State Farm insurance company has teamed up with ALIANZA: Latino Business Association, which serves as the Des Moines Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to present the UNO:UNO program in 2009 and 2010. The program provides low-cost or free, on-site and in-language business consulting services to local Hispanic-owned businesses. The key benefit is the deployment of a bilingual business consultant who provides on-demand business advice to Latino business owners. UNO:UNO is available to all Hispanic-owned businesses in Des Moines.

U.S. Treasury Department officials said state housing agencies could get help in providing mortgages to low-income borrowers under a program to provide new liquidity and purchase mortgage bonds, Bloomberg reported. The program would provide as much as $15 billion in fresh liquidity for as long as three years and would purchase as much as $20 billion in tax-exempt mortgage bonds issued by state-sponsored housing finance agencies through the end of this year. The program may be announced as early as Wednesday.

The Bras for the Cause Gala and Auction will be Oct. 3 at Hy-Vee Conference Center in West Des Moines. The event kicks off at 7 p.m. with appetizers, cocktails and the opening of silent auctions. Dinner and a live auction follow at 8 p.m., with dancing at 9 p.m. The event supports Bras for the Cause Iowa Foundation’s efforts to fight breast and cervical cancer. For more information, go to www.brasforthecause.com.

Jazz singer Kurt Elling and his quartet will kick off the Civic Music Association’s 85th Anniversary season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium. A free pre-concert talk will take place 6:45 p.m. In addition to the concert, Civic Music Association will host a donor appreciation reception at Lucca in the East Village immediately following the concert. Donors at any level will be invited to meet Elling while enjoying food and post-concert jazz at Lucca. For more information, call 280-4020 or visit www.civicmusic.org.