Retail and Business

Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino will recognize 205 Central Iowa community betterment projects it funded in fiscal year 2010 in a luncheon today at The Meadow Events Center.

 Through its Community Betterment Grant and Legacy …

Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) for the fourth quarter of 2010 averaged 7.1 months, up from seven months in the third quarter.

The CBI was up 21.3 percent …

Cedar Rapids-based Howard R. Green Co., which has an office in Johnston, announced today that it will change its legal name to HR Green Inc., a commonly used company abbreviation. The company acquired firms in …

General Motors Co. will pay bonuses of at least $4,000 each to its factory workers, the largest bonuses the automaker has ever paid its blue-collar employees, CNNMoney.com reported. Before this, the biggest bonus GM paid …

The Farmers Insurance Group of Cos.’ 2010 survey listed Des Moines as the second-most secure large city.

The rankings look at crime statistics, extreme weather, risk of natural disasters, housing depreciation, foreclosures, air quality, terrorist …

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) announced today that Trudy Wastweet will join the organization as its national policy adviser.

Wastweet served as the assistant executive director for the Minnesota Pork Producers Association and Pork …

The U.S. trade deficit widened in December for a second straight month, according to Bloomberg.

Information from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows the gap grew 5.9 percent to $40.6 billion.

Excluding petroleum purchases, though, …

U.S. workers should see wage gains this year, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A combination of saving money at the corporate level along with a surge in exports to fast-growing emerging markets could lead …

Polk County’s population has grown 15 percent since 2000 to reach 430,640, according to the 2010 Census numbers released on Thursday.

Des Moines’ population increased 2.4 percent to 203,433. Numbers show that the state’s three …