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WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2017 | IN THIS ISSUE
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 SouthGate launches new homebuilding brand
Iowa City-based SouthGate Companies is launching a new home building brand for custom, semi-custom and spec home buyers.
Jerry Waddilove, president and co-CEO of SouthGate Companies, said in a news release that the new Navigate brand will help the company "generate greater awareness" of its ability to build high-end, signature homes in the Iowa City.
Navigate will build new homes in SouthGate's existing neighborhood developments, including Cardinal Ridge, Lindemann, Sandhill Estates, Cardinal Pointe North and the emerging Cardinal Pointe West, said Joe Hughes, director of real estate operations.
"We selected the name Navigate because we believe it best underscores our vision to help guide clients through the complexities of building their dream home," Mr. Hughes said in the release. "We're proud to be one of the only local homebuilders who can offer a full-service experience by giving clients access to the largest selection of premium land and pairing it with our extensive understanding of homebuilding."
The new Navigate brand will be on display at the Iowa City Home Show Feb. 10-12.
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Scott Olson announces mayoral candidacy
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Scott Olson
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Cedar Rapids City Council Member Scott Olson has announced his candidacy for mayor of Cedar Rapids.
The five-year council member, architect and commercial real estate specialist, listed five priorities he would pursue as mayor. They are:
- addressing the day-to-day issues of citizens such as street conditions, flash flooding, and quality of city services
- improving quality of life options critical to workforce recruitment
- creating job and business opportunities using incentives "sensibly"
- continuing retail recruitment
- creating positive relationships with all metro communities, school districts and governments, and supporting the "continued excellence" provided by city staff and City Manager Jeff Pomeranz
Mr. Olson cited his experience in creative problem-solving, real estate, business recruitment and community service work that includes serving on more than 50 boards and commissions, and helping start four nonprofits. He also cited his experience as a U.S. Army veteran.
The race for mayor already includes Council Member Kris Gulick and attorney Brad Hart. Mr. Olson previously ran for mayor in 2005.
If elected, Mr. Olson said he will retire from real estate sales to allow more time for city duties, but will continue working as a consultant.
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The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance saw a record number of business join its organization in January.
The membership-based economic development organization added 47 businesses last month, beating its previous monthly record of 29. The organization has grown by nearly 7 percent in just the past eight months, and stands at 1,197 members as of the end of January.
"As a membership organization, we work for our members and we don't exist without them," Lindsay Leahy, member services manager at the Economic Alliance, stated in a press release. "We've focused on providing value and are better at telling our story. It's showing in our membership growth."
January is historically the Economic Alliance's highest membership month, due to its membership and fiscal year structure. Dating back to the city's previous Chamber of Commerce, January's record was only exceeded in aftermath of the flood of 2008, when the chamber offered free memberships to any business affected by the flood.
Interim President and CEO Doug Neumann credited Ms. Leahy and Julie Stewart, who leads the organization's new member sales efforts.
"Beyond a rock star staff, a membership with the Economic Alliance is relevant for businesses," said Mr. Neumann. "We continue to hear from the business community that they have a renewed interest and confidence in our programs and services."
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Korea-based Asiana Airlines and its subsidiary, Air Busan, have selected Rockwell Collins' ARINC MultiLink aircraft tracking service for their fleets.
ARINC MultiLink brings together multiple data sources to report the location of a commercial aircraft anywhere in the world, particularly in remote areas. In addition to using Rockwell Collins' proprietary high-frequency data link (HFDL) performance data, the service merges several other sources to offer a comprehensive and global flight tracking service.
"Proactively tracking our aircraft ensures we have the most up-to-date information to manage our complex flight operations," Kyungsuk Jun, IT service manager of operations control at Asiana Airlines, stated in a press release. "We are anticipating that the seamless integration of Rockwell Collins' ARINC MultiLink data feeds into our current situational display system under development is going to enable us to track our aircraft anywhere in the world."
ARINC MultiLink is designed to support flexible position reporting frequency, enabling it to meet industry recommendations of providing position reports at least every 15 minutes. Airlines can also receive notifications when an aircraft has unexpectedly stopped reporting positional data or when the aircraft has deviated from its expected flight path.
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Iowa named No. 1 state for retirement
According to a study by
MoneyRates.com, Iowa has been ranked the No. 1 place to retire for the coming year, followed by Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
The study looked at 11 different criteria grouped into five categories to determine both the best and worst states for retirement. Those included:
- Health and longevity
- Personal safety
- Climate
- Economic factors
- Proportion of older residents
The study showed that people are not necessarily flocking to warm-weather states, and are taking cost-effectiveness into account when deciding on priorities and planning for retirement. Eight of the 10 states with the largest proportions of residents aged 60 or over are north of the Mason-Dixon Line, including three New England states.
Alaska topped off the list of worst places for retirement. Besides the obvious climate drawbacks, the state also suffers from one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation. Louisiana came in second on that side of the list, followed by Georgia, Nevada and Illinois.
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Short-Term Event Planner
Feb. 8
Ribbon Cutting - RE/MAX Affiliates,
by the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 4 p.m., RE/MAX Affiliates, 845 Quarry Road, Ste. 120, Coralville. All are invited to help celebrate. Free. For more information, call (319) 337-9637.
Feb. 9
It's The Message and Always Has Been,
by the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 8-9:15 a.m., Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 501 First St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Glen Gardner, CEO of Common Sense Collective/Glen Gardner & Associations, will lead this program that will look at developing messaging that drives results and how best to measure those results. Free. Register online at bit.ly/2jfRCtT.
EPIC Annual Bash,
by EPIC, 5:30-7:30 p.m., University of Iowa Community Credit Union, 2355 Landon Road, North Liberty. Join the Empowered Professionals of the Iowa City Area for its largest event of the year. Appetizers and drinks will be provided. Free, but donations for the North Liberty Community Pantry are encouraged. Register online at
bit.ly/2jrTxgc.
LinkedIn Seminar featuring Mark Hennessey,
by Mount Mercy University and Alumni, 6-7 p.m., 204 Basile Hall, 1330 Elmhurst Drive NE, Cedar Rapids. The event is designed to help develop a personal brand, leverage social media (specifically LinkedIn) and professionally represent yourself online. Free. For more information, contact Cheryl Redd at [email protected] or visit bit.ly/2ktSA6T.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
Damond Powell is one of the fastest Hawkeye football players ever, so it shouldn't be a surprise how quickly he has come back from a moment that could have ended his life. In 20 games over two seasons with Iowa, Mr. Powell accounted for 631 yards of total offense, averaging 18.8 yards per touch and scoring five touchdowns. That was enough to get him an invitation to training camp with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. On July 24 of that year, Mr. Powell was back home in Toledo, Ohio when he was the victim of a drive-by shooting, hit in the face with a stray bullet. Just 18 months later, Mr. Powell is back on the field after signing with the
Cedar Rapids Titans on Jan. 31. He scored two touchdowns in the Titans' preseason opener on Saturday.
T
hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
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CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
Skies will remain cloudy for much of the day and it will be colder with readings staying in the teens in the north, and the low 20s in the south. High pressure will build in and clear out the skies Wednesday night. It will be cold with lows in the single digits and wind chills likely below zero for areas north of I-80.
High pressure will be overhead for Thursday with mostly sunny skies. Temperatures will stay below average with with teens in areas north and low/mid 20s further south.
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