Business News

A Decorah farmer is accused of stealing enough corn and soybeans to fill nearly 25 semi-trailer trucks, worth over an estimated $175,000, and shielding the income from an ongoing bankruptcy case, Winneshiek County authorities say.

He is a field agronomist who is part of an Iowa State University Extension “crops team” that are experts for farmers who have questions about planting and harvest and everything between.

Across the Midwest, meatpacking plants -- including Agri Star in Postville -- often pollute non-white communities and low-income neighborhoods, according to an Investigate Midwest analysis of two decades of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency enforcement data.

Iowa has permitted 15 new digester facilities since 2021, when the Legislature passed a law allowing animal feeding operations with digesters to exceed the state’s limit of 8,500 animal units. Seven of the 15 dairy farms added to their herds since they got digester permits, a review of DNR data shows.

Is emotion or reason guiding your gift?

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.

Four Iowa business groups are advocating for a reform of how both residential and business electric rates are set in the state.

A specialty grocery store is opening in the Cedar Rapids neighborhood that became a food desert after Hy-Vee’s departure in June.