadalajara, Mexico as well.

The company reported $2.4 billion in revenue in 2023.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – A man from Glenwood was arrested this (Friday) morning. According to the Glenwood Police Department, 29-year-old Dennis Runyon was arrested for OWI/2nd offense. Runyon was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $2,000 bond.