MONDAY, JULY 30, 2018  |  IN THIS ISSUE  
PHOTO NextEra Energy 
The largest minority owner of Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) has concerns about plans released Friday by majority owner NextEra Energy and plant customer Alliant Energy for an early permanent closure of the plant in 2020, but voiced "guarded optimism" that it will be a win for the state.

Central Iowa Power Co-op (CIPCO) is 20 percent owner of the plant, and distributes the clean base-load energy the plant in Palo provides to electric co-ops that make up its membership. CIPCO gets 35 percent of the energy it provides its members from DAEC.

With earlier-than-anticipated decommissioning costs and and the loss of a key source of clean, reliable and safe energy, leaders at CIPCO are concerned about the near-term, adverse effects to consumer-members for many of Iowa's electric cooperatives and municipalities.

"CIPCO hopes NextEra Energy and Alliant Energy will work with all parties involved in the ownership and operation of DAEC to achieve a net economic benefit for consumer-members who have funded this emission-free resource since 1974," CIPCO executive vice president and CEO Bill Cherrier stated in a release. "As a minority owner of the DAEC, we're concerned how the upfront financial burden associated with closing the plant may impact our members. We're hoping to work with other owners for a positive outcome."

CIPCO also pointed out that payments on debt used to finance improvements to extend the life of the plant through its operating license and to improve safety and reliability will be paid long after the plant is shuttered.

NextEra Energy owns 70 percent of the plant while Corn Belt Power Cooperative, based in northern Iowa, owns 10 percent. CIPCO said its been working on an integrated resource plan to replace the energy it receives from DAEC since NextEra disclosed in January that it does not expect Alliant Energy to renew its power purchase agreement after it expires in 2025, and that it expected to close the plant at that time, nine years before its operating license expires.

Replacing one-third of our energy portfolio will not occur overnight," Mr. Cherrier said. "This presents an opportunity to explore additional resources with reliability remaining a long-term priority."

NextEra and Alliant will ask state regulators this week to approve a plan under which Alliant will make a $110 million payment to buy out its current purchase agreement for DAEC power. Under the agreement, DAEC will be "retired" in late 2020, followed by a multi-year decommissioning process.

The agreement calls for Alliant to replace much of the power it gets from DAEC with NextEra Energy wind farms, which will be upgraded by NextEra at a cost of about $650 million. The companies estimate the changes will result in a savings to Alliant's Iowa customers totaling $300 million over a 21-year period on a net-present-value basis.

CarePro Health Services, announced today that it has formed Rayser, a new holding company.

The ESOP-owned company has operated since 1971, providing products and services used primarily in home care of patients. The new holding company was created to "diversify and enhance employee ownership," the company said in a release. 

"As we started to explore enhancing our portfolio with businesses outside of the health care space, it seemed  logical to develop an entity for new operations," president and CEO Michelle Jensen stated. "Our leadership experience spans much more than the health care subsidiaries that started it all. However, the same commitment to customers, employees and communities continues to drive our team."

The name Rayser was formed to honor CarePro's founder Ray Buser. This name is a blend of his first and last names and creates a familiar word that represents legacy. CarePro Health Services would become an entity under the holding company along with any new organizations.

CarePro, based in Cedar Rapids, serves customers in Iowa and surrounding states with a variety of health care services and products through its Home Medical Equipment, Home Care, Home Infusion and Compounding divisions.

AVIC's new MA700 turboprop regional aircraft. PHOTO  AVIC Aircraft Co. Ltd. 
Rockwell Collins has signed master contracts with AVIC Aircraft Co., Ltd (AVIC Aircraft), a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd., to supply its  Pro Line Fusion advanced avionics system and air data systems for its new MA700 turboprop regional aircraft. 

AVIC has also chosen Rockwell Collins'  HGS-3500 Head-up Guidance System, an all-in-one compact head-up display (HUD) solution, as an airline-selectable option. The MA700 is expected to perform its first flight in November 2019 and receive certification by 2021.

Craig Olson, vice president and general manager of Business and Regional Systems at Rockwell Collins said the company's Pro Line II and Pro Line 21 avionics systems are already featured on the MA60 and MA600.

"Pro Line Fusion will give them a fully loaded package of baseline equipment for operation in the modernized global airspace, including ADS-B Out mandate compliance, enhanced navigational capabilities, radius-to-fix (RF) legs, touchscreen interfaces and more."

The Pro Line Fusion flight deck for the MA700 includes f our interchangeable 14-inch widescreen flight displays, the company's MultiScan weather radar, touch-interactive graphical maps and a fully-featured flight management system, among other features.

Work will take place at a number of Rockwell Collins facilities in the United States and Hyderabad, India, as well as with the company's joint venture partner, Rockwell Collins CETC Avionics Company (RCCAC), in Chengdu, China. Additionally, Rockwell Collins has collaborated with the Aeronautics Computing Technique Research Institute (ACTRI) in Xi'an, China, to support avionics development and integration with other on-board MA700 aircraft systems.

The  Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the  Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) have  announced that Iowa State University will lead a national institute addressing a global public health concern: antimicrobial resistance.

Each year in the U.S., at least 2 million people become infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics, and 23,000 people die as a direct result of such infections. Many more die from other conditions complicated by an antibiotic-resistant infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These drug-resistant "superbugs" also harm the ecosystem and cost billions annually in medical costs and economic losses.

Iowa State will be home to the new Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education, aimed at improving health for people, animals and the environment. The institute stems from recommendations by a joint AAVMC/APLU task force, which authored a 2015 report outlining an array of research and education initiatives to address antimicrobial resistance. The institute will help coordinate and implement those recommendations at universities and veterinary medical colleges across the country.

Iowa State and its partners began to address some of these same problems three years ago through the Antimicrobial Resistance Consortium, a research initiative that has involved nearly every ISU college, the  USDA Agricultural Research Service, the  University of Nebraska-Lincoln,  University of Nebraska Medical Center, the  University of Iowa,  Mayo Clinic and a team of more than 100 researchers, educators, clinicians and extension personnel.

Iowa State will provide office space and IT support for the institute, which will be jointly funded by ISU and the University of Nebraska at $525,000 per year for three years, a total investment of $1.575 million.

"Antimicrobial resistance touches each of us in our daily lives. This new institute provides a great resource for the entire country as we work to build strong, collaborative research and educational programs to mitigate this risk,"  Paul Plummer, associate professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine at Iowa State, said in a statement issued July 26. Mr. Plummer directed the AMR Consortium and will serve as executive director of the Institute for Antimicrobial Resistance Research and Education.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018, according to an advance estimate released by the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, up from a revised estimate of 2.2 percent for the first quarter.

The bureau emphasized that the second-quarter advance estimate released Friday was based on source  data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency.

The acceleration in real GDP growth in the second quarter reflected accelerations in personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and in exports, a smaller decrease in residential fixed investment, and accelerations in federal government spending as well as state and local spending. These movements were partly offset by a downturn in private inventory investment and a deceleration in nonresidential fixed investment. Imports decelerated.

Current-dollar GDP increased 7.4 percent, or $361.5 billion, in the second quarter to a level of $20.4
trillion. In the first quarter, current-dollar GDP increased 4.3 percent, or $209.2 billion.
 
July 30
Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., The Marriott, 300 E Ninth St., Coralville. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network and keep up-to-date with chamber and community events. Free for members. Call the chamber at (319) 337-9637 if interested and not a member.

July 31
E-Commerce Breakfast, by Marion Chamber of Commerce, 8-9:30 a.m., Marion City Hall, 1225 Sixth Ave., Marion. Learn about online marketplace opportunities and ways to connect your business with others in the area. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2mm2LNJ.

Social Media for Nonprofits, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Kirkwood Training and Outreach Services, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Kirkwood Iowa City Learning Center, 1810 Lower Muscatine Road, Iowa City. Discover how to use Facebook and Twitter to keep the conversation about your nonprofit going. Cost: $149. To register, visit https://bit.ly/2mRtPVn.

Ribbon Cutting: CPR Cell Phone Repair, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 4 p.m., 2439 Second St., Coralville. Help congratulate and welcome CPR Cell Phone Repair to the Coralville business community. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2mkPTYd.

August 1
1 Million Cups, by 1MC, 9-10 a.m., Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids and MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. Join for community connections, startup pitches and free coffee. Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MCICR.

Groundbreaking: Hotel Millwright, by Hotel Millwright, 10 a.m., 800 48th Ave., Amana. Help celebrate the groundbreaking of Amana's first boutique hotel and conference center. Free. For more information and to RSVP, contact [email protected].
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28  

In June, the Corridor marked the tenth anniversary since the devastating floods of 2008.  It impacted some 10 square miles of Cedar Rapids and began an effort to find funding for flood walls and levees to protect the city.  Three weeks ago, federal agencies agreed to boost the effort with more than $117 million to protect property and lives.  Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget toured some of the completed segments of the Cedar Rapids flood control plan and was joined by city leaders and Representative Rod Blum Saturday. This was an opportunity to see how the city's new federal boost in flood defense funding could improve the project long term.  "The last hurdle for us to get the federal dollars was to go through Director Mulvaney's office, " Mayor Brad Hart said. "He's here so he can have that firsthand look and say, this was a great investment by the federal government in Cedar Rapids."  "We're here to see how the money is being spent. I know that Rod an the rest of the delegation have worked on this for a very long time, and it's a very important project for the area, and it's a lot of money," said Mr. Mulvaney.  He said he was impressed with what the city's accomplished without this aid already. Mayor  Hart said the latest cash infusion should allow a decades long project to be completed even sooner.  "We're spending about $20 million a year already, but this should give us an opportunity to speed up that process," Mr. Hart said. 

The Prairie Hill cohousing community off of Miller Avenue in Iowa City hosted their open house to introduce young and old to the idea of community living. Cohousing was started in Denmark and revolves around a community, usually made up of several living spaces, joined together by several communal spaces such as gardens or a shared living space.  Iowa City Cohousing will combine 36 homes with nearly four acres of orchards and gardens, as well as shared open space and a communal building in the center. Several units are already finished and have tenants in them, while others are being finished this fall. The project kicked off in 2008 by trying to find the right frame and idea for the project. A limited liability corporation was formed soon after, giving all residents the ability to be part of the communal process and make decision concerning construction, architects and new projects. Today, a homeowners association is involved in decision making as well, as all residents enjoy equal rights.  "It's built by the people who plan to live there and reflects their values so we as a group have a lot of environmental green values," Del Holland, one of the first members of the community, said.

T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast

It is going to be warm, comfortable and fairly calm to start the week. Temperatures will be near 80 degrees each afternoon Monday through Thursday. There will be low chances for rain Monday and Tuesday with some brief, light rain showers possible in the afternoons.  Summer will make a comeback over the weekend as hot and humid air makes its way back into the Midwest. Temperatures will be warming up into the upper 80s to low 90s, and humidity will be higher Friday through Sunday. There will be the possibility of showers and thunderstorms, but the timing and coverage will become clearer as we get closer to the weekend.