|
|
|
|
Friday AM Daily | August 25, 2017
|
|
|
|
|
Willett to depart Cultivation Corridor, lead Iowa Health Care Association
|
|
|
The Iowa Health Care Association has named Brent Willett as its new president and CEO. Willett, who is currently executive director of the Cultivation Corridor, will succeed current IHCA President and CEO Steve Ackerson, who will retire next month.
"The IHCA Executive Committee is excited to have Brent join the association," Tom Swanson, IHCA executive committee chair, said in a release. "The committee members agree that his experience in directing innovation and change will complement IHCA members' mission of promoting quality long-term services and supports for Iowa's frail and elderly."
Willett has led the Cultivation Corridor, the regional branding initiative led by the Greater Des Moines Partnership, since March 2014. Before that, he was president and CEO of the North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corp. and in leadership positions at the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Fairfield Economic Development Association and the Fairfield Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Willett said he’s proud to have helped develop the Cultivation Corridor from an idea to a sustainable organization in his three and a half years with the organization.
“My time with the Cultivation Corridor was some of the most fulfilling I’ve had in my career,” he said. “I appreciate the opportunity I’ve had to work with public-sector leaders like Jay Byers, Dan Culhane and Debi Durham, as well as private-sector leaders like Gage Kent, John May and Charles Sukup. That unique mix of partners, I think, allowed us to get off the ground really quickly. … I think we’ve laid the foundation for a long-term, successful effort, and that was job one.”
His last day at Cultivation Corridor will be Sept. 8.
No decisions have yet been made on an interim executive director, but a hiring committee has been seated and will begin meeting next
week, Willett said. For now, responsibilities will be divided between the Corridor and Partnership staff, he said. Julie Lelonek, Corridor business engagement and communications specialist, is the contact person in the interim.
Willett will assume his new duties with the IHCA on Sept. 18. Ackerson will remain on the association’s staff as a consultant until December, when he will officially retire.
"I am honored to lead the Iowa Health Care Association," said Willett. "The association's highly engaged membership, boards and staff provide a terrific opportunity to help contribute to the future of this
incredibly important work."
The IHCA and its divisions, the Iowa Center for Assisted Living and the Iowa Center for Home Care, serve the long-term services and supports profession as a nonprofit trade association.
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS BRIEFS
W.D.M. gains park near Walnut Woods
Purple Martin Lake Water Resource Area southwest of Walnut Woods State Park officially opened this week. It’s an old gravel pit owned by Des Moines Water Works that will offer hiking, jogging, walking and access for nonmotorized water craft. The park off of Army Post Road was fashioned by the water utility, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the city of West Des Moines. The land will be part of a “chain of lakes” envisioned along the Raccoon River. DNR will manage the Purple Martin property. The area will be open daily from 6 a.m. to
10:30 p.m.
Drought conditions improve
After rains of 6 inches or more around Iowa, drought conditions eased considerably, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported. That left 2 percent of the state in extreme drought --mostly areas of Clarke and Wapello counties. The state still has areas of moderate drought. The rain was during the coolest start for August since 2004.
Iowa International Center to honor three immigrants
The Iowa International Center will honor three immigrants at the Passport to Prosperity Gala Oct. 14. They are:
- Sadagat Aliyeva, who came from Azerbaijan and is a library assistant at the Clive Public Library. She uses her
theater background to help refugees and immigrants learn English.
- Nancy Mwirotsi, an immigrant from Kenya and founder of PI 515 – Pursuit of Innovation. She teaches refugees and their children to write computer code.
- Sanjita Pradhan, who is from Nepal and is program director for talent development with the Greater Des Moines Partnership. She has focused on advocating
and building policy to help improve the lives of refugees.
Lori Chesser, senior shareholder at Davis Brown Law Firm, has been named honorary chairwoman of the gala.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
THE INSIDER NOTEBOOK
Top Insider Notebook items: Aug. 18
|
|
|
|
|
The Elbert Files: Two amazing buildings
|
|
|
John Ruan and Frank Lloyd Wright were larger-than-life people. Both were builders who were productive into their 90s. Wright designed innovative structures throughout the world; Ruan built one of the nation’s largest private transportation networks from a single dump truck. Ruan also dabbled in real estate, which resulted in one additional parallel. When they died — Wright in 1959 and Ruan half a century later in 2010 — the unfinished work of each included plans for what would have been breathtaking buildings. Read more
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS BRIEFS
Eastern Iowa soybean yield prospects below 3-year average
Successful Farming: Soybean yield prospects were below three-year averages in eastern Iowa, crop scouts on an annual tour found on Thursday, a day
after surveys found sharply lower potential in the western third of the country's largest producer. A smaller-than-anticipated harvest could temper slumping soy prices in the wake recent purchase of U.S. soybeans by China, the scouts said.
Samsung chief gets 5-year prison term for corruption
CNN Tech: A South Korean court has found Lee Jae-yong, the de facto chief of the sprawling Samsung business empire, guilty of
bribery and other corruption charges. Lee, the billionaire son of Samsung's ailing chairman, was sentenced to five years in prison today. The criminal conviction is a blow for Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker and South Korea's biggest family-run conglomerate whose businesses are estimated to account for around 15 percent of the country's entire economy.
|
|
|
|
|
ONE GOOD READ
First fake news, and now ‘fake polls’: How to protect yourself BY CHRIS CONETZKEY: No, it turns out Detroit musician Kid Rock is (probably) not leading Michigan’s Senate race. After Delphi Analytica published a recent poll showing Kid Rock in the lead, it went viral across multiple websites, the governor of Texas tweeted it out, and though Kid Rock hasn’t filed papers to run, he retweeted the poll and issued a statement saying he’d take a hard look at a Senate run. But, thanks to some sleuthing by the by the folks at FiveThirtyEight.com, it turns out the company that conducted the poll might not be legitimate -- or have even conducted a poll. Their piece explores a growing concern: Fake polls have become a real problem. Read the article here. In a follow-up piece, FiveThirtyEight provides 10 ways to avoid falling for a fake poll. Read that article here.
|
|
|
|
|
KCCI TOP STORIES
Former Habitat for Humanity executive director pleads guilty to fraud
The former executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs has pleaded guilty of unlawful use of an identification document, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Justice. Gina K. Malloy is on supervised release until her sentencing, set for Jan. 24. Read more
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today:
A shower or two around the area early, then partly cloudy during the afternoon. High 83. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Tonight:
Some clouds. Low 63. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Get the latest KCCI weather.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BUSINESS RECORD IOWA INDEXThe Iowa Index is an unweighted average of all 23 Iowa-based public companies. Below is a live look at those 23, plus 14 additional companies with large operations in Iowa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
