October 2018 Ames Business Monthly

LONGEST-RUNNING PONY FARM IN U.S. SELLS ITS HERD SEE PAGE 2

AB AMES BUSINESS

MONTHLY O C T O B E R 2018

October Chamber Update

THE YELLOW CUP CAFE OPENS IN DOWNTOWN STORY CITY SEE PAGE 3

AB

2 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | OCTOBER 2018

AMES BUSINESS

MONTHLY OCTOBER 2018 Vol. 10, No. 2 AMES TRIBUNE Ames Business Monthly is a publication of the Ames Tribune, 317 Fifth St., Ames, IA, 50010; (515) 232-2160.

3 The Yellow Cup Cafe opens in downtown Story City 4 Farm to Table 5 Ames Chamber of Commerce 18 Andra Reason 18 Rick Brimeyer 19 SmartAg gets city, state support for new facility 19 ISU alum starts laundry pickup, delivery service

Longest-running pony farm in U.S. sells its herd

By Ronna Lawless Staff Writer

I

t’s a royal bloodline, of sorts.

And it’s for sale.

The Royal Pony Farm, near Roland, has been in operation longer than any other pony breeder in the United States.

Seventy-four years after buying their first Shetland pony, the Richardson family says it’s the end of the line.

In recent years, the farm was mostly run by Donna Norcross, the eldest daughter of Howard and Arris Richardson, the couple who bought their first pony back in 1944. After Donna’s sudden death in July, the remaining family members thought that it was time to sell the herd of more than 100, which is now down to about 50 ponies.

The ponies range in age from 6 months to 26 years old, and they’re available in a wide variety of colors and patterns.

They range in cost between $600 and $2,000. Most of the ponies are mares, but there are four stallions for sale as well.

The family’s matriarch, Arris Richardson, is currently the oldest pony breeder in the United States at 97 years old. Age is the main factor for selling Royal Pony Farm’s herd, although the ponies and their predecessors have been beloved.

Back in 1944, Arris saw an ad in the paper for a mare pony and mentioned it to her husband, Howard. They had both been raised around horses and thought a pony would be nice to have for their growing family, which eventually included daughters, Donna and Shirley, and son, Brian.

“It just happened to be a lovely mare that was registered,” Arris said. “We bought her for $125 and the next year she was worth $250. The next year, prices just soared.”

Although officially named Malta #22127 in the American Shetland Pony Club Stud Book, the mare was affectionately known as Queeny. Despite the increase in Queeny’s value, the

Arris Richardson offers a treat to some of the mares in the Royal Pony Farm herd.

family kept the mare her entire life, and she was an important dam of the herd.

The Richardsons quickly realized they couldn’t stop at just one pony, adding more mares and a stallion named King Howard to the herd.

Some of the first foals were named Prince, Princess, Duke and Duchess and that put the “Royal” in Royal Pony Farm, which registered that prefix with the ASPC in 1948.

Howard Richardson passed away in 1999 but Royal Pony Farm remained a family affair.

Arris has had a herd of broodmares in residence at the Story City farm that she and Howard purchased in 1958, where son Brian has helped out. Daughter Donna Norcross lived just five miles away, and the Royal Pony Farm herd’s sires reside on the farm where she lived near Roland, along with a sizeable band of broodmares and the young stock.

Youngest daughter, Shirley Moore, also raises a few “Royal” ponies at her Royal Texas Pony Ranch near Amarillo, Texas, and Arris now lives part of the

year with her.

In 2003, at the American Shetland Pony Club National Convention in Kissimmee, Fla., Howard Richardson was inducted into the ASPC People Hall of Fame. Richardson was awarded the American Shetland Pony Club Gold Brush Award in 1990, an Area VI Shetland Pony & Miniature Horse Breeders’ Association Presidential Award in 1991 and the American Shetland Pony Club Silver Brush Award in 1992.

Everyone in the family was involved in raising, showing and selling the ponies, and most of the Richardsons’ family vacations revolved around horse shows, where Royal Pony Farm’s entries tended to earn high honors.

“With the rich history of Royal Pony Farm, it is only fitting that some Royal ponies have gone on to have very interesting lives,” Donna Norcross wrote on the farm’s website “Two such ponies are ‘Boomer’ and ‘Schooner.’ When the Oklahoma ‘Sooner Schooner’ was in need of a pair of white ponies

PHOTO BY RONNA LAWLESS

to pull it, Royal Pony Farm was happy to provide them.”

Moore has many cherished memories of growing up on the farm around all the ponies.

“When we were kids, we had a buck wagon we pretended was a stagecoach, and we’d hook it up to the ponies and they’d take us on adventures,” she said. “We had a breadbox that we used as our strongbox, and if it ever bounced over the side of the wagon, it was the job of us little kids to jump off and get it.”

Ponies are especially good with children, both Arris and Shirley said. “They love children,” Arris said. “Especially when children are good to them.”

“Ponies are gentle and emotional animals,” Shirley said.

“They’re smart, they love to play and tend to be mischievous. They also seem to like things that are small like them, so they tend to really take to children.”

Anyone interested in purchasing a pony is encouraged to contact Moore through the Royal Pony Farm’s Facebook page.

OCTOBER 2018 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | 3

The Yellow Cup Cafe opens in downtown Story City

By Ronna Lawless Staff Writer

W

hen The Yellow Cup Cafe celebrated its soft opening recently, it was a dream come true for Shannon Hayden.

“This has been my dream for about 12 years,” she said, standing in her new cafe, which still bustled with customers close to closing time.

The Yellow Cup Cafe is a coffee shop in downtown Story City, which is open for breakfast and lunch and has a motto of “Grab and Go or Grab and Stay.”

Hayden and her husband, Lee, and their daughters, Ellie and Julia Fauteux, want to offer the community more than just an eatery. They want to create a gathering place — a place you can even show up by yourself and find

friends to sit with.

When the family left San Diego four years ago to move to Story City, they were looking for more than a new location. They were looking for a new home where they felt like part of the community. Story City quickly showed itself to be that desired change.

The Yellow Cup Cafe is a place you can grab a bite to eat and go — or you can grab a bite and stay. With quick order filling at the cash register, customers are welcome to find a table and are even encouraged to stay, visit, play board games or use the cafe’s Wi-Fi, which will be up and running soon.

The menu is a collection of sips and bites: Hot sips, like traditional drip coffee, coffee brewed in a pour-over system, hot chocolate and hot tea. Cold

sips like water, soda, juice and iced tea.

Breakfast bites include a breakfast burrito with eggs, sausage and cheese, wrapped in a flour tortilla or a breakfast bake, which is eggs, bacon, cheese, bell peppers and onions.

Lunch bites offerings are egg salad on a croissant roll or cold sammies with a choice of turkey, ham, pastrami or roast beef. Also available is a turkey bacon avocado wrap, which is combined with cream cheese and cheddar in a flour tortilla.

There are also a variety of salads and sides that come from Hayden’s own recipes.

Shannon Hayden is the cook for the savory dishes, and Ellie Fauteux is the baker of the goodies — things like peanut butter cookies, banana muffins, scotcheroos and slices of

cake. Ellie is a junior studying culinary arts at DMACC and is already putting those lessons to good use. Julia is creating a variety of art to decorate the restaurant.

“My passion and my love language has always been to feed my family,” Shannon Hayden said. “Everything you see on the menu is something I make for my husband and kids.

“I just wanted to offer a healthy alternative, using as many local foods as possible.”

The Yellow Cup Cafe serves meats, bread and produce from Story City Locker, Great Harvest Co., Crescentia Farms and Red Granite Farm.

Located at 601 Broad St., the cafe is open Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is closed on Sunday.

Shannon and Lee Hayden and their daughter, Ellie Fauteux, stand behind the counter at their new familyrun business, The Yellow Cup Cafe, at 601 Broad St., Story City. PHOTO BY RONNA LAWLESS

4 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | OCTOBER 2018

FROM FARM TO TABLE The Ames Main Street Farmers Market hosted its first “Farm-to-Table” event in August, bringing the community together for a threecourse meal made completely from goods grown and sold by local growers and producers. Patrons gathered in the 500 block of Main Street at one 152-footlong table for a night of live music and freshly cooked food made from locally grown and raised food, prepared by the staff at Aunt Maude’s, which helped organize the event. Wine and beer was served by Della Viti. Photo by Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune

OCTOBER 2018 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | 5

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all marked the beginning of the 32nd year of Leadership Ames, the Chamber program that develops leaders by introducing them to operations and opportunities throughout Ames.

Each year the class is led by members of the two previous classes. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Co-Chairs are Adam Bates (Mary Greeley Medical Center) and Mary Evanson (Iowa State University Foundation). Adam and Mary will work closely with Chamber staff throughout the year to coordinate and facilitate the class. Additionally, members of Class 31 will also serve as session coordinators.

The kick-off session was held on August 31.

Upcoming sessions include Community Schools Day (September 20), Nonprofit Day sponsored

by Mediacom (October 18), Inclusive Organizations Day (October 31), and Economic/Community Development Day sponsored by Ames Ford Lincoln (November 20).

The Leadership Ames Selection Committee received a large pool of qualified applications for the 2018-2019 program making the selection process very competitive. We congratulate all the selected candidates and are pleased to introduce this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s class, presented by Mary Greeley Medical Center.

MIKE ARKOVICH | Ames Police Department STEVEN E. ATHAY | First National Bank NICOLE BERMAN | Hastings, Gartin, and Boettger, LLP JUSTINA DURR | Landus Cooperative DIETER FRITON | Mary Greeley Medical Center WHITNEY GARWOOD | Mary Greeley Medical Center RACHEL GEILENFELD | Sukup Manufacturing Co. LAURA GRINNELL | Renewable Energy Group, Inc. JEN HACKE SASS | ISU OfďŹ ce of Admissions CHRISTIAN HEMPEN | GlobalVetLINK JESSI JANORSCHKE | Ames Spine & Sport

EMILY LADEWIG | VenuWorks/Iowa State Center SARAH LEFEBER | Iowa State Daily Media Group MIKE O'DONNELL | ISU CIRAS MICHAEL PERRIN | Great Western Bank JENNY RISNER | Ames Community School District MATT SIMONS | Workiva CURTIS SPENCE | City of Ames JOE STROTMAN | Prairieland Homes Inc. JENNI TALBOTT | McFarland Clinic VLADIMIR WILLIAMS, SR | FamousďŹ ve6 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu LACEY WOLF | ChildServe

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he November 6 General Election is rapidly approaching, and the Ames Chamber of Commerce reminds you that your vote matters and asks you to make your voice heard at the polls on Election Day. If you are not registered to vote, you can now do so online via the Iowa Secretary of Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website or the Secretary of Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mobile app. The pre-registration deadline to register to vote is Saturday, October 27 by 5:00 p.m., and the Auditorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office will be open from 8:00 a.m.-5 p.m. that day. Iowa law also allows you to register to vote on Election Day at your respective polling place via Iowaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Same Day Registration Law, but you will be required to show proof of residence and proof of identity to do so.

Absentee Voting will be available in the Auditorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office on Monday, October 8 and will be available through 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 5 at the Story County Auditorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office (900 6th Street, Nevada, IA 50201).

It is important to note there will be new rules in place for the 2018 Election for Absentee Voting including: 1. Your absentee request form MUST include an ID number - either your Iowa driver's license (or non-operator ID) number, or the 4-digit PIN on the new voter ID card.

3. Absentee voting can begin no more than 29 days prior to the election.

4. The deadline to request a mailed ballot is October 27 by 5:00 p.m.

Voters can also request an Absentee Ballot by through Saturday,

October 27 by submitting an Absentee Ballot Request Form. Once your completed form is submitted and received, a ballot will be mailed to the address provided.

Completed ballots can be submitted by any of the following methods:

By Mail. A return envelope is provided with pre-paid postage. The return envelope must be postmarked no later than November 5, and received in the Auditor's Office by November 13.

In Person. You may deliver your ballot to the Auditor's Office up until 9:00 p.m. on Election Day. Completed ballots may not be dropped off or used at polling locations.

By Designee. You may designate someone else to mail or deliver your ballot for you. The instructions included in your mailed absentee ballot packet include a receipt, if you choose to use it, for this method.

The Chamber thanks our 2018 Taking Leadership Legislative Sponsors for their continued support of our Government Affairs Program and Get-Outthe-Vote efforts: Converse Conditioned Air, First National Bank, Renewable Energy Group, and Workiva.

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Story County Auditor & Elections | www.storycountyiowa.gov/elections Iowa Electronic Voter Registration | mymvd.iowadot.gov/VoterRegistration Iowa Secretary of State | sos.iowa.gov/elections/voterinformation Federal Voting Assistance Program | www.fvap.gov

OCTOBER 2018 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | 9

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Thank you to the following members who have donated ten percent more than their annual dues for Chamber projects. Because of contributions from members like these, the Ames Chamber can maintain a level of excellence in the services we provide.

Please note: This represents only a portion of the Chamberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gold members.

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Cindy Albin, Hunziker & Associates Tess Ashley, Global State Mortgage Steve Bock, RE/MAX Real Estate Center Don Borcherding, Greater Iowa Credit Union Bonnie Brown, Global State Mortgage Tobias Brown, OrangeTheory Fitness Nathan Buss, VisionBank Buffy Clatt, First National Bank John Coder, VisionBank Lisa Downs, Hunziker & Associates Stacy Dreyer, First National Bank Amy Engstrom, 2Men and Adame Cleaning Paula Feltner, Thisday Photography Pam Fleener, First National Bank Teresa Garman, Individual Member Shelley Goecke, McFarland Clinic Colette Gunhus, Keeling Wealth Advisors Tom Haggas, Cheshire Moon Films Jeff Harrison, Midwest Heritage Bank Sherry Hosteng, RE/MAX Real Estate Ashley Howe, Xpanxion Jeff Louang, Radisson Hotel Ames Conference Center at ISU Michelle King, The Krell Institute Carol Kisling, iHeart Media Matt Koehler, Greater Iowa Credit Union Paul Livingston, Hunziker & Associates, Realtors

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Danielle Minde, iHome Realty Amanda Moorman, Morgan Stanley David Orth, Spirited Giving Matthew Pacha, Hy-Vee Lincoln Center Michele Partridge, Hunziker & Associates, Realtors Tom Randall, Tom Randall Real Estate Team at Keller Williams Tim Rasmussen, Flooring America Matt Roghair, Exchange State Bank Dorothy Schumer, Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau Michael Sills, OnMedia Tiffany Tope, Stevens Memorial Chapel Tim Tryon, U.S. Bank Daryle Vegge, Story County Community Foundation Barb Vincent, Ames Christian School Allyson Walter, GlobalVetLINK Jan Williams, First National Bank

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he Ames Foundation would like to invite the public to participate once again in replanting Ames! The Fall Tree Planting will take place Saturday, October 20 in the Southdale neighborhood. Volunteers are asked to arrive at Kate Mitchell School (3521 Jewel Dr, Ames) by 8:30 a.m. for instruction.

In 2015, The Ames Foundation entered into a multi-year partnership with the City of Ames to help raise money for and volunteer in the replanting of trees to replace those that will be lost to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). This effort culminated in the first community-wide tree planting days in 2016. In 2016, The Ames Foundation volunteers planted well over 150 trees. In 2017, volunteers planted more than 250 trees.

Unfortunately, efforts like these to reforest Ames are necessary, because ash trees in our community may be a dying breed thanks to EAB. This invasive species continues to destroy ash trees across the nation, and lessons learned in other parts of the country demonstrate that, without costly ongoing treatment, EAB will significantly reduce the number of ash trees right here in Ames. In fact, EAB has been identified in Ames which means the demise of our ash population is imminent and unavoidable. Many of you will recall a similar biologic calamity visited upon our community several decades ago. During the 1970â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Amesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; many American elm trees were virtually wiped out by Dutch elm disease. What followed was a steady effort to reforest the community, which continues to this day.

We have thousands of trees here in Ames that serve to improve our community by protecting water quality through filtration and erosion control,

moderating harsh temperatures and strong winds, and supporting wildlife habitat necessary for biodiversity. Trees also increase property values, help reduce crime, and improve mental health.

A recent inventory identified approximately 2,300 ash trees on city managed property, making up about 16 percent of all public trees in Ames. These numbers already are dwindling as the City of Ames continues to implement itsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; EAB Response Plan, which calls for the preemptive removal of poor quality and/or low value ash trees in the city.

The Ames Foundation invites the public to join it in replanting select areas within the city where ash trees have been removed. Join us for our fall

planting that is scheduled for Saturday, October 20. Volunteers are recommended to contact Jeff Iles at 515-4515033 or iles@iastate.edu. Instructions for the planting will be given at Kate Mitchell School at 8:30 a.m.

If you would like more information or to donate money or learn more about the Ames Foundation, please visit our website at: http://www.amesfoundation. org, visit our Facebook page at: https:// www.facebook.com/theamesfoundation/, or contact Ames Foundation Board members Nick Johnson at nick@ amesford.com or Jan Williams at 515663-3009 or jan.williams@fnb247.com directly.

14 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | OCTOBER 2018

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Soap box on annuities Lean leadership is simply F

irst, I have A LOT of soap boxes. For those of you who aren’t familiar, a “soap box” is an opportunity for someone (me) to air their views publicly (in the newspaper this time), and with a certain amount of passion.

This month, I want to publicly and passionately tell you that you need to know what you own. In my work, I strive to make sure people understand what type of accounts they have, what kinds of investments they own, and what will happen to those investments when they either need cash or pass away.

Five times in the last several months, I have found annuities among a family’s investments.

The family did not understand what the annuity cost them or understand what would happen if they needed cash or passed away. An annuity is a contract that is typically purchased so the investor can receive a steady stream of income in retirement.

On the positive side, an annuity can be a conservative investment and provide income on a tax deferred basis. So, as your investment earns income, you don’t pay tax on the earnings until you get the cash back out.

The problem (again) is that consumers don’t fully understand what they are buying. The annuity seller receives a commission of 4 percent to 6 percent or sometimes much higher (10 percent to 12 percent), the money is locked up for 7 to 8 years or sometimes twice that long, or if you need the money faster, there is a surrender penalty of 10 percent to 12 percent of the account value. To top it off, the ones I have reviewed lately

Andra Reason

Pretty please — get a second opinion from a financial specialist who does not have a commission riding on your decision. have had 2.5 percent fees charged against the investment every year. To put this in real numbers, a $100,000 annuity could easily cost you $6,000 immediately plus $20,000 over 8 years that it is in the annuity investment.

Other pros and cons include:  Conservative investment  Probate protection, like you can have with a TOD/POD designation, IRA, etc.  Guaranteed payout, IF you select that option  Complex and difficult even for experienced investors to understand

 Commissions, surrender charges, and annual fees higher than most other investments  Annuities outside a retirement account receive NO step up in basis on the death of the owner, unlike nearly every other asset held this way  Annuities inside a retirement account are even more complicated when thinking about taxes. They are tax deferred vehicles, inside a more expensive tax deferred vehicle, or are an expensive tax deferred vehicle inside another tax deferred vehicle.

See? Redundant and not necessary.

So, when my elderly clients need cash and the annuity provider has restricted access to nearly all their funds, they have a problem. When another client rolled her 401k out to an IRA and was told to invest in an annuity, she has a problem. And when yet another client has a capital gain within his non-qualified annuity and must pay higher ordinary income tax rates because he was sold an annuity, he loses.

An annuity might be an okay investment or may even be perfect for you. Pretty please — get a second opinion from a financial specialist who does not have a commission riding on your decision. At the very least ask how much your insurance agent and their company will make on the sale because it is always important to know what you owe and own, soap box or no soap box.

ANDRA REASON, CPA, CFP is a Principal at Marrs Wealth Management. She can be reached at andra@marrswealth.com.

good leadership P sst. Wanna know about a secret project that I’ve been working

on?

A year ago I was approached by Productivity Press about authoring a book regarding Lean. For a Lean consultant and a wannabe author who has twice selfpublished, this was a big deal. Productivity Press is a legitimate publisher with an international footprint.

My personal bookcase contains several of their titles that played a major role in my own development over the years.

We discussed a couple of different ideas. I spent time coagulating a concept that had been bouncing around my brain for a couple of years and pitched it to Productivity. They liked it!

The result is titled Working Great! with a subtitle Lean Leadership Lessons for Guiding Your Organization to Excellence. The format is a series of 52 practical lessons with suggested challenges for application.

(In case this is your first column, I’m really big on applying knowledge.)

The analogy used throughout the book is that of a leader preparing for and embarking on a Lean “expedition,” which I argue is a more apt term than “journey,” the typical moniker used for a Lean transformation. The demonstrated low success rate for those hoping to establish a truly Lean culture indicates that the experience more closely resembles an unchartered voyage instead of an oft-repeated tour. That’s because, even though others have successfully completed the trip, the uniqueness of each organization’s starting point and definition of the

Rick Brimeyer destination ensures a new route.

Because ultimate success on the expedition depends so heavily on transforming how the organization thinks — about customers, each other, and work itself — the majority of the book focuses on leadership behaviors for building and promoting a Lean culture. This is a departure from the majority of literature (and, dare I say, most attempted implementations) which focuses on the use of various Lean tools.

Tools are pretty straightforward. Select, purchase, train and turn loose. But a ratchet and set of sockets doesn’t make a mechanic; rather someone that can simply loosen and tighten bolts. A great mechanic complements good tools with a thorough understanding of the theory of operation for the machine, terrific problem solving skills and a true sense of enjoyment from helping a customer by fixing their machine.

While no two organizations will follow the same path to success, there are common principles that all successful Lean cultures share. Likewise, there are also common leadership skills and behaviors for nurturing those principles. A few examples include:  Aligning the organization around a purpose (Hint:

growing profits is not an inspiring purpose).  Building relationships with employees that extend beyond simply the work they do.  Developing employees into confident and competent problem solvers.  Providing new challenges for growth.  Regularly recognizing success and effort.  Coaching issues while they are small.  Ensuring accountability when coaching is ignored.

Somewhere between the fifth and six cycle of proofreading, I had a revelation. The lessons shared in Working Great! are not unique to Lean! These are things every leader should be doing, regardless of whether the intent is a Lean transformation or not. As I recall my own career, these were the things my good bosses consistently demonstrated and my poor bosses neglected.

Great Lean leadership is simply great leadership.

It appeals to the intrinsic human needs that we all share for meaningful work.

That’s why, unlike other business fads, Lean principles continue to thrive and permeate almost all industries decades after being introduced.

Unfortunately, great leadership is in short supply.

Working Great! aims to address that shortage.

RICK BRIMEYER is the president of Brimeyer LLC, an independent management consulting firm located in Ames which guides organizations to higher performance by focusing on process improvement and leadership development.

Further information is available at www.brimeyerllc.com or by calling (515) 450-8855.

OCTOBER 2018 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | 19

SmartAg gets city, state support for new facility

By Dan Mika, Staff Writer dmika@amestrib.com

S

martAg, a startup in the Iowa State Research Park, is planning to move into a new office and development space in the park later this year after securing loans and assistance from the city and the state.

The Ames City Council recently approved a $50,000 forgivable loan to the autonomous tractor startup, while the Iowa Economic Development Authority approved $250,000 in direct aid and

$830,000 in tax benefits under the department’s High Quality Jobs program.

SmartAg produces aftermarket kits and software to dealers and farmers that allow tractors to drive and perform tasks without needing a human operator.

Founded in 2015, the company also part of the first cohort of the ISU Startup Factory, a startup accelerator program housed in the Research Park.

The company most recently secured a $5 million investment from Stine Seed in June.

According to its application to the IEDA, the company is requesting $380,000 in financial aid from local and state sources to build out infrastructure and lease a 10,000-square foot building in the South Bell TIF district. The $2.95 million project is slated to begin in September.

SmartAg expects to hire 40 full-time staff if the expansion is completed, including 20 engineers. It currently has nine fulltime employees and four parttime staff.

Justin Heath, SmartAg’s

chief marketing officer, said the company would move all of its operations to the new building and start to bring some of the manufacturing it outsources from other locations in the state back in-house.

He said SmartAg fundamentally plans on being primarily a software company focused on building a platform for other agricultural autonomy applications to be developed on. However, the company wants to manufacture its kits in-house as much as possible, including components for

its AutoCart software set to go on sale in 2019.

“There’s always going to be a hardware component to what we do, but our goal is not to drive all hardware manufacturing,” he said. “…We’ll continue to outsource certain components and bring them in-house for assembly, kitting some manufacturing like cable harnessing.”

Heath said SmartAg is finalizing details on the lease, but the company expects to move in sometime in late fall or early winter.

ISU alum starts laundry pickup, delivery service

By Dan Mika, Staff Writer dmika@amestrib.com

A

n Iowa State graduate wants to do your laundry for you.

No Time Laundry, a service that picks up dirty clothes, cleans and folds them and returns them to customers within 24 hours, launched Aug. 20.

Rebekah Mallette, the company’s founder and an ISU graduate, said laundry can be time-consuming for college students busy with their studies or activities, and it could be a much larger hassle for students that don’t have a car or a washer and dryer in their building.

“Going to the laundromat in the wintertime when you don’t have a car, you have to take the bus,” she said.

“There’s a lot of inconveniences that come with doing laundry, especially for a college student.”

Mallette said every customer has a scheduled pickup time each week. She and her partner then takes the load to a nearby laundromat and cleans, dries and folds each item, and returns them at a scheduled drop-off time the next day.

The business charges $500 per academic semester, $130 per month or $1,500 for an entire year, and all three options are available to students and non-students. That may seem pricey, but Mallette said she

modeled the pricing after what similar services in markets like Chicago and New York charge.

“There’s nothing like this in Ames, which is why the price might be unfamiliar to people, because we don’t have these services here,” she said.

It’s also not out of the realm of possibility that students and residents can use that time at the laundromat to study, read or do other things to pass the time while cleaning their clothes.

Mallette said people can do that if it works for them, but her service is designed for people who don’t have that time or the ability to easily get to the cleaners.

“It’s definitely an option to go and multitask, and for people who want to do that, this might not be the best service,” she said. “But I do know there are a lot of people who don’t necessarily want to spend their time at a laundromat, it can take up to a couple of hours to do that.”

She said there is no limit to the amount of customers the business can take, and she’ll hire employees to meet however much demand there is for the service.

Mallette hopes to expand the business over the next three years or so to have a dedicated cleaning facility and multiple employees, and to establish the service in other college towns.

No Time Laundry founder Rebekah Mallette in her office. The service picks up customer’s laundry each week, cleans the load, and returns it a day later. PHOTO BY DAN MIKA/AMES TRIBUNE

20 | AMES BUSINESS MONTHLY | OCTOBER 2018