Business Notes for July 21, 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.

Promotions

Chris Hutchins and Curt Conrad have been promoted to senior project managers at Rinderknecht Associates.

Joni McFarland was recently promoted to a Hills Bank senior vice president, trust accounting and operations lead, in the North Liberty office, 590 W. Forevergreen Rd.

Appointments

Four people have joined the board of YPN, a Cedar Rapids nonprofit assisting young families. The new board members for 2024-25 are Shannon Baranowki, a licensed mental health counselor; Jeremie Diame, a native of Senegal who works as an interpreter at Hands Up Communications; Constance Losch, from GreatAmerica Financial Services; and Miranda Von Ahsen, CFO of Rinderknecht Associates.

Other news

Puppy Boutique ribbon-cutting: Lush Puppy Boutique at 660 10th St. in Uptown Marion had a ribbon-cutting Friday. Owner Marcy Fauconniere, after an 18-year career in the investment sector, said she decided to open the business on Thanksgiving weekend last year so she could take her dog to work.

The boutique’s open floor plan allows pets to explore the store, which carries items “you may not find at big-box stores or online retailers,” Fauconniere said, as well as products from local vendors.

The boutique also offers a dog-safe, soft-serve ice cream with a variety of toppings and Pup-corn, air-popped popcorn with dog-safe flavor powders.

The boutique is planning future events, including nail trim clinics, treat sampler days, a doggy pancake breakfast and puppy yoga classes, plus meet-and-greet events to introduce potential owners to local rescue animals.

The boutique is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, visit lushpuppypetboutique on Facebook or call (319) 777-6560.

Dupaco opens Coralville branch: Dupaco Community Credit Union this month opened its newest branch, a Learning Lab, at 2530 Corridor Way, just off Interstate 80 in Coralville.

The office occupies 8,200 of the 18,936 square-foot, three-story building. In addition to member service and lending staff, employees from the cooperative’s community outreach and education, business lending and training teams will be housed in the new branch.

The branch is also offering an interactive video teller that allows Dupaco tellers to conduct real-time, face-to-face transactions from a distance. Dupaco employees at a central location will remotely operate the lobby and drive-through video teller machines.

Rich Younts, the branch manager, said the video tellers will allow “our on-site branch employees to spend more time with members having deeper conversations about money, advice and services. We also expect the video tellers to increase future opportunities for member convenience — to serve more members, in more places, with expanded hours of service.”

Big Grove the official brewery of UI Athletics: The University of Iowa and Hawkeye Sports Properties announced last week a multiyear marketing partnership with Big Grove, designating the brewery as an “Official Craft Brewery” of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Additionally, Big Grove will have a marketing presence across Hawkeye sports and venues starting this fall.

The collaboration was created through UI Athletics’ multimedia rights holder, Hawkeye Sports Properties, and Learfield, the media and technology company powering college athletics.

Big Grove is launching a “Game Day Ticket Giveaway,” allowing a chance for fans to win tickets to Hawkeye games across multiple sports as well as a “front row” opportunity for the basketball seasons.

Fans can look forward to enhanced game-day experiences at each of Big Grove’s locations, said Matt Swift, co-founder and CEO at Big Grove.

“We’re just getting started, and with an ever-changing landscape in college sports, we’ll be looking at other opportunities to grow and develop this partnership for fans of both brands,” he said.

SOCRE roundtables coming up: SCORE in-person roundtables for networking and business skills will be held Thursday, July 25, in Cedar Rapids from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Scott’s Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, and from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Chrome Horse, 1201 Third St. SE.

A roundtable also will be held in Waterloo on Tuesday, July 23, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. at Cabin Coffee Co., 2040 Kimball Ave. For more information, email mark.herman@scorevolunteer.org.

Small business of the week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, last week selected Tristate Curls of Osceola County as her small business of the week.

Megan Gerken opened her salon in 2018 in Sibley in northwest Iowa, specializing in clients with curly or wavy hair, after training and working in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and Minnesota.

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.