The Gazette’s Business Notes are a compendium of the week’s promotions, new hires, certifications, new industries and business events, among others, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the rest of the Corridor. Information and photos may be submitted to https://www.thegazette.com/business-notes/submit/
New recruits
GreatAmerica Financial Services in Cedar Rapids announced the following new team members: Garrett Bormann, customer reports analyst; And Julia Mindy, sales support specialist.
Promotions
At the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Carrie Walker was promoted to vice president of learning, and Emmy Ball was promoted to Senior Systems Analyst.
Appointment
The EFPC announced the following new members to its Board of Directors: David Tominsky, Novy; Chad Cooper, by Novo Marketing; And Karla Scriven, Kirkwood Community College.
Brad Mertens joined the board of directors of His Hands Free Clinic.
Other news
Mercy maternity care quoted: U.S. News & World Report has once again recognized Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids as a high-performing hospital for maternity care (uncomplicated pregnancy) in its 2025 rankings. The rankings included a survey of 817 hospitals. Factors considered included rates of unexpected and serious neonatal complications and cesarean sections in low-risk pregnancies.
Appliance Plus inaugurates Marion: Appliance Plus on Thursday opened its new location, 600 44th St. in Marion, the space formerly occupied by Star Appliance. The Marion location specializes in new and scratched appliances.
Harold Fox started an electrical business in 1946 and expanded into the appliance business. His son and daughter-in-law, Duane and Faith, ran the business after Fox’s death in 1965, opening an Appliance Plus in Oelwein in 1996.
Today, the company is led by Gary and Brenda Fox, who added locations in Independence, West Union and Webster City and oversaw expansions in Dyersville, Waukon and Algona. The phone number for the Marion location is (319) 373-2911 and the website is: applianceplusonline.com.
IOwa State Fair Takes Top Honors: The Iowa State Fair won awards and honors at the annual International Association of Fairs and Expositions convention held earlier this month in Phoenix, Arizona. The fair’s 21 awards included awards in the areas of communications, competitive exhibits, agricultural education and sponsorships. The fair also won the Division 5 award – for fairs with more than 1 million visitors – for best marketing campaign for the 2024 state fair theme, “Fair Fever.”
Relion Insurance acquired: Alkeme Insurance Services announced last week the acquisition of Relion Insurance Solutions of Iowa City, according to the Commercial Insurance Newsletter. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Relion, with approximately 70 employees, provides business and personal coverage from seven offices in Iowa. It was created in 2020 through the merger of Iowa City-based agencies AW Welt Ambrisco and Insurance Associates.
Alkeme, based in Ladera Ranch, Calif., and backed by New York-based private equity investment firm GCP Capital Partners, is the 49th largest corporate brokerage firm in the United States, with business of $114 million in 2023, according to the most recent ranking by business insurance. Alkeme, established in 2020, has more than 40 offices in 22 states and has completed more than 50 acquisitions.
Navy purchases Collins/BAE radio system: The US Navy has awarded Data Link Solutions, a joint venture between BAE Systems and Collins Aerospace, a contract worth up to $1 billion for the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System.
MIDS JTRS is a four-channel software-defined radio designed to run the complex Link 16 waveform system used by NATO, the United States and its allies to share real-time tactical data.
The Department of Defense is deploying the system on F-15, F-16, F/A-18 and F-22 aircraft, as well as ships and command and control assets, according to a BAE press release .
Using computers in class: Four virtual computer science training modules will be offered to teachers in grades five through nine in 2025 by NewBoCo Education and Code.org, with ideas for how to integrate technology into math, science and education lessons. social studies.
The programs, all offered from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., will be interactive activities and games on January 7; AI and machine learning, February 4; Code.org + science, March 4; and focus on data, April 1. For more information and to register, visit https://newbo.co/education/educators/cs-modules/.
Teachers can also find information on four virtual training modules on integrating IT into lessons on this site. Training is offered to teachers across the country.
Small Business of the Week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, last week named The Bakery Unlimited of Madison County as her Small Business of the Week.
In 1984, Jim and Marcia Sparks opened The Bakery Unlimited in a historic building on Main Street in Winterset in south-central Iowa. Marcia Sparks, a food nutrition research graduate from Iowa State University, developed the iconic apple fritters using Red Delicious apples grown on the Sparks family orchard, a tribute to Madison County, birthplace of the iconic apple .
In November 2020, Marcia Sparks died, and her husband and their daughter now manage the bakery and its eight employees. USA Today named the bakery one of the top 10 donut shops in the United States for June 2024.
Ernst, ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee, names an outstanding small business of the week in each of Iowa’s counties during this session of Congress.
Commercial notes of December 15, 2024
Emmy Ball, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
Garrett Bormann, Great America
Chad Cooper, CSPS
Brad Mertens, his hands-free clinic
Julia Mindy, Great America
Karla Scriven, ECPS
David Tominsky, CSPS
Carrie Walker, Greater CR Community Foundation
