Business Notes for April 14, 2024

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

Derek Salow has joined the Mercy gastroenterology team as a physician assistant.

Devin Madsen recently joined Hills Bank as a mortgage lending officer in the Cedar Rapids office.

At The Acterra Group, Georgi Donovan has joined as manager of human resources, and Daniel Brown has joined as chief financial officer.

Other news

Free document shred day: Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust is offering a free document shred day April 27 from 9 a.m. to noon (or until capacity is filled) at its branch at 5400 Council St. NE, with on-site shredding services provided by Shred It. The event is open to the public, but individuals only, no businesses. It’s OK to leave paper clips and staples on paper documents. Prohibited items include metals, plastics, cardboard, binders and media items such as hard drives, CDs, floppy disks, cellphones, batteries, etc. Remove any material thicker than a paper clip or staple.

HR acquisition: Honkamp Payroll, a payroll and human capital management company headquartered in Dubuque, recently acquired BRL HR Consulting, a human resources consulting firm in North Liberty. Honkamp will retain BRL employees, including founder and President Brenda LaMarche, who will continue to operate in the North Liberty area.

Health Center fundraiser: The Eastern Iowa Health Center, in partnership with Big Grove Brewery-Cedar Rapids, will host a fundraiser for the center from 2 to 5 p.m. April 21 at Big Grove, 170 First St. SW. There will be drinks, heavy appetizers, activities and live music by Funk Stop. Tickets are $60 per person and include two complimentary beverages, appetizers and entertainment. VIP Tickets are $85 per person and include the above plus a private guided brewery tour and tasting.

Volunteers: SCORE is a volunteer organization looking for individuals who would be willing to give back a few hours a month to help small business owners. You do not need to be retired to get involved. If you have an interest, contact Mark at mark.hermann@scorevolunteer.org or go to the SCORE website at https://www.score.org/eastcentraliowa for more information.

Dupaco scholarships: The Dupaco Foundation Scholarship Program awarded 30 $2,000 college scholarships to students planning to attend a community college, trade school, technical college or university this fall. Scholarships were awarded to incoming students and current college students from Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Business of the week: Sen. Joni Ernst last week named Canteen Lunch in the Alley in Wapello County as her small business of the week. Dusty Rhoades opened the famed canteen in 1927, selling it to the Carter family, which moved it to its current location on Second Street in 1936. Scott and Janice Pierce bought the canteen in 2015 and continued its nearly century-long tradition of loose-meat canteen sandwiches. Canteen Lunch in the Alley uses 800 pounds of ground beef weekly to meet the demand for its sandwiches and also sells homemade pie, ice cream, hot dogs, and egg sandwiches. In 2017, it was named the best loose-meat sandwich in Iowa by USA Today. Ernst, the ranking member on the Senate’s Small Business Committee, is naming one exceptional small business of the week in each of Iowa’s counties during this congressional session.