Vanessa Solesbee, an Austin, Texas, native, had worked in Cedar Rapids as the Cedar Rapids Downtown District’s marketing and events director for about a year before returning to Austin. But she was recruited back after the flood of 2008 to become operations director and to take on the city’s downtown parking system, which had suffered major [...]

  The Hill’s yard rolls out before your eyes, unfurling like a lush green carpet into the far distance, finally ending at a “T”, at a long beige ribbon of a driveway. That driveway belongs to Brucemore, the 19th century Queen Anne mansion now on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hill yard’s, nearly [...]

Sequestration is hitting closer to home, and effects of federal spending cuts are now been seen at Corridor hospices. “For services provided on or after April 1, 2013, hospices face two percent cuts from Medicare. For Iowa City Hospice, this will be a substantial cut as almost 90 percent of our patient days are Medicare,” said [...]

As one of the organizers of the Out Loud! The Metro Library Network Series, I was early to pick up Ann Patchett and take her to the event earlier this month. Anticipating a short wait, I took “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” with me. Ms. Patchett was ready to go, however, and after the introductory chitchat, [...]

Throughout the last couple of years, downtown Iowa City has undergone fair amount of change. Buildings have come down. New ones have taken their place. Some are undergoing expansive renovations, while others only slight modifications. Cities change and Iowa City is no exception. To explore images of a changing city from the last century, check [...]

NEW HIRES The Meth-Wick Community hired Amber Jedlicka (see photo) as home and health services operation director. MMS Consultants hired Nathan Byers (see photo) as engineering technician and Walter Hurlbutt (see photo) as a land surveyor intern. Vince Ellison (see photo) is now with Bergan Paulsen as chief operating officer. Kyle Galloway (see photo) is with McGladrey LLP as an [...]

Blogging for business is both important and challenging. Google’s Zero Moment of Truth data reminds us that people are now consulting twice as many online sources before formally “shopping” online and off. At the same time, studies from the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs on the state of content marketing in both the business-to-consumer and [...]

Six former Bank of America Corp employees have alleged that the bank deliberately denied eligible home owners loan modifications and lied to them about the status of their mortgage payments and documents. The bank allegedly used these tactics to shepherd homeowners into foreclosure, as well as in-house loan modifications. Both yielded the bank more profits than [...]

  Corn grinding lower Despite the poor weather conditions earlier this spring that delayed planting across much of the Midwest, America’s farmers likely planted a record corn crop, according to USDA estimates. A report released Wednesday projected a total corn crop of over 14 billion bushels, a jump from the previous record of 13.1 billion. The prospect [...]

  Corn grinding lower Despite the poor weather conditions earlier this spring that delayed planting across much of the Midwest, America’s farmers likely planted a record corn crop, according to USDA estimates. A report released Wednesday projected a total corn crop of over 14 billion bushels, a jump from the previous record of 13.1 billion. The prospect [...]

Gannett, owner of the Iowa City Press Citizen and the Des Moines Register, has agreed to pay $2.2 billion for television company Belo Corp. With the acquisition, the largest owner of newspapers in the United States aims to make broadcast a bigger part of its business than print. The deal, which includes $1.5 billion of cash [...]

Jackie Fetter makes a good point. “We are now generations removed from the farm and all the meals being cooked in the kitchen,” she said. That thinking is part of what has motivated her in her combined business venture. After she left the health insurance industry she knew she didn’t want to become a personal chef. [...]

‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope,” co-authored by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, is the 2013 selection for the One Community, One Book annual reading program, sponsored by the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights. The book tells Kamkwamba’s inspiring story of human inventiveness and its power to [...]

NEW HIRES The city of Marion hired Curtis Sutcliffe as firefighter-paramedic with the Marion Fire Department . He was with Anamosa Area Ambulance in Anamosa. Infinity Contact hired Angie Corcoran (see photo) as vice president of human resources. Clickstop Inc. hired four staffers for its US Cargo Control group: Britni Graham (see photo) as service specialist; Annika Cousins (see photo) [...]

Instead of measuring time in days or months, children often mark time in episodes. “My obsession with garage sales,” for example, or “my huge crush on Sam.” These periods might last a month. Or two years. However, when it comes to novels, these smaller episodes are often sacrificed for the sake of one larger, arcing storyline. This [...]

Last week we considered several legal issues associated with employees that telecommute. Here are some additional considerations — and proposed solutions — to avoid potential legal problems. Workers’ compensation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — What happens if your telecommuter slips and injures herself on work-related papers at home? Remember, employers are responsible for a [...]

To effectively lead others, it’s important to hire smart and manage well. This may seem like simple and perhaps pedantic advice, but more often than not having structure for hiring and managing progress is preferred to no structure, firing and damage control. Many graduates from Iowa’s Executive MBA program tell me Human Resource Management was one [...]

UPDATE 1:00 p.m. Sunday: Iowa authorities have identified a body found in a river as that of a 15-year-old girl who was abducted with another girl after getting off a school bus. UPDATE 11:02 p.m.: This was just released from the Department of Public Safety: Boone, IOWA — A Press Conference is scheduled tonight, at midnight, at [...]

For the past four years, outdoor sports at Mount Mercy University have used different locations to play games and practices. That will be changing in the next couple of years. Mount Mercy announced Friday a $15 million project for a new athletics complex that will provide a permanent home field for baseball, softball, track and field [...]

Oats on a roll Oats prices sprouted higher this week, jumping over $4.00 per bushel on Friday morning, nearing a five-year high. Rains in states like North Dakota are delaying planting and hurting the quality of the crop, making the oats sitting in storage more valuable. During the last seven trading sessions, prices have risen a [...]