Business Notes for Feb. 18, 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

Cedar Rapids-based TrueNorth Companies, with offices in Iowa, Colorado, Illinois and Texas, has announced three leadership advancements. They are:

Certifications

Mason Wheeler of Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services completed the funeral director licensing requirements and was issued a funeral director license by the Iowa Board of Mortuary Science.

Appointments

Three business leaders have joined the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance policy board. They are Dan Baxter, director of real estate development, Ryan Companies; Mayuri Farlinger, vice president of customer and community engagement, Alliant Energy; and Justin Zehr, co-owner, Fun Not Fancy Restaurant Group.

Common Sense Institute Iowa has named Ben Murrey as director of policy and research. CSI Iowa, launched in January, is a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Iowa’s economy.

Michael Rozum was recently elected president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors-Eastern Iowa chapter, succeeding Blake Helms. Kristopher Hopkins is president-elect, and Elizabeth Rickels-Ster is the chapter’s executive secretary/treasurer.

Kudos

Alliant ‘top utility’ award: For the fourth consecutive year, Alliant Energy has been named a “Top Utility” by  Business Facilities  magazine. Alliant Energy was the only utility company in Iowa and Wisconsin included on the list. In 2023, Alliant Energy partnered with community and state economic development professionals on 50 industrial and warehouse projects. The projects created $3.6 billion in new capital investment and 4,084 new jobs across Iowa and Wisconsin.

Other news

GreenState supports Junior Achievement education program: GreenState Credit Union has pledged more than $200,000 to Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa to become the founding partner for the nonprofit’s “3 Dimensions of Education.” The 3DE program will launch during the 2024-25 school year with 75 students from the Alburnett school district and 150 students in the College Community School District. The program uses 17 “real-world” case studies from local and national companies to teach collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, innovation, self-direction and other skills.

Chief Pizza and Beer Officer: Iowa-based Casey’s has named Joe Cruz of Lincoln, Neb., its first Chief Pizza & Beer Officer. The company said 500 applied for the job, and that Cruz “loves to eat Casey’s pizza and drink beer, making him uniquely qualified to take on this job.” He will suggest pairings of beer with Casey’s pizzas and manage social media content.

Business skills workshop: SCORE in-person workshops for networking and business skills will be held Thursday, Feb. 22, in Cedar Rapids. The workshops will be presented 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. There also will be a workshop in Waterloo on Tuesday, Feb. 27, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Cabin Coffee Co., 2040 Kimball Ave. For more information, email mark.hermann@scorevolunteer.org.

Small business of the week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa last week named Hawkeye Fabrication and Hi-Way Products of Ida County as her small business of the week. Richard Bogue founded the company in 1969 in Ida Grove, in west-central Iowa, to fabricate bridge handrails. His son, Mark, founded Hawkeye Fabrication in 1999. The two businesses operate in tandem under the leadership of Mark and his wife, Jaclyn. Hawkeye Fabrication handles the fabrication while Hi-Way Products directs the sales. Three generations of the Bogue family have been involved with the business. Ernst, ranking member on the Senate’s Small Business Committee, is naming a small business of the week in each of Iowa’s 99 counties.