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Empower Rural Iowa Initiative -- ABI Member Participation Opportunity
On Wednesday, Gov. Reynolds signed her third
executive order
since becoming governor. It establishes three task forces to look at the biggest challenges in rural Iowa and come up with legislative, rulemaking and policy recommendations and solutions. ABI members can apply to serve on one of the task forces. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, August 1. If you would like to apply,
click here
.
According to the press release,
"The Investing in Rural Iowa Task Force will focus its recommendations on improving access to quality housing in rural Iowa. The Growing Rural Iowa Task Force will focus on identifying ways to encourage leadership development and strategic development in rural communities. The Connecting Rural Iowa Task Force will look into effectively and sustainably financing connectivity." Keep reading.
ABI Board Member Hosts Administrator McMahon
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Last Friday, ABI Board member Kim Augspurger-Mescher hosted Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon for a roundtable. Sen. Ernst, Sen. Grassley and Gov. Reynolds were also part of the panel. Other ABI member companies were represented on the panel.
ABI Participates in SBA Roundtables
Members of the ABI public policy team participated in Small Business Administration
roundtables held statewide this week. During the meetings, ABI heard from small business owners about regulatory challenges they face. They represented many industry sectors, including manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, construction, healthcare, trucking, automotive sales and more. Top discussion items included: taxes, ADA compliance, Department of Labor regulations for manufacturers and truckers, environmental permitting challenges, healthcare regulation, and financial services and banking regulations. ABI also shared with the Office of Advocacy what we hear from members on a regular basis. The last roundtable concluded this morning in Dubuque.
Sign Up for Future Ready Iowa Regional Summits
Gov. Reynolds announced on Wednesday that registration is open for Future Ready Iowa Regional Summits. The daylong summits will take place in nine communities across the state of Iowa and occur between late September and early October. Their goal is to bring together local stakeholders and discuss potential solutions to the workforce issues each community faces. Keep reading to see the list of cities and to register.
Register for ABI Public Policy Committee Meetings
ABI's public policy committee meetings will be held in less than three weeks, and now is your opportunity to sign up and participate. ABI has five public policy committees that will meet and decide what the public policy team will advocate for at the Capitol during the 2019 legislative session. It's a great opportunity for members to bring forward ideas and policies they would like to see added to or removed from ABI's policy handbook. Each committee meeting will also feature a keynote speaker that brings expertise in the subject matter being discussed.
Click on the links below to register:
Insurance Division Files Notice on Proposed MEWA Rules
The Iowa Insurance Division this week released its rules for the establishment of Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements or MEWAs. The Iowa Legislature authorized such arrangements in a bill passed during the 2018 session,
SF 2349
. The legislation and recent federal rules aim to encourage a lower cost health insurance alternative in the state by allowing companies or associations to come together to offer health insurance coverage. The rules establish financial and membership requirements to register a MEWA with the Iowa Insurance Division and explain what types of health care coverage is allowed and required. A public hearing on the rules will be held August 8 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Insurance Division Offices, Two Ruan Center, 601 Locust Street, Fourth Floor, in Des Moines. Please submit comments on the rules to ABI through
[email protected]
by Friday, August 3.
Federal Spotlight: Tariffs/Trade Continue to Dominate the Headlines
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has lead the effort in opposition to the Trump administration's implementation of tariffs on some of our closest allies and trading partners. The chamber has been raising awareness and educating consumers and businesses alike concerning the impact the levies will have on the economy. It has launched a new website entitled
The Wrong Approach
,
which presents state-specific data on the impact of the tariffs on workers, farmers and consumers. The tool has created incredible attention in national media outlets and in more than 1,000 local news outlets across the country. It also allows you to send a message to your Congressional officials to express your opposition to the tariffs being imposed by the Trump administration.
EMS Workshop to Be Held on August 1
The DNR will host an Environmental Management Services workshop on August 1 in Johnston. The daylong event is designed to help Iowa environmental professionals develop their environmental management system. The workshop will be at Stoney Creek Inn from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $135, which includes lunch. Click on the
link
for more information and to learn how to register.
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Join Us In Beautiful Okoboji, August 1-2, for Bringing Boji Back
Highlights include:
- Exclusive industry tour of Shine Bros. Corp.
- Valuable programming about succession strategies to build value and generational succession
- Keynote from former Iowa State basketball player Paul Shirley about how uncertainty and unpredictability can breed success in sports, life and business
- Networking with top Iowa business leaders
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Patent Rights are NOT Monopoly Rights
There has been a long believed and conveyed statement that patent rights provide a "legal monopoly." While this may be a simple way to explain the rights held by one issued patent, this is simply not true. Monopolies, at their core, attempt to control a market or an aspect of a market. Patents provide protection and can offer incentives for inventors to disclose their inventions publicly, which is an attempt to make products, methods, compositions, etc., better.
Keep reading.
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Legends in Manufacturing Nominations Due on August 3
On October 2, 2018, Elevate Advanced Manufacturing, an ABI program, will recognize six outstanding leaders in manufacturing at the Legends in Manufacturing Awards Dinner. See the awardee categories and download a nomination form
here. Hurry, nominations are due on August 3.
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President's Club Sponsors
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Accu-Mold
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ITC Midwest
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Agri-Industrial Plastics Co
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Kent Corporation
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Arconic
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Kreg Tool Company
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Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Co
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Lexicon Content Marketing
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Aureon
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Mediacom Communications
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Business Record Iowa
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Modern Companies
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Cargill, Inc.
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Pella Corp
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CenturyLink
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Principal
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CIBC USA
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Purdue University Global
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Conlon Construction
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QPS Employment Group
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Economy Advertising Co
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Rockwell Collins
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Facebook Inc.
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Shift Interactive
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FBL Financial Group
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United Equipment Accessories, Inc.
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Google
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United Fire Group
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Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co
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Unity Point Health
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HNI Corporation
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Vermeer
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I
owa Gaming Association
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Weaton Capital
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