The Wellmark Foundation said today it has funded six health improvement grants totaling $447,395 in Iowa and South Dakota. The Des Moines Area Religious Council received a one-year $25,000 grant to create an interactive resource and mapping tool to improve the health of low-income families. The Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics will use a two-year $23,511 grant to promote childhood literacy. The Iowa Department on Aging was awarded a two-year $144,744 grant to expand a disease self-management program designed to improve the health of older adults. The foundation also approved grants for programs in Black Hawk and Van Buren counties and at South Dakota State University. The Wellmark Foundation has provided approximately $17.43 million to fund 428 health-related grants in Iowa and South Dakota since 1997.

Construction spending fell for the seventh straight month in November to the lowest level in more than six years, led by declines in home building and fewer commercial projects, the U.S. Commerce Department said today. The 0.6 percent drop followed a 0.5 percent decline in October. Construction spending was down 13 percent in November from a year earlier. Rising office vacancies and plant-use rates close to a record low may discourage new commercial projects, indicating construction will be a drag on the economic recovery, Bloomberg reported.

West Bancorporation Inc. has completed its sale of WB Capital Management Inc. to Miles Capital Holdings Inc. The firm will operate under the name Miles Capital Inc. David Miles is the president and CEO for Miles Capital Holdings Inc. The Miles Capital management team includes Amy Mitchell, director-administration; Tom Myers, director-equity and specialty finance; and Laurie Mardis, director-fixed income. Vera Lichtenberger continues as chief compliance officer. Since the purchase was announced in October, the company has added three chartered financial analysts, bringing with them nearly five decades of experience. Click here for a related story in the Business Record.

St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. Inc. is scheduled to release financial results for the fiscal first quarter on Wednesday, with analysts predicting that the company will report breakeven per share on revenue of $1.98 billion. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported earnings of 98 cents per share on revenue of $1.98 billion.