Gannett Corp. said today it will furlough all employees for one week in the first quarter as a way to avoid more layoffs, the Des Moines Register reported on its Web site. About 1,000 full- and part-time employees at the Des Moines Register, Iowa City Press-Citizen and the Register’s weekly papers must take one week without pay as part of the program. Union employees are not included, but the company will ask the union to accept the furloughs.

Principal Financial Group Inc. has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to register 5 million additional shares of common stock to be used as an investment option for its employees’ 401(k) plans. Nearly all of the initial 5 million shares registered by Principal when it became a publicly traded company in 2001 have been purchased by Principal employees who participate in the plans, so the company needed to register more shares, a spokeswoman said. Shares are purchased every two weeks on the open market for the plans.

North Central Bancshares Inc., the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank of Iowa, has received $10.2 million from the Capital Purchase Program, the U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday. First Federal Savings Bank, with headquarters in Fort Dodge, operates 11 branches in Iowa, including locations in Ankeny, Clive and West Des Moines. The investment was part of $14.77 billion in additional funds disbursed this week to 43 banks. The federal program is designed to stabilize and strengthen the financial system by infusing capital into healthy banks.

Principal Financial Group Inc. has named Susan Houser as its new corporate media relations director, replacing Rick Swalwell, who left the company in early December. Houser, who has been with Principal for 19 years, had previously served in this position for five years. For the past eight years, she has worked in public relations for Principal’s Retirement & Investment Services unit. She is active on the public relations boards of the American Council of Life Insurers and the Investment Company Institute.

For the second straight year, the city of Des Moines has received an “unqualified opinion” — the highest level of audit approval — from accounting firm McGladrey and Pullen LLC. The auditor’s report for the year ending June 30 was presented Jan. 5 to the City Council. Auditors reviewed the records of the city, Des Moines Municipal Housing Agency and Des Moines International Airport. In the report, McGladrey and Pullen noted that the city’s financial statements comply with the new auditing standards related to enhanced risk assessment measurements and that the city has good internal controls in place and is operating in compliance with those controls. The auditor’s report will be posted at www.dmgov.org.

Former ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, will be honored for his receipt of the Army Air Medal for combat service at a ceremony on Friday hosted by Congressman Leonard Boswell and John Ruan III. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte presented the award to Quinn Tuesday in Washington, D.C. It honors Quinn for flying more than 25 missions against hostile forces from May to December 1979 in the Republic of Vietnam while he was a civilian foreign service officer. The ceremony begins at 4 p.m. at the Des Moines Club, 666 Grand Ave.

The Home Builders Association of Iowa will host a teleconference to discuss the urgent need for housing and economic stimulus at 9 a.m. Thursday. Association President Willie Delfs, owner of Able Homebuilders, will talk about the state of the housing industry and what elements Congress should include in an economic stimulus package. To participate in the call, dial (800) 860-2442 and ask for the “Iowa housing market” call.

Meredith Corp. will present its fiscal 2009 second-quarter results on Jan. 22 prior to the opening of U.S. stock markets. It will then host a conference call at 10 a.m. Iowa time that day. For more information, go to www.meredith.com.

The U.S. Census Bureau formally kicked off its 2010 Census operations for Iowa with a media event at Edmunds Elementary School this morning. The census office, located at 6100 Thornton Ave., Suite 295, will employ an administrative staff of approximately 50 people. At peak operation, the office will employ about 1,000 people statewide for a range of administrative and census-taker positions paying from $10 to $15 per hour. Those interested in applying for jobs should call the Census Bureau recruiting office at (866) 861-2010, or visit www.2010censusjobs.gov.

Wells Fargo & Co. may need to raise $10 billion in common equity and the sustainability of its dividend could be in question, an Atlantic Equities analyst said in downgrading the stock to “underweight” from “neutral,” Reuters reported. Analyst Richard Staite believes Wells Fargo’s core capital ratios have deteriorated significantly as a result of the company’s Wachovia Corp. acquisition. With accelerating decline in house prices in California and a surge in unemployment, the company could suffer significant loan losses in 2009, Staite said in a note to clients, adding that Wells Fargo’s near-term earnings could disappoint.