Shareholders of Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc. voted Thursday to approve a merger agreement, which provides for the acquisition of Iowa Telecom by Windstream Corp. of Little Rock, Ark. Of the shares voted at yesterday’s meeting, 97.8 percent favored an adoption of the agreement, which will merge Iowa Telecom into a whollyowned subsidiary of Windstream. Under the agreement, each outstanding share of Iowa Telecom common stock will be converted into the right to receive $7.90 in cash and 0.804 shares of Windstream common stock. Subject to certain conditions, the merger is expected to close in mid-2010.

Brad Miller, general manager of Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART), was scheduled to testify in Washington, D.C., this morning to a congressional committee about the benefits to public transit of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Miller’s talk to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was scheduled to follow the testimony of Nancy Richardson, director of the Iowa Department of Transportation. DART received $7.88 million in stimulus money, 90 percent of which went toward the purchase of seven new buses. The remaining 10 percent was applied to DART’s operating budget, lessening its budget shortfall.

The Iowa Office of Energy Independence (OEI) is accepting proposals under the State Energy Program, Building Energy Smart program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Eligible applicants for a total of $4 million in grants, with a maximum award of $1 million per project, include school districts, cities, counties, other local government agencies and nonprofit entities with the ability to issues tax-exempt debt. The grants are geared to those interested in implementing energy-efficiency improvements and renewable energy in or on applicable buildings. The OEI will host webinars from 2 to 4 p.m. on April 8 and April 15 to provide information on the state’s grant application Web site. For more information, go to www.energy.iowa.gov.

The Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines is offering training to nonprofit board members and leadership staff. Topics for the BoardLaunch Series, which were selected based on a review of challenges facing the nonprofit community, will include a board’s role in strategic restructuring and mergers, self-assessment tools, strategic planning in real time, and fund raising and leadership in hard financial times. To register for any of the six upcoming workshops, the first of which is scheduled for March 29, go to www.desmoinesfoundation.org.

Mitt Romney will speak at Iowa State University on March 29, about his book “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.” Romney, who was CEO of Bain & Co., a management consulting firm, and co-founder of Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm, left the private sector in 1999 to help organize the 2002 Winter Olympics as president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and later in 2002 was elected governor of Massachusetts. He also ran in 2008 for the Republican nomination for president. Romney’s presentation, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Great Hall.

WineStyles, which opened a new location at 8460 Birchwood Court in Johnston, is hosting its grand-opening celebration today. Complimentary wine tastings, food, prizes and drawings are scheduled for the all-day event, which includes a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The store features a rotating selection of more than 170 wines from small and large vineyards around the world.