Doug Bass has stepped down as president of Stark Bank Group Ltd., the Fort Dodge-based holding company of First American Bank, which is based in Clive. “Doug’s no longer with the bank,” said Tom Schnurr, CEO of Stark Bank Group, who declined to specify the reason for the departure. Schnurr will assume Bass’ role as president of the holding company. “He served us for 10 years; we wish him well,” he said. Ray Meister, First American’s executive vice president of commercial lending, has been appointed president of First American Bank – Des Moines. The bank, which is among the five largest in the Central Iowa market with $1.8 billion in assets, reported $5.26 million in net income in the third quarter. Schnurr said First American “is proud to be among the banks that are weathering these times in good stead.”

The board of directors of Two Rivers Bank & Trust has announced the election of Steve Simon as market president for Central Iowa. Simon has been an executive vice president with the bank since the launch of its Des Moines charter in May 2005. He replaces Darrell Hughes, who stepped down as market president in late July. Simon, who prior to joining Two Rivers was with Bankers Trust Co. for about 10 years, was among a group of former Bankers Trust employees who launched Two Rivers’ Central Iowa operations. Simon said the management change was unrelated to the privately owned bank’s financial performance. “We just finished a (state banking exam) last month, and we came through very well,” he said. Two Rivers reported second-quarter net income of $446,000, compared with $127,000 in net income for the second quarter of 2008.

Iowa members of AARP want health-care reform, and they want it now, according to a survey conducted last week. The results, announced this morning at the state Capitol, showed 63 percent of those surveyed want major changes in the U.S. health system or a complete overhaul, with another 28 percent in favor of minor changes. Seventy-five percent said it is important for Congress to enact new policies this year. AARP interviewed 500 members on Aug. 25-26 to compile its findings.

Bank of America Corp. is moving to repay approximately $20 billion in U.S. government aid received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, National Public Radio reported today. The bank borrowed $45 billion through the program, but isn’t offering to repay the entire loan, Bloomberg reported. Currently, Bank of America is considered an exceptional aid recipient, a status that attracts scrutiny from Congress and regulators, but a partial payment will remove the bank from the list. Other major banks have repaid the government, which removes them from restrictions on how they pay workers.

Meredith Corp. named Martin Reidy as president of Meredith Integrated Marketing today. He will also serve as an executive vice president of Meredith’s National Media Group and corporate vice president of interactive strategy. Reidy replaces Wendy Riches, who moved into the role of chief strategy officer for Meredith. Reidy previously served as president and CEO of Publicis Modem & Dialog after spending seven years as president and CEO of R/GA Interactive.

First Federal Bankshares, Inc., the holding company for Vantus Bank based in Sioux City, appointed Scott Sehnert as president and CEO. He will begin his duties on Sept. 25. He currently serves as executive vice president and chief banking officer at Vantus Bank. He will replace Levon Mathews, who resigned on Aug. 12. On Aug. 25, First Federal Bankshares received notice that it did not met requirements for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. Vantus also received notice from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines that it had cut off credit to the bank on the same day.

ACT Inc’s new data center in Iowa City was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum level certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the first LEED Platinum certified data center in the nation, and the first building of any type in Iowa to receive the certification. A geothermal energy system in the building, which is unique among data centers, helped it earn the certification. “Sustainability was the name of the game for this project, both environmental sustainable design and the ability of the data center to sustain a disaster,” said ACT Assistant Vice President of Central Services Tom Struve in a press release. “The most gratifying aspect of the project is that none of the sustainable design strategies diminish the building’s ability to perform its primary functions.”

A $1 million contract with the Center on Sustainable Communities in West Des Moines to develop, coordinate and deliver green building related training programs has been signed by the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Approximately 60 trainings and workshops will be offered through the program to help strengthen Iowa’s ability to design and construct healthier, more durable, more energy efficient and easier to maintain infrastructure, homes and commercial buildings.