Business Notes for March 30, 2025

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 at https://www.thegazette.com/business-notes/submit/

New hires

GreatAmerica Financial Services has announced the following new team members: Alicia Davis, administrative assistant; Amanda Cushman, operations support specialist; Ana Arzate, client relationship manager; David Kepler, portfolio manager; Gracie Luchtenburg, administrative assistant; Michelle Eichhorn, administrative assistant; Mike May, sales support specialist; Morgan Nott, documentation specialist; Nicole Drennon, administrative assistant; Scotty Leandro, business unit financial analyst.

Destyn Weber has joined Hills Bank as first vice president, branch manager, in the Cedar Rapids office.

Mackenzie M. Main has joined Pugh Hagan Prahm PLC as associate, specializing in business and commercial, real estate, and probate litigation.

Promotions

First Community Trust, N.A., a nationally-chartered trust company headquartered in Dubuque, has promoted Jenna Walleser to chief investment officer.

Kudos

U.S. Cellular area vice president and general manager Eric Conlon of Cedar Rapids is among 10 U.S. Cellular associates who have been awarded the prestigious President’s Volunteer Service Award by the Office of the President of the United States for dedicating more than 200 hours to volunteerism in 2024. Conlon has volunteered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Corridor for 11 years and the Cedar Rapids Reds for six years.

Cedar Point Capital Partners, a registered investment adviser based in Cedar Rapids that offers fee-only financial planning and comprehensive portfolio management, has been named a CEFEX Certified Investment Adviser by the global Centre for Fiduciary Excellence, operated by Broadridge. Cedar Point Capital Partners is the first Corridor-based wealth adviser, and one of less than 250 across the world, to hold this certification.

Other News

Small Business of the Week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has announced Mulholland Grocery of Mills County in southwest Iowa as her small business of the week. In 1875, Fred E. Mulholland opened Mulholland Grocery as a dry goods store in Malvern. In 1903 he added a small cash-and-carry grocery section, which eventually grew to be the family business. Starting in 1972 the business changed hands several times before returning to Mulholland family ownership in 2008 when Tom Mulholland purchased it. Known for its iconic ham salad, breakfast bratwurst, smoked meats, and warm customer service, tragedy struck in December 2021 when a massive fire devastated its location on Main Street. A modernized version of the store reopened in December 2024. This April, Mulholland Grocery plans to officially commemorate its grand reopening and its 150th anniversary. Ernst, chair of 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.