Business Notes for April 28, 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.

New hires

Justine Rodriguez has joined Skogman Realty as a Realtor.

GreatAmerica Financial Services has announced new hires: Meredith Garrison, property tax support specialist; Ryan Stallman, credit analyst; Brenna Beer, sales tax specialist; Bre Allan, portfolio manager; and Nikki Becker, portfolio manager.

Certifications

At Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, Teresa Jensen, business banking officer of commercial banking, and Doug Tarvestad, portfolio manager II, officer of credit administration, have earned the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders certification through the Small Business Administration. The program supports lending participants in the SBA’s flagship 7(a) business loan program.

Kudos

Paul Morf of the Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman law firm has been recognized by Best Lawyers as 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” for business organizations, Cedar Rapids.

Hilton Garden Inn Cedar Rapids, 4640 N. River Blvd. NE, is one of 35 Hilton Garden Inn hotels worldwide to receive the brand’s Award of Excellence, placing it in the top 3 percent of its nearly 1,010 global counterparts. This is the hotel’s second straight year receiving the award.

Collins Aerospace, an RTX business in Cedar Rapids, has been named a finalist for three Crystal Cabin Awards, the only international award recognizing excellence in aircraft interior innovation. The winners will be announced May 28 in Hamburg, Germany. Collins’ “STARLight” materials significantly reduce plane’s carrying weight, associated fuel burn and manufacturing costs.

Other news

NewBo City Market extends hours: The NewBo City Market, 1100 Third St. SE in Cedar Rapids, is extending its hours of operation beginning May 1. The new hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; and closed Monday and Tuesday.

New casino hotel in Dubuque: Q Casino & Resort in Dubuque broke ground last week for The Key Hotel, part of the Hilton Tapestry chain. The seven-floor, 90-room hotel, with a rooftop restaurant and bar, is expected to be completed in the fall of 2025. The hotel is Phase 4 of an $83 million-plus renovation and expansion, with the newly renovated casino gaming space opening this year over the Memorial Day weekend. A family entertainment area, Island Social, also is planned.

Winslow House marks 50 years: The Winslow House Care Center at 3456 Indian Creek Road in Marion marked its 50-year anniversary with a ribbon cutting last Thursday. At the time it opened in 1973, it had 50 residents and a staff of 30. Today, Winslow House is a nonprofit with a staff of 50 offering long-term care and a rehabilitation center, according to Administrator Molly Schulte.

Financial literacy grant: Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa has received $92,000 from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support local youth financial literacy programs. The grant will support hands-on learning programs that teach students money management skills like earning, saving, budgeting, spending wisely, and investing, in addition to sponsoring the organization’s capstone program. The foundation also supports the JA BizTown Mobile until that provides schools with an immersive financial literacy program in a mobile pop-up module.

Marquette casino donates to ambulance service: Casino Queen Marquette has donated $3,977 to the Monona, Farmersburg and Luana Ambulance Service group to update and improve emergency equipment. The casino’s employees raised the money through a “Jeans Day Friday” initiative, where employees donated in exchange for wearing jeans to work on Fridays. Casino guests also supported the drive through tickets and change donation boxes.

Volunteers: SCORE is a volunteer organization looking for individuals who would be willing to give back a few hours a month to help small business owners. You do not need to be retired to get involved. If you have an interest, contact Mark at mark.hermann@scorevolunteer.org or go to https://www.score.org/eastcentraliowa for more information.

Small business of the week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst last week named The Cottage of Crawford County as her small business of the week. Mother and daughter Cindy and Taylor Borkowski opened the home decor business in 2020 in Denison in southwest Iowa. The Cottage also sells children, baby, seasonal and devotional items. Ernst, the ranking member on 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.

Bre Allan, GreatAmerica

Nikki Becker, GreatAmerica

Brenna Beer, GreatAmerica

Meredith Garrison, GreatAmerica

Teresa Jensen, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust

Paul Morf, Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman

Justine Rodriguez, Skogman Realty

Ryan Stallman, GreatAmerica Financial Services

Doug Tarvestad, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust