West Bancorporation Inc. had net income in the fourth quarter of $2.1 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $4.4 million, or 25 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2007. For the entire year, the company’s net income was $7.6 million, compared with $18.9 million in 2007. Fourth-quarter earnings were affected by a writedown of $2.6 million related to a pool trust preferred security and an impairment charge of $317,000 related to a company investment. Net loans charged off during the fourth quarter totaled $4 million, bringing the total for the year to $10.1 million. In 2007, West Bancorporation had $1.9 million in net charge-offs. Yesterday, the company authorized its first dividend of $225,000 on its preferred stock, Series A, owned by the U.S. Treasury under the Capital Purchase Program. It also declared a regularly quarterly dividend of 8 cents per common share of outstanding stock, payable on Feb. 18 to shareholders of record on Feb. 2. For the complete earnings release, go to www.westbankiowa.com/about/investors.

SynGest Inc. announced that it will build a $70 million plant in Iowa to create ammonia from cornstalks, cobs and other biomass. The stover will be gathered from 75,000 acres on nearby farms, create enough fertilizer to cover 500,000 acres planted to corn and generate annual revenues between $25 million and $35 million. The plant will create about 30 full-time positions and generate the equivalent of 100 additional jobs in handling, transportation and other support services, the company said. The plant is expected to be operational in three years. The company did not disclose the exact location in Iowa yet because the deal has not been finalized.

Housing starts fell 16 percent to an annual rate of 550,000 in December, the lowest since the government started keeping statistics in 1959, Bloomberg reported. It was led by a 25 percent drop in new home construction in the Midwest. A Commerce Department report also showed that for all 2008, housing starts were down 33 percent to 904,300 from 1.335 million in 2007. Building permits, a sign of future development, were down 11 percent last month.

State Sen. Jack Hatch, a Polk County Democrat, provided testimony this morning before a U.S. Senate panel chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin that’s looking at states’ best practices in reducing health insurance costs in order to draft federal health-care reform legislation. Hatch was scheduled to outline provisions from Iowa’s Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act. Passed by the Legislature last year, the measure places greater emphasis on wellness by encouraging primary care doctors to offer preventive care and wellness treatments.

Meredith Corp. has launched the Meredith Women’s Network, comprised of Web sites focused on topics of interest to women. The network engages 15 million unique visitors monthly, and includes the Better Homes and Gardens network (Better Homes and Gardens, Better Recipes and soon-to-be-launched MixingBowl), The Parents Network (Parents, American Baby and Family Circle) and The Real Girls Network (DivineCaroline, Fitness, More and Ladies’ Home Journal).

The Iowa Business Council will host its annual Partnership Meeting and Reception on Monday, Jan. 26, at 5:30 p.m. The invitation-only event will feature Gov. Chet Culver and a panel discussion on “Education Excellence in the 21st Century.” It also will announce a new annual “Partners in Efficiency” award starting in 2010.The event will take place at Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut St., Des Moines.

A digital version of Business Publication’s 2009 Book of Lists is now available online. The business person’s desk reference, including market facts, a business event planning calendar, profiles on community government and industry leaders, Business Record event award winners and more, is a year-long resource for competitive data, sales leads, event planning and contact information. The easy-to-read Internet edition can be found by clicking here.

An item in Tuesday’s Business Daily about local entertainment venues should have noted that the Des Moines Playhouse has seen an increase in ticket sales compared with this time a year ago. John Viars, executive director of the Playhouse, said overall ticket sales are up 16 percent; single-show ticket sales are up 22.5 percent, and children’s theater sales have increased 64 percent.