Northeast Iowa's Delaware County is the pick for a pilot project to boost the rural workforce through an initiative from the Iowa Workforce Innovation Network team, known as i-WIN. Working with the Iowa State University Center for Industrial Research and Services, or CIRAS, officials met in … [Read more...]
Cedar Rapids General Mills workers approve contract
A strike has been averted at the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids. The union representing some 520 workers at the General Mills plant says they ratified a new contract on Thursday after three sessions of voting. Benefits of the new deal include the preservation of the current three-shift … [Read more...]
Peace-seeking eastern Iowa organization changes its name
Some 63 years after it was founded in eastern Iowa, the Stanley Foundation has changed its name to the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. President Keith Porter says the Muscatine-based organization has always worked for peace and justice around the world, but the word "foundation" was … [Read more...]
UnityPoint and Sanford end merger talks
There will be no merger between Iowa-based UnityPoint Health and South Dakota-based Sanford Health. Executives abruptly announced today that the merger which had been in the works since June was called off. A merger would have created one of the country's largest non-profit health … [Read more...]
Employees at Quaker Oats, General Mills reach agreements in Cedar Rapids
More than 1,200 jobs at two major factories in Cedar Rapids were subject of labor talks this week. The union representing nearly 700 workers at the Quaker Oats plant ratified a new contract last night and averted a strike. The deal reportedly includes annual pay hikes, a boost in pay for new … [Read more...]
Governor says Iowa outpacing states like Georgia in apprenticeships
Governor Kim Reynolds today said there are nearly 750 registered apprenticeship programs in Iowa where more than 7600 people are learning new skills that will lead to a full-time job. "We are outpacing states like Georgia and Arizona that have three times the population," she said during a news … [Read more...]
Milk plant in Arlington will shut down
Associated Milk Producers Inc., or AMPI, plans to shut down its factory in Arlington, Iowa, that produces nonfat dry milk. Company leaders say the decision stems from the continued decline in dairy farm numbers and milk production in the region. The 49 Arlington employees have been informed. AMPI … [Read more...]
Founder of Happy Joe’s pizza restaurants has died
According to KWQC TV, the founder of "Happy Joe's" restaurants died early today at the age of 82. Lawrence Joseph "Happy Joe" Whitty was a North Dakota native who moved to Davenport in 1966. In 1972, he opened the first "Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream" in the Village of East … [Read more...]
Winnebago reports drop in fiscal year revenue
Forest City-based Winnebago Industries saw a slight drop in revenues for the fourth quarter and for the fiscal year, but the company’s CEO says he's positive about the future. Quarterly revenues were $530 million, down from $536 million for the same period a year ago. Fiscal Year 2019 revenues … [Read more...]
Lopez Foods buys idled northwest Iowa meat processing plant
A new owner plans to reopen a meat processing facility in northwest Iowa. Oklahoma-based Lopez Foods, a family-owned business, bought the plant in Cherokee from Iowa Food Group, which closed the facility in April. Bill Anderson with Cherokee Area Economic Development says 40 people worked at Iowa … [Read more...]