George C. FordGeorge Ford has spent decades covering business news across Eastern Iowa. Ford is a native of Lexington, Ky., but has spent 26 years in Eastern Iowa and 32 years in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Ford worked in radio and TV for 17 years, most recently providing a morning business segment for KCRG-TV9 in the mid- to late 1990s. Ford and his wife, Jani, have been married for 38 years and have grown children and grandchildren. |
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ISU climatologist predicts volatile weather, crop yields
The calendar may indicate it’s 2013, but it could as well be 1947 when it comes to future crop yields and weather patterns, according to Iowa State University Extension Climatologist Elwynn Taylor. Taylor, in remarks Wednesday at the 86th Annual Soil Management and Land Valuation Conference at ISU, said 1947 was the first of 25 [...]
Economist says ‘real’ recovery has begun, despite government
The nation’s economy has begun a “real” recovery with 2 percent to 2.5 percent growth over the next year. But it could grow even faster if businesses and consumers are able to see some economic certainty. That’s the contention of Mark Dotzour, chief economist and director of research at the Texas A&M University Real Estate [...]
Iowa credit card delinquency rate nearly lowest in U.S.
Iowa’s credit card delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 90 or more days past due) was nearly the lowest in the nation in the first quarter. TransUnion Financial Services on Tuesday reported 0.47 percent of Iowa credit card accounts were delinquent on March 31. South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana were tied for the lowest [...]
Cedar Rapids, Iowa City unemployment rates fall in April
More residents of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City were working last month, causing unemployment rates to fall again in the Corridor. Iowa Workforce Development on Tuesday reported the jobless rate in the Cedar Rapids metropolitan statistical area slid 0.5 percent to 4.8 percent in April from 5.3 percent in March. The last time the Cedar [...]
Iowa farmers make significant progress on corn, soybean crops
Iowa farmers made significant progress planting their corn and soybean crops during the week that ended on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 71 percent of Iowa’s corn acreage had been planted, an increase of 56 percent from last week. While significant progress was made, corn planting still lags behind last year’s 97 [...]
Sequester transfer jeopardizes Cedar Rapids airport project
Construction of a new taxiway at The Eastern Iowa Airport may be pushed back to the next fiscal year due to a transfer of Federal Aviation Administration funds to halt furloughs and keep air traffic controllers on the job. The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission on Monday voted to approve plans and specifications and seek competitive [...]
Storm damages jet, hangar doors at The Eastern Iowa Airport
Straight-line winds Sunday night blew a regional jet into a boarding bridge and damaged hangar doors at The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids. Kori Kaiser, airport facilities maintenance supervisor, said the 70-passenger jet operated by a contract carrier for Delta Airlines was parked when it was shoved into the jet boarding bridge about 10:45 [...]
Cedar Rapids technology startup receives state funding
A Cedar Rapids technology start-up company on Friday was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Demonstration Fund. Bandwidth Pool was formally launched this year when founder Ben Anderson, who previously co-founded Iowa-based X-Wires, was dealing with a poor Internet provider selection he had made years ago. Anderson learned there is an [...]
Iowa farmland value increases beginning to moderate
A survey of farmland values from Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago shows the dollar value of “good” Iowa farmland rose 20 percent in the year preceding April 1, but the rate of increase began to moderate in the most recent quarter. The dollar value of Iowa farmland rose 3 percent from Jan. 1 through April [...]
Walford company to build warehouse for Muscatine grain processor
A Walford company will construct and operate a 600,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center for Kent Corp. in Muscatine. GSTC Logistics will hire 29 to 35 people to staff the new facility when it is completed and fully operational by January 2014. It will serve as the distribution center for products made by three Kent Corp. [...]
