Business Record Daily AM 5.6.19

Catch Des Moines has contracted with consultants Jones Lang LaSalle to craft a Destination Master Plan by late this year.

JLL’s tourism and destinations division surveyed businesses, developers, planners, city officials and other stakeholders following a round of focus groups. Nearly 400 responded. Among the findings:

- Survey respondents believe that special events and festivals, concerts, and the Iowa State Fair are the top three draws for Greater Des Moines visitors.

- Leisure travelers are attracted to the area in part due to affordability, residents’ friendliness and safety.

- Better air service would increase the area’s competitiveness in seeking conventions, meetings and sports tourism.

A key tourism leader in Greater Des Moines said the master plan is an effort to guide a diverse industry across the metro.

"Tourism is comprised of multiple independent industries. Catch Des Moines represents 15 different municipalities, so we want to make sure everyone’s voice is heard so we can craft a singular vision to move our region forward," said Greg Edwards, president and CEO of Catch Des Moines, also known as the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. "The Des Moines metro is the fastest growing city in the Midwest; this plan is necessary in order for us to evolve our business model and refine our strategies to best represent the region and bring in more visitors."

JLL started the project in January, and Edwards referred to it during a Business Record Newsroom 515 event discussion on the future of tourism. The plan should be done by August.

"Our goal is to serve as a mentor to Catch Des Moines as it builds the region’s future as a place where more people want to visit," said Dan Fenton, project executive and director of global tourism and destination development services at JLL. "They had 13.7 million visitors in 2016 and have garnered a number of kudos as a first-class event host, so the groundwork is in place. It’s our job to help understand the community’s goals and vision and reflect those stakeholders’ perspectives so that we can create a unified, successful plan moving forward."

For more information, go here.

Capital Crossroads launches incubator to guide water trails work

By Perry Beeman | Managing Editor

Capital Crossroads has formed the Central Iowa Water Trails Incubator to guide planning and to continue quiet-phase fundraising for a $100 million-plus plan to bring more recreation to 150 miles of Central Iowa waterways.

Principal chief Dan Houston, chairman, and MidAmerican Energy exec Kathryn Kunert, vice chairwoman, will lead the board of the new organization. Houston said the name of the group is likely to change over the months, and more board members will be added to ensure representation from diverse organizations and from the suburbs and other Central Iowa cities.

The project, which has arisen in part from studies conducted by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, is expected to include the conversion of three downtown dams into whitewater courses and other fun spots. Backers have visited river attractions in other cities in Iowa and other states and have seen significant economic benefit from the developments. The idea is to offer river recreation ranging from raging rapids to quiet fishing, birding and swimming.

The work will include efforts to improve water quality in the local waterways, backers said.

Houston said the move is another step in capturing the value of the rivers as something to attract, and keep, residents.

"I would call it a regional initiative," said Houston, Principal Financial Group’s chairman, president and CEO. "This notion of water trails should not be limited to water, even though it’s in the name. We have 150 miles of shoreline and we have 86 areas identified as places to engage with the river either through kayaking, tubing, fishing, all sorts of things."

After the Principal Riverwalk’s construction along the Des Moines River downtown, the new initiative "allows us to more completely and more comprehensively take advantage of the riverside," Houston said. "Frankly, I couldn’t be more excited. We have a well-rounded board," Houston said. Kunert will handle government affairs, he added.

"I think this is just an amazing opportunity to again put us on the map to do workforce attraction and retention," Kunert, MidAmerican’s vice president for economic connections and integration, said in an interview. "Beyond that, this is an initiative that has no boundaries. It’s not tied to a specific space. It’s not tied to a specific individual, or a specific interest or a specific organization. It is all-inclusive.

"When we talk about quality of life, and amenities, this can now be a true representation of what we mean when we say this is a great place to work, live and play," Kunert said.

NEWS BRIEFS

Leadership Institute honors six
The Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute next week will recognize six community leaders for exemplary service, giving them the Distinguished Leadership Award. Receiving the honor May 15 at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown will be:
Pat Boddy, RDG Planning & Design: A. Arthur Davis Community Leadership Award.
Joe Pietruszynski, Hubbell Realty Co.: Community Vision Award – Developing.
Kyle Horn, America's Job Honor Awards: Community Vision Award – Connecting.
Marina Grabchuk, Belin McCormick Law Firm: Community Vision Award – Inspiring.
Daniel Hoffman-Zinnel, One Iowa: Community Vision Award – Challenging.
Sam Early, Principal: Alumni Volunteer Award.

Bike riders ride DART free in May
DART is celebrating National Bike Month by offering free rides to anyone who boards a bus with a bike during May. Just load your bike on the rack on the bus — it takes less than 20 seconds — and take a seat on the bus. The program applies to local, express, flex and on-call services. DART, the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, also offers bike storage at Central Station and bike-and-ride assistance on its MyDART App.

CYstarters announces 2019 cohort, Community Kick-Off May 23
Fifteen student entrepreneurs are joining the 2019 CYstarters cohort, an 11-week intensive program managed by the Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship. Businesses in the cohort are: AI for Microscopy, Camp Aramoni, CattleTech, Chess Utopia, Comic Sandwiches, Courselink, Flourish, Iowa Virtual Reality Labs, Jensen Applied Sciences, One Hop Shop, Pink Panda, Pock It, Powdu, the Modern Milkman and WashWright. CYstarters will host its 2019 Community Kick-Off on May 23 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at 1805 Collaboration Place, Ames.

Lawsuit claims Chevy Bolt bought in Iowa isn’t hardy enough for South Dakota winters
Auto manufacturer General Motors is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a South Dakota man who claimed the car giant misled consumers about the effectiveness of an electric car model, reports the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Jason Haas says he bought a Chevrolet Bolt, an electric vehicle, in 2017 from Billion Auto in Iowa City. The car’s literature indicated it had a range of 238 miles, but the range proved to be about 100 miles less during the cold winter months. GM’s motion says the allegations are "vague, conclusory, and inadequately pled under the pleading standards of the Federal Rules."

NEWS BRIEFS

Wall Street tumbles as Trump's China tariff threat jolts investors
Reuters: U.S. stocks slumped this morning, with the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average falling over 350 points, after President Donald Trump shocked investors by threatening to hike tariffs on Chinese goods this week, sparking a flight from riskier assets. Trump said Sunday that tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would increase to 25% from 10%, reversing a decision he made in February to keep them at 10% as the two sides made progress on trade talks.

Boeing knew about 737 Max sensor problem before plane crash in Indonesia
Iowa Public Radio: Boeing knew that there was a problem with one of the safety features on its 737 Max planes back in 2017 – well before the Lion Air crash in October 2018 and the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March. But it did not disclose the issue to airlines or safety regulators until after the Lion Air plane crashed off the Indonesian coast, killing all 189 aboard.

Tyson Foods beats profit estimates, eyes fatal hog disease
Reuters: Tyson Foods Inc. said today that quarterly profits beat Wall Street estimates and projected the meat company could reap significant gains from an incurable hog disease spreading across Asia. China is expected to ramp up imports of pork from the United States, Europe and Brazil to compensate for millions of pigs killed in its outbreak.

Is a Recession Around the Curve?
KENT KRAMER, FOSTER GROUP
CFP®, AIF®, Chief Investment Officer

What interest rate would you expect to receive on a:

12-month CD? 5-year CD?
If your answer was higher for the 5-year CD, you are expressing the normal expectation of a higher return for a longer term to maturity. The same intuition holds when homebuyers consider a 15-year mortgage vs. a 30-year mortgage. The higher interest rate is compensation for bearing more risk of interest rate and inflation changes, as well as the opportunity cost of not investing in other things over that same time period. > FULL ARTICLE

KCCI TOP STORIES

Sambetti's closes following death of longtime owner
A north-side Des Moines restaurant closed this weekend following the death of its longtime owner. Sambetti’s posted on its Facebook page Saturday that owner Paul Strome, who died in March of a massive heart attack, was "the face, the brain and the heart of Sambetti’s. Without Paul, daily operations of the restaurant have proven difficult." The restaurant has been in the family for 40 years, starting with its location on Sixth Avenue in Des Moines. Read more

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