AABP EP Awards 728x90

Retail and Business

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Raygun owner Draper joins in small business support for national $15 minimum wage

A prominent Des Moines small business owner is siding with federal minimum wage advocates who say that “raising wages is good business.” Mike Draper, owner of Raygun LLC, a popular clothing, home goods and printing …
By BPC Staff | Jan 26, 2021
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NOTEBOOK – ONE GOOD READ: Baby boomers are fastest-growing category of online shoppers

I can attest that those of us with more “life experience” are buying more online, but this story from the Washington Post helps back up my assertions. As more people have turned to the internet to buy …
By MICHAEL CRUMB | Jan 25, 2021
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Iowa consumer complaints up 24% in 2020, according to attorney general

Des Moines Register: Complaints of fraud, price-gouging and other consumer scams increased in Iowa last year. Iowans filed more than 4,000 consumer complaints with the Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division in 2020, an increase of …
By BPC Staff | Jan 22, 2021
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SBA: 60,000 Paycheck Protection Program loans approved in initial week

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Tuesday that it approved approximately 60,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan applications submitted by nearly 3,000 lenders, for over $5 billion, in the first week that it was reopened, Jan. 11-17. The …
By BPC Staff | Jan 20, 2021
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Updated guidance released on financial assistance grant state tax exemptions

The Iowa Department of Revenue has released updated guidance on the Income and Franchise Tax Exemption that was enacted in June 2020 as part of the Iowa Small Business Relief Program. The updated guidance explains the tax …
By BPC Staff | Jan 19, 2021
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Sleepy Hollow closed for season; not willing to risk virus

Des Moines Register: The sight of hundreds of people huddling and linking arms before tubing down the 15-story slope at Sleepy Hollow Sports Park in Des Moines startled the longtime owners. Rick and Mary Flatt were …
By BPC Staff | Jan 18, 2021
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Des Moines gun stores see sales surge

Des Moines Register: The Polk County Sheriff’s Office issued 9,145 concealed carry permits in 2020, an 80% increase over the prior year. Across the country, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the FBI conducted 21 …
By BPC Staff | Jan 18, 2021
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New medical marijuana manufacturer coming to Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Seven months after Iowa Relief closed its medical marijuana manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, the city is poised to get another manufacturer. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Dec. 22 issued a …
By BPC Staff | Jan 14, 2021
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SBA announces further PPP loan reopening dates, with a head start for smaller lenders

The application window for Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans will open on Friday for lenders with $1 billion or less in assets, the U.S. Small Business Administration and Treasury Department announced Wednesday. Beginning Friday at 8 a.m. …
By BPC Staff | Jan 14, 2021
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Iowa small business owners call on Congress for more federal aid on Virtual Hill Day

Forty small business owners from across Iowa today joined 2,000 of their peers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia in calling on Congress to pass additional federal pandemic relief they say is …
By BPC Staff | Jan 13, 2021