Business Notes for Sept. 14, 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/

Kudos

Marty Lenss, airport director for The Eastern Iowa Airport, has won the Individual Impact Award for water quality in Iowa at the 2025 Iowa Watershed Awards, held last Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Iowa Water Conference in Ankeny. Lenss’ airport nonprofit, Wings2Water, focuses on raising awareness and funding for water quality efforts by introducing the option for airport customers to round up their purchases at any point of sale in the building. These rounded-up purchases contribute to various water quality projects across the state. Lenss, who hopes to bring Wings2Water’s mission to airports across the nation, also employs conservation practices on the farmland surrounding the airport.

BankIowa ag business banker Rob Ratchford has been selected as an Iowa Corn I-LEAD 12 Member. Ratchford was selected to participate in Class 12 of the Iowa Corn Leadership Enhancement and Development (I-LEAD) program, which focuses on increasing industry professionals’ knowledge and understanding of the corn industry. This reputable ag leadership program is a two-year intensive learning experience available through the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the Iowa Corn Growers Association. Ratchford will receive experience and training from Iowa Corn in areas such as leadership, effective communication, policy, advocacy and global agriculture. The program includes an advocacy experience in Washington, D.C., a domestic agricultural learning mission, and an international learning mission. On the international mission, Ratchford will learn about key markets and develop further leadership skills as he speaks with foreign officials and customers about Iowa agriculture.

Cedar Ridge Distillery’s Double Barrel Bourbon Whiskey was judged Iowa’s best craft whiskey at the 2025 Heartland Whiskey Competition, a blind craft whiskey judging competition supervised by the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA). The event highlights the role of corn in crafting the best whiskeys in the world while also highlighting the farmers who grow and distill them. The competition, sponsored in part by the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), drew entries from across the U.S. with only those entries containing corn in their mash bill eligible to enter, and only entries from sponsored states eligible for Best-of-State.

Other news

Small Business of the Week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has announced Young Construction of Cerro Gordo County in northern Iowa as her small business of the week. Founded in 2001 by Dan and Tami Young, the company started as a small roofing business and has since grown into a full-service exterior contractor offering roofing, siding, gutters, and insulation across Iowa, southern Minnesota, and Florida. Through their YC Roof Rescue and YC Cares programs, Young Construction gives back to local families, veterans, and organizations. 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.