Archive for April 2011
Room to grow
Measuring growth in the Iowa agritourism industry isn’t an exact science.
The Iowa Tourism Office doesn’t keep direct statistics, and the most recent statistics released were in the 2007 Census of Agriculture done by the …
Read MoreMoving On
Sitting around feeling sorry for himself was not high on former Gov. Chet Culver’s priority list after being voted out of office in favor of Gov. Terry Branstad last November.
“What I tell people is, …
Read MoreReynolds among five chosen for insurance ‘hall’
Five men will be inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame in a ceremony at Drake University on May 18. The 2011 class consists of Charles Fischer, James Kirkpatrick, Thomas Petsche, Stanley J. Reynolds …
Insurance agents get more lenient professional standard
An Iowa Supreme Court ruling that set a stricter standard for insurance agents’ professional responsibilities to their clients was recently nullified by the Legislature.
In an omnibus insurance bill signed by Gov. Terry Branstad on …
Read MoreVolunteerLocal seeks to keep event workers happy, engaged
It all started with a conversation with the late Mo Dana.
Dana, who at the time was executive director of the Des Moines Arts Festival, approached Brian Hemesath one day in 2003 and told him, …
Read MoreReport: Iowa lags behind in growth rate for women-owned businesses
Iowa is among the states with the lowest rates of increase in the number of women-owned businesses between 1997 and 2011, according to the American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses report released last week.…
Read MoreNo middle way with Branstad
The 2011 session of the Iowa Legislature appears to be headed for overtime, and we still haven’t seen the resolution of several bills that are of great interest to the business community.
Late last week, …
Read MoreEconomic growth slows in first quarter; experts say it’s temporary
The growth of the U.S. economy declined more than forecast in the first quarter as government spending declined, Bloomberg reported.
Gross domestic product rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate from January through March after …
Read MoreEconomist: Prepare to live with higher oil prices
High oil prices are here to stay, and one official says they’re caused by surging demand and limited supply, not Wall Street speculators, CNNMoney.com reported.
“Speculators are only responding to what is going on in …
Read MoreFleur Drive detours begin Monday
The city of Des Moines will begin work to rehabilitate the Fleur Drive viaduct between Bell Avenue and George Flagg Parkway on Monday.
The project will include the complete replacement to the concrete bridge deck, …
Read More