Polk County will provide the lead financial contribution in the form of a community development grant to Link Associates to help the provider of services for children and adults with special needs in its $4.5 million effort to move from a former warehouse to an updated facility. The grant will be announced at a press conference at 2 p.m. today at the site of the former Vatterott College at 6100 Thornton Ave. The community development grants are funded by revenues the county receives from Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino.Corrected at 12:10 p.m.

AirTran Airways, a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc., will begin non-stop service from Des Moines to Orlando, Fla., on March 6. The airline said in a news release that it will be the only carrier providing non-stop service from Des Moines International Airport to Orlando International Report. The current schedule calls for one flight to Des Moines and one flight from Des Moines on Saturdays and Sundays. AirTran announced earlier this month that its marketing partner, SkyWest Airlines, will offer non-stop service from Des Moines to Milwaukee.

Business activity in the Midwest expanded more than expected in November, according to a report from the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago. The organization’s business barometer rose to 56.1 from 54.2 in October, and was the strongest since August 2008, Reuters reported. Economists had forecast the index at 53.7. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the regional economy. The employment component of the index rose to 41.9 from 38.3 in October. Prices paid rose to 52.6 from 48.6 and new orders rose to 62.8 from 61.4.

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino has been named the “outstanding corporate/foundation philanthropist” of 2009 by the Association of Fundraising Professional’s Central Iowa chapter. Prairie Meadows recently surpassed the $1 billion mark in the amount of taxes, grants and charitable donations it has returned to Polk County and the state of Iowa, according to a news release.