Business News

As school buses return to their routes this fall, a Cedar Rapids resident wondered what measures are taken to ensure the vehicles are safe for students.

Years before the first trans-Atlantic phone call, and decades before international direct dialing would become available, a Cedar Rapids teenager had a direct line to one of the most remote places on earth.

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.

Industry demand fuels additions to Iowa, ISU, Coe business majors. In just its third year the University of Iowa’s risk management and insurance program is already the nation’s fifth-largest. This fall, Coe College in Cedar Rapids is launching a risk-management concentration for its Business Administration major, and Iowa State University is adding its own risk management certificate.

For the third time in two years, The District: Czech Village and New Bohemia is looking for a new executive director after its most recent director, Jennifer Borcherding, resigned.

The Cedar Rapids data center project is the company’s first in Iowa.

Edtech veteran Eric Wenck has joined the assessment company as Chief Technology Officer of ACT. Wenck will oversee a team of about 200 people, and has worked at Sylvan, Catapult Learning and Fullbloom.

The City of Fairfax will consider a change to its zoning code that would provide a path for Alliant Energy to site a gas-fired power plant within city limits, near The Eastern Iowa Airport.