Business Notes for September 18, 2022

The Gazette’s Business Notes is a compendium of the week’s promotions, new hires, certifications, added business lines and business events, among other items, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the rest of the Corridor.

Information and photos can be submitted to Business Notes by email to businessnotes@thegazette.com, or on our site at thegazette.com/businessnotes.

Mercy Medical Center hired Stephanie Lukaszka as a nurse practitioner at Mercy Urology Clinic; Alison McNeill, nurse practitioner at Mercy Neurosurgery Clinic; Jonatan Nunez Breton, cardiologist at Mercy Cardiology Clinic; Shanker Das Kundumadam, gastroenterologist at Mercy Gastroenterology Clinic; Andrew Liu, otolaryngologist at Mercy Ear Nose and Throat Clinic; and Nathalie Pena Polanco, gastroenterologist at Mercy Gastroenterology Clinic, all in Cedar Rapids.

Jeff Becker has joined Hills Bank as vice president, information security, in the Hills office.

Promotions

Community Savings Bank promoted Kristen Arthur to senior vice president of operations.

Travis Swartzendruber was promoted to treasury management support supervisor, officer, for Hills Bank’s Hills office.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office promoted Dylan Schmid to sergeant and Chris Smith to lieutenant.

Kudos

Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman Randy Scholer has been recognized by Best Lawyers as 2023 Lawyer of the Year for mergers and acquisitions law.

Mohamed Nasraddin with the Keto Kitchen was named winner of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance’s Race for Space program. He was awarded $20,000, a $7,500 credit for architectural design services and buildout from Form Function Studio, an owner education course from BerganKDV and a year’s membership to the alliance.

Boards and appointments

David Thielen, executive director of Linn County Community Services, was reappointed to the National Association of Counties Human Services and Education Policy Steering Committee for the 2022-23 year.

Todd Olson, Mount Mercy University president, Ana McClain, Lion Bridge Brewing Co., and Jacob Vetter, Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, have been appointed to the Indian Creek Nature Center board of directors.

Applications

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance is taking applications from businesses for itsBuy Give Grow program, which offers the selected businesses exposure on social media platforms and websites — as well as television, newspaper and radio marketing opportunities. Applications are at https://www.cedarrapids.org/business-resources/buy-give-grow. Deadline to apply is Sept. 23.

Insights and sessions

The East Central Iowa Council of Governments will host a free webinar at 10:30 a.m. Thursday on Innovation Labs, which are designed to help rural entrepreneurs start and grow a business. Details can be found at http://tinyurl.com/54jjz6x3.

The Gazette Business Breakfast panel’s third-quarter discussion, “A Small Business’ Tool Kit for 2023: Lessons we’ve learned and challenges — and opportunities — for which we can be prepared,” will be online at 9 a.m. Sept. 27, at https://bit.ly/3eD04Wv. Panelists will be Paul Andreasen, founder and owner, Saucy Focaccia; Sydney Rieckhoff, CEO, Almost Famous Popcorn; Kymberly Stevenson, Targeted Small Business Development Program manager, Iowa Economic Development Authority; and Robin Walenta, CEO, West Music. Registration is free but required. The discussion series is sponsored by BerganKDV.

The next installment of the “Gazette Spotlight on …” series of recorded interviews will be available at business.thegazette.com also on Sept. 27. This group of interviews will recognize businesses and organizations for their focus on growth. Interviewed will be Luke Bishop of BAE Systems; Matt Swift of Big Grove; Sarah Nelson of Comm-Unity Crisis Service; and Drew Martel of Foundation 2. Also, the Better Business Bureau Cedar Rapids office will join The Gazette in speaking with Marc Meyer of Inteconnex. The series is sponsored by TrueNorth Cos.

Monthly in-person networking and informative breakfasts sponsored by SCORE. The next breakfast will be 7:30 to 9 a.m., Thursday, at Scott's Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Rd NE, Cedar Rapids. The meeting will include tips on honing your elevator speech. Visit scorecr.org.