Business Notes for April 30, 2023

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.

New hires

Tara and Lucas Williams have joined Skogman Realty as Realtors.

Skywalk Group hired Kristen Levis as a recruiter.

Promotions

Hills Bank recently promoted Peyton Hesse to credit underwriting officer in the Hills office.

Kudos

Iowa Public Radio won eight Eric Sevareid Awards for excellence in journalism. The awards, presented by the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, recognized the work of IPR reporters and talk shows, “Talk of Iowa” and “River to River.” The station took home four first-place awards and four awards of merit.

Michelle Niermann, UnityPoint Health-Cedar Rapids president and CEO, has been named to Becker's Hospital Review’s 2023 “107 Community Hospital CEOs to know.” The list honors CEOs for their dedication to improving community health.

Events

MEET AND GREET: The American Association of University Women is hosting a meet and greet for inquiries about the organization from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. May 4 at Napoli's Italian Restaurant, 500 Marion Blvd., Marion. AAUW is recruiting new members who believe in equality for women and girls and leadership training. For more information, contact chapter president Linda Armitage at lindaarmitage@mchsi.com.

LEADERSHIP OF FIVE SEASONS ANNIVERSARY: Leadership for Five Seasons will celebrate its 40th anniversary June 1, with all alumni invited to attend. The event will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Cedar Rapids from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Registration is at https://tinyurl.com/mryd8mtn. Cost is $60 per person, with a share of the proceeds going to the organization’s youth program.

BUSINESS BREAKFAST: Registration is now open for the next Gazette Business Breakfast on May 9, with a panel discussion planned on “Regional Collaboration Strategies.”

Johnson County entities collaborated to address quality-of-life issues and work on economic development during the pandemic. The north end of the Corridor also has evolving collaboration. How are we poised to work as a region toward economic growth, while still addressing individual needs?

Panelists will be Cady Gerlach, executive director of Better Together 2030; Tiffany O'Donnell, mayor of Cedar Rapids; Doug Neumann, executive director of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance; and Ryan Waller, city manager of Marion. Gazette Executive Editor Zack Kucharski will serve as panel moderator.

The breakfast and networking opportunity will run 7:30 to 9 a.m. May 9 at Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. To register and buy a $5 ticket, go to thegazette.com/special-events.

The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance is the presenting sponsor of The Gazette breakfast series, with community partner NewBoCo.