A long-shuttered Sioux City hotel will reopen in August and reservations are already being taken for its luxury apartments. The Warrior Hotel and the adjacent Davidson Building will be an Autograph Collection by Marriott hotel with 148 rooms. Alex Cherubin, with Restoration Iowa, says demand … [Read more...]
RV camping popular in pandemic, Winnebago may benefit
The pandemic has made vacationing in a recreational vehicle more attractive and Forest City-based Winnebago Industries hopes to capitalize on that demand. "The motor home business has been working very hard the last number of years to revitalize its product line, strengthen the culture here in … [Read more...]
Banks asking for your spare change as pandemic creates coin shortage
Brother, can you spare a dime? Or maybe a quarter, penny, nickel, or any other change? That's what banks and credit unions are asking right now as the country is seeing a coin shortage. Iowa Bankers Association president, John Sorensen, says it stems from the slowdown in business brought on by … [Read more...]
Iowa a little behind other states in Creighton economic survey
A survey finds Iowa's economy is slowly recovering from the pandemic, but the state is lagging behind the Midwest overall in clawing back from widespread shut-downs and job losses. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says their survey of business owners across the nine-state region found a … [Read more...]
Quarterly survey from Iowa Business Council shows some optimism
The Iowa Business Council's second-quarter Economic Outlook Survey for 2020 shows some improvement in what the managers of the states' largest businesses expect in the coming months. IBC executive director Joe Murphy says it's a modest improvement. He says the overall score in overall economic … [Read more...]
Iowa company’s soy-based product helps scrub the mess protesters leave behind
Many recent protests have left public places marred by spray painted slogans and an Iowa-based company is helping clean it up, in locales ranging from Old Capitol in Iowa City to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. Jeff Gard is spokesman for Natural Soy Products, headquartered in Brooklyn, Iowa. Gard … [Read more...]
Winnebago takes hit from COVID-19 but sees bright future in recovery
The shutdown and restart of Winnebago Industries' operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic hurt the company financially, but the near future should be bright as people turn to RVs during the recovery. The Forest City-based outdoor lifestyle manufacturer reports a fiscal third-quarter net income … [Read more...]
Unemployment rate makes small drop in May
The state unemployment rate moved down slightly in May. Iowa Workforce Development says the May jobless rate is 10% -- down from 10.2% percent in April -- as the impact from the coronavirus pandemic lingers. The unemployment rate one year ago in May was 2.7%. IWD says establishments added … [Read more...]
John Deere implementing new operating model and restructing
Quad Cities-based John Deere is restructuring and implementing a new operating model. Spokeswoman Jen Hartmann says it's been eleven years since the last "global" restructuring. The new model is called the Deere Smart Industrial strategy. "The new org model is making sure -- and this is really … [Read more...]
Reynolds assembles business board to chart Covid comeback
Governor Kim Reynolds is issuing an executive order to create what she's calling the Governor's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. She said the panel will help to "chart a course" for Iowa's economic comeback after months of setbacks due to COVID-19. "This board will be our economic tip of the … [Read more...]