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Friday AM Daily | August 16, 2024
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Last day to vote for most influential nonprofits
The Business Record wants to know what the business community thinks is the most influential nonprofit in the Central Iowa region.
Please consider the role an organization plays in setting the agenda for the community, delivering needed or missing services, and inspiring the community to a bigger and better future.
From your responses, we'll tally up the votes and reveal in the Book of Lists what you think are the top 25 most influential nonprofit organizations and publish a list of their board members.
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Guest opinion: Our state fair is the best state fair … for a congressional hearing on tax policy
Submitted by Dan Houston, chairman, president and CEO, Principal Financial Group
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The legacy of the Iowa State Fair spans 170 years — celebrating the state’s best in agriculture, industry, entertainment and achievement. I was one of the 92,000 attendees this past Monday. The iconic event routinely draws more than a million people from all over the world and has inspired works of art ranging from stories to movies to a Broadway musical. A cultural touchstone in Iowa, the fair attracts people from all walks of life, fostering an appreciation of our past, present and future.
Principal was founded in Des Moines, and our world headquarters has remained here for 145 years, just 15 minutes west of the bustling fairgrounds. We’re proud to be part of the vibrant Des Moines and Central Iowa community.
For 11 days each August, seemingly everyone in Iowa is immersed in the fair. But it’s not just Iowans. Among the more than 1 million people expected to attend this year’s fair will be members of the U.S. Congress House Ways and Means Committee, the oldest tax-writing body in the U.S. House of Representatives. Today, they will travel from Washington, D.C., to convene a field hearing about tax policy at the Oman Family Youth Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
The hearing will focus on how tax policies, particularly the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, are affecting middle-income Americans. With several key provisions of this tax law slated to expire in 2025, particularly those impacting individual taxpayers, policymakers are engaged in an extensive review of our nation’s tax code and the role it plays in fostering economic opportunity for families and businesses.
Our State Fair may seem like an unusual place to hold a congressional hearing.
But there is no better place than this celebration in America’s heartland to examine how changes in the tax code could impact opportunities and growth prospects for individuals and American businesses.
In fact, the greatest strength of the nation’s workforce comes from small businesses, which employ about five in 10 of America’s workers and generate nearly half of the nation’s economic activity.
At Principal, we know small businesses and the challenges they face, because we’ve been serving this market since 1945. As the committee considers the future of tax policy during the hearing, they will do so with an understanding of the important role of the tax code not only in supporting the economic growth of these businesses, but also in helping their workers achieve financial security.
It is important for the House Ways and Means Committee to hear directly from Americans. Committee members strongly believe the first step is listening to those who are on the front lines of our economy, hearing their stories and their ideas for improving life for their families, their neighbors and our country. And these conversations should happen in places beyond Washington, D.C. The Midwest, with its rich political and economic history, remains pivotal to America's economic expansion and continues to play a central role in national politics.
Traveling to the heart of the country to discuss public policy is a wise choice. I am encouraged that representatives from across the nation will visit and experience all the flavors of Iowa’s culture and pride while discussing policies that impact workers and small businesses in all 50 states.
Welcome, Washington, to our State Fair!
External link: Disclosures
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NEWS BRIEFS
Norwalk announces groundbreaking event for addition to southwest development corridor
The city of Norwalk, in conjunction with WB Realty Co., announced the opening of Dunn Industrial Park, a new light-industrial development. A groundbreaking event will be held on site, located at Delaware Street and Madison Avenue, at 4 p.m. on Aug. 21. WB Realty Co. recently completed the 39-acre industrial development on the southwest side of Norwalk, which includes two 20,000-square-foot commercial buildings and two multi-acre lots. The development project was completed in July 2024, and the two new buildings are now ready for occupancy. "This helps every resident in multiple ways," said Hollie Zajicek, economic development director for the city of Norwalk, in a prepared statement. "The Dunn Industrial Park is the newest addition to our long-term strategic plan of growing Norwalk southwest, and eventually connecting to I-35."
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YESTERDAY IN INNOVATION IOWA
Iowa City coworking space expands services following renovations
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Greater Iowa City Inc. recently completed renovations on Merge, a coworking space in downtown Iowa City, and has updated its mission to help meet the needs of Johnson County’s businesses after COVID.
Since opening in 2017, Merge has centered on serving early-stage entrepreneurs and connecting them to resources to help launch their businesses.
But following the 2023 merger of Iowa City Area Development and Iowa City Area Business Partnership that formed Greater IC, the new public-private organization saw the space with "fresh eyes," President and CEO Nancy Bird told the Business Record. Read more
Sign up for the Business Record's weekly innovationIOWA e-newsletter.
Read more at innovationia.com.
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NEWS BRIEFS
Polk County is now offering free emergency contraceptives
Des Moines Register: The Polk County Health Department is now offering morning-after pills to residents at no cost. The state's largest county public health department is now offering free emergency contraceptives, along with condoms and lubricants, to anyone who visits the agency at its Des Moines location. As first reported by Axios Des Moines, the free emergency contraceptive will be provided for the foreseeable future by the Family Planning Council of Iowa, a nonprofit that oversees a network of federally funded family planning and reproductive health care clinics in the state.
All-In Grocers temporarily closing for 'reset,' with reopening in September
KWWL-TV: All-In Grocers will be closed until Sept. 16 as it undergoes a supply change. In a statement posted to Facebook, the grocery store and restaurant said it closed to work with a new wholesaler and rearrange the store. Owner Rodney Anderson said that in less than a year that it's been open, All-In Grocers has had issues and mistakes with its wholesaler and store layout that it hopes to fix in the month it’s closed.
US shoppers sharply boosted spending at retailers in July despite higher prices
Associated Press: Americans stepped up their spending at retailers last month by the most in a year and a half, easing concerns that the economy might be weakening under the pressure of higher prices and elevated interest rates. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that retail sales jumped 1% from June to July, the biggest such increase since January 2023, after having declined slightly the previous month. Auto dealers, electronics and appliance stores and grocery stores all reported strong sales gains.
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ONE GOOD READ
Small businesses are just as grumpy about the economy as consumers
Marketplace: The National Federation of Independent Business’ newest small-business optimism index is out. The good news? The index rose more than two points in July, and small businesses feel the most optimistic they have since February 2022. The less good news? Optimism is still below the survey’s 50-year average. Small-business owner Nicole Panettieri said, simply, she isn’t sure how she’s feeling right now. She owns two boutiques in New York City, the Brass Owl and the Tiny Owl. One is for women, one is for kids. This year she had strong Mother’s Day sales. But this summer has been one of her worst. "And that’s even accounting for 2020," she said. Panettieri is constantly strategizing. For instance, she stopped carrying some hand-poured candles because inflation and tariffs have hiked costs for her suppliers. "Customers are not really accustomed to paying $40 for a candle," she said.
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KCCI TOP STORIES
The love story of Frankie and Blossom: From the Riverside Cemetery to bookshelves
Frankie and Blossom, the Marshalltown Riverside Cemetery geese, are getting another shot at fame. The story of the two lonely geese getting together was first told back in 2023. Then, CBS News told the world about the two big birds, prompting two new books about their adventure in love. Today, those books are finally for sale. "Oh, yeah, it's a good news story. Definitely. Definitely," said Dian Ferneau, reflecting on the positive impact of the geese's tale. "Something really that's uplifting and positive, we need that," added Andy Burt, a Marshalltown resident who, along with Ferneau, was among the first in line to buy two new books about the lovebirds. Read more
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Today:
Mostly sunny with more clouds in northern Iowa. High 86. Winds northwest at 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight:
Partly cloudy. Low 64. Winds east at 5 to 10 mph.
Get the latest KCCI weather.
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MOBILE SPEED UNIT LOCATIONS
Today:
200 block of Southeast Sixth Street
1700 block of Park Avenue
1800 block of Fleur Drive
See the full week's listing on the Des Moines Police Department's Facebook page.
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BUSINESS RECORD IOWA INDEX
The Iowa Index is an unweighted average of all Iowa-based public companies. Below is a live look at those Iowa companies, plus additional companies with large operations in Iowa.
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