Business Notes for Jan. 19, 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

Genevieve Johnson has started as the IT manager in the Design Engineers’ Cedar Rapids office.

Calista Bergstrom is now a registered assistant at Compass Financial Partners in Cedar Rapids.

Kudos

Erin Christy, wealth manager at Choreo Advisors in Cedar Rapids, recently was named a Next-Gen Rising Star by the ThinkAdvisor Luminaries Award program. The award honors individuals with less than 10 years of industry experience who have made impactful contributions to the wealth management industry.

Newsweek has named Dubuque-based Dupaco Community Credit Union one of the best regional credit unions in the United States for 2025, one of three credit unions in Iowa cited in the publication's rankings. Areas of evaluation include overall financial health, profitability, exposure to risks and potential losses and lending and leasing activity.

Other news

New owner: James Heires is the new owner of Air Quality Systems, 1570 42nd St. NE in Cedar Rapids. AQS, established in 1989, offers solutions to common indoor air quality problems in homes and businesses, such as musty basements, foul odors, excess bacteria, virus removal and pet smells. Electronic air purifier sales and service is the primary focus.

Entrepreneur training: The University of Iowa Venture School entrepreneurial training program is accepting applications for its spring classes being held around the state and beginning the week of March 3. The sessions meet one night a week for seven weeks as either hybrid (in-person/online), fully remote, or in-person, depending on location. The final class of the session is a Venture School Launch Day competition that will be held the week of April 21. Cost is $299 per team, and each Venture School team will be assigned a local entrepreneur as its coach. To apply, visit venture-school.com. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28.

Business networking: SCORE in-person round tables for networking and business skills development will be held Thursday, Jan. 23, in Cedar Rapids. The breakfast meeting will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at Scott’s Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE. The lunch meeting in Cedar Rapids will be at 11:30 to 1 p.m. at Parlor City Pub & Eatery, 1125 Third St. SE. A round table will be in Waterloo on Jan. 28 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Cabin Coffee, 2040 Kimball Ave. For more information, email mark.hermann@scorevolunteer.org

Ernst highlights Jones County business: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, last week named Boomerang Corp. of Jones County as her small business of the week.

Bryce Ricklefs opened Ricklefs Excavating in Anamosa in 1998 to support construction projects, later adding larger grading and excavation work and expanding into wastewater management, roadwork and large-scale infrastructure. In 2017, the company rebranded as Boomerang Corp. The business, which employs 200, uses trenchless technology to replace pipes with minimal destruction.

Ernst, chairman 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.