Progress Edition - 2017

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 | C1

www.wcfcourier.com • ANNUAL PROGRESS EDITION

POWER OF CEDAR VALLEY LEADING THE CHARGE

SPARKING IDEAS

Cities, schools, businesses building the future C1-16

ENERGIZING LIVES

Local businesses have global reach D1-8

Companies, developers invest in the future E1-16

Friends in high places Waterloo, Cedar Falls mayors forge friendly working relationship

“The similarities between us are pretty amazing. The culmination of that relationship has been a very nice surprise.”

TIM JAMISON

tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — Two Cedar Valley cities broke in rookie mayors last year.

But while Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart and Cedar Falls Mayor Jim Brown were busy learning the ropes and leading their communities, they also found time to forge a friendship.

Hart said the bond has opened lines of communication whether it involves public policy matters, shared community interests or even personal advice on how the two fathers of school-age children can balance personal and work commitments.

“We’re both family men, persons of faith and have other similar interests,” Hart said.

Both mayors are younger than 50, replaced multi-term incumbents when they took office in January 2016 and brought government experience — Hart having served eight years on the City Council and Brown serving six years on the school board.

Hart’s wife, Cassandra, and Brown’s wife, Corrine, are both school teachers.

“The similarities between us are pretty amazing,” Brown said.

“The culmination of that relationship has been a very nice surprise.

“We get together whether it’s an event like the one where Quentin’s wife spoke (at the Martin Luther King Jr. Banquet) or it’s a Chamber and Alliance meeting,” Brown said. “I love the banter back and forth between us and bragging about our spouses both being Gold Star teachers.”

Both mayors believe their cities need a closer relationship to capitalize on shared interests.

“We are in a position where we have to work together to be able to be competitive for businesses and people that want to move into our area,” Hart said. “We are competing against the entire state, and we can no longer be isolated from one another.

“From the outskirts of Waterloo to the outskirts of Cedar Falls there are millions of dollars of new investment; there are many people that live in Waterloo and work in Cedar Falls or live in Cedar Falls and work in Waterloo,” he added. “Our success is tied together.”

Brown said that cooperation includes presenting a united front on shared legislative priorities, like protecting tax-increment financing as a development tool, assuring property tax backfill and

INSIDE 00 1

Jim Brown, Cedar Falls mayor

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart, left, and Cedar Falls Mayor Jim Brown have become close friends as they lead their respective communities. growing issues related to water quality.

The cities also may look to share waste water treatment facilities as federal clean water regulations stiffen.

“It’s one of those big things on the horizon, so it can’t be ignored,” Brown said. “In my humble opinion it’s not going to be just

Waterloo and Cedar Falls; it will involve a lot of communities.”

Hart said he reached out to Cedar Falls when negotiating with the Iowa Department of Transportation on what the city would receive to take over University Avenue. Cedar Falls was already reconstructing its portion of University.

TAKING SHAPE TechWorks a step closer to reality C2

“We needed to have some information to give to the state, so I called over and talked to Mayor Brown and Ron (Gaines),” he said.

“They sent us over some spreadsheets about costs that were very helpful.”

Brown said Waterloo may be able to return the favor in the future.

BIG PICTURE Advance Iowa offers expert advice C7

“The reverse would be true if the (Cedar Falls) council ever makes a move on the white-water project,” Brown said. “Waterloo is going to be ahead of us there. Where are some advantages? What are the pitfalls?”

Both cities also are participating in a “shared services task force” with representatives of local school districts, the county, Univeristy of Northern Iowa and Hawkeye Community College.

“We’re bringing those folks together and see if there’s some commonalities in what we do,” Hart said. “Maybe something does make sense, maybe it doesn’t. But we’re having those discussions.”

Both mayors also share an exuding optimism about the direction of their communities.

“We’re seeing development everywhere around the city,” said Hart, when asked about the greatest success of his first year.

Looking ahead this year, Hart said the city will need to tackle University Avenue planning, finish the U.S. Highway 63 reconstruction, continue revitalizing downtown, sow new energy into struggling neighborhoods and continue with community policing initiatives to build a relationship between officers and those they serve.

Hart’s greatest frustration is not having enough money to do everything the city needs.

“There’s not a shortage of great ideas,” he said. “But resources to fund those great ideas is not always there.”

Brown said his highlights last year included the job his staff did responding to the September Cedar River flooding and the successful recruitment of a $6 million Furniture Mart USA warehouse and related $1.6 million Ashley Furniture Homestore.

“It was fun being a part of that (development) right out of the gate,” Brown said.

Looking ahead this year, Brown said the challenges will be completing the reconstruction of University Avenue and tackling other street, sewer and other infrastructure projects to keep the city growing.

“Those that were here before me did a heck of a job preparing for the capital needed for the infrastructure,” Brown said.

“What’s probably missing is the implementation of that.”

BIRTH OF A BREWERY SingleSpeed retools bakery C10

C2 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS 2017

THE COURIER

TechWorks taking shape this year Business center is ready to market many elements PAT KINNEY

pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — This may be the year the rubber hits the road for the Cedar Valley TechWorks.

The agri-industrial product and business development center is ready to market and renovate some labs as “co-working” laboratory and office space in the “Tech 1” building on the campus for firms and individuals starting businesses and developing new products, TechWorks manager Cary Darrah said. There’s ample room for additional industrial development on other floors of the building.

Concurrent with that will be the development of a new Courtyard

by Marriott hotel that will go in the “Tech II” building on campus, which Quad Cities area developer Rodney Blackwell projects will be open for occupancy in July. It will house international visitors to Deere’s Waterloo operations and draw attention to the businesses and products being developed in the Tech 1 building and the adjacent John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum.

The co-working laboratory space, dubbed “The Labs@TechWorks,” was previously occupied by the National Ag-Based Industrial Lubricants program of the University of Northern Iowa.

NABIL closed in the fall of 2013 due to a substantial reduction in federal funding.

But the fixtures left behind — the office and lab space — are something Tech Works hopes to market to prospective industrial tenants.

“We’ve only been seriously marketing it for the last eight or nine months,” Darrah said, after TechWorks made substantial cap-

product research going on in the adjacent product-development “maker space” set up by the Cedar Valley Makers, a membership driven shared space for entrepreneurs to develop new products.

“The vision for the maker space is, as people create things and want to take it to the next step or two steps further, these are the physical spaces that could accommodate that,” Darrah said of the lab space.

The labs have varying degrees of fixtures and furnishings, installed by TechWorks and NABIL and funded by a state economic development grant.

While NABIL ceased to exist, the infrastructure is attractive to potential industrial tenants. “This is just wired to the hilt,” Darrah said. “We had some folks come in here as NABIL was moving out and we were trying to understand what the best way to market these labs would be. They said these are better industrial labs than anyMATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌ thing they’ve seen in the MidFinancial District Properties principal Rodney Blackwell shows the opening where the staircase will be for the west.” hotel during renovations of the TechWorks 2 building in Waterloo.

Former NABIL director Lou Honary said, “With a serious reital improvements to the first two duction in federal funding, spefloors. cifically earmarks, NABIL closed “We really are excited about as of September 2013 or end of federal fiscal year. Funding was this whole campus once the hotel’s built,” Darrah said. “There hard to come by and I was getting will be a lot of activity over there ready to retire and the resources that will cause people to pay more on campus were limited. So, it was attention to what’s going on over decided to close the center. here. But this Tech 1 building is for “I personally believe the ceninnovation technology and (busiter served us well as it helped to ness) startups,” augmented by recreate several successful soybean sources at UNI’s Small Business oil based industrial lubricants and Development Center and Regional greases that are currently on the Business Center. market,” Honary said.

“And we have resources for TechWorks is finding a re-use business who want to expand,” for that space.

Darrah said. “There are not a lot “The goal is these labs are helpof physical spaces and resources ing people take their creation to for business right in the middle,” Renovations of TechWorks 2 building continue. another level,” — literally, to other between the startup and expanfloors of the building. “Our vision sion phase. “And that’s what we There’s already been some nib- lease pending that is prototyping all along is we’re the physical hope to be able to provide. These bles. a new engineering technology,” space where those visions can take are resources you won’t find in a “We have one lease pending Darrah said.

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PROGRESS 2017

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | C3

TechWorks From C2

next steps,” Darrah said.

“We really are depending on, and very excited about, the attention this whole thing will get once the hotel’s built” in the Tech II building “and Deere has a training center, with restaurants.”

The Tech I building is for “innovation, education and technology,” for fledgling, startup businesses.

The Tech II building, dubbed “The Green@TechWorks,” is being developed

by Blackwell.

“Rodney has stuck with this for three or four years.

Trust me, developers of much more stamina have walked away from projects earlier than he has walked away from this one,” Darrah said. “It is a cool project, and it is Deere history and he had done several projects in and around Deere.”

“The Tech II building is a big part of the entire TechWorks campus,” Blackwell said, beginning with the development of the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum.

“It’s always been a collaborative project to finish the entire campus.”

The project was first unveiled by John Deere Waterloo operations general manager Barry Schaffter and University of Northern Iowa President Robert Koob in 2004. In 2007, Deere made a gift of land, buildings and technical assistance for the TechWorks campus under Schaffter’s successor, Pat Pinkston.

“The hotel’s been a journey,” Blackwell said. “But there’s always so much work that goes into these sites prior to even getting into them,” including environmental considerations, before construction bids

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Ryan Companies construction crews work inside on renovations of TechWorks 2 building Dec. 12, 2016, in Waterloo. are let. But Blackwell said Steve Dust, executive director of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber, provided some continuity to keep the project going.

“It obviously benefited the project having Steve carry it through the entire process. It was arduous,” Blackwell said. “It was great to see the museum up and running, it’s great to see Tech I getting some serious traction; there’s already some cool things in it. And that next journey is getting

this hotel open,” which will serve a lot of visitors to Waterloo Deere facilities.

“A lot of people who will come from around the world will stay right here on campus now, see the museum while they’re here.”

It’s a “boutique” hotel, being developed and tailored to a historic industrial building. It’s a painstaking process, being coordinated with the Mariott organization to meet its standards.

“We are historically trying to maintain the integrity of the campus to show off

one of the largest companies in the world,” and the origins of its Waterloo tractor manufacturing operation.

It’s taking some major work. For example, floors had to be raised so hotel patrons can see out the historic industrial windows of Tech II. Since the building was originally built as a factory, the windows were set higher above the floor level so they would let in light without encouraging workers to be distracted by the the view. Blackwell now wants to take advantage of

that view for the hotel. In addition, the old building has large interior support columns throughout its floors “Getting where you could see out that window” and meet life safety and Mariott brand standards while preserving historic integrity “was quite the challenge,” Blackwell said. “It’s not as simple as pouring concrete.” However, he said, “That’s where, usually, we do our best. We hire a great architect, great property management company.

Mariott, with all the knowledge they have — and it’s really important to Mariott — all those pieces together let us work to get to where everybody was happy with the product.

“You’ll have a very cool feel to it,” Blackwell said.

While it’ll meet Marriott’s standards and have all the comforts of its Courtyard properties, “You’ll know you’re in a factory building.

You’ll feel that.

“The good news is that we’re on schedule” for a mid-July opening, he said.

“A lot of the things that made me nervous are behind us,” including a lot of trenching and interior work and cleaning up and meeting environmental standards in dealing with an old industrial site. “We’re pretty green,” Blackwell said.

Two out lots on the north side of the property would be developed for industrial space, and two others on the northeast end of the site would be retail space.

They’re also finishing designs for a restaurant and Irish pub and a 300-person banquet facility — along with a concurrent 15,000 square foot Deere training center.

“This will be a community hotel, where Deere happens to be the largest vendor in the market, and will pay homage to what it’s all about,” with the building’s history, he said.

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PROGRESS 2017

C4 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

MATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Ryan Companies construction crews work inside on renovations of TechWorks 2 building in Waterloo.

State’s blessing gives TechWorks a push Reinvestment district designation allowing project to take off PAT KINNEY

pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — Instru‌ mental in the filling out of the Cedar Valley TechWorks campus is its designation as an Iowa Reinvestment District in February 2015.

The entire project sputtered for a time but has gained new momentum through its state reinvestment district designation.

“Part of why it did stall for so long is because the federal historic tax credits went away because the National Park Service could not see the historic significance of this building,” TechWorks manager Cary Darrah said — even though the campus is a big part of Deere’s and Waterloo’s industrial history if not the nation.

“It’s hard to imagine why a John Deere original site would not have historic integrity,” Darrah said.

“When those (federal) historic tax credits went away, we had to think of a funding mechanism for that gap. That was when the Legislature approved that Iowa Reinvestment District tool,” Darrah said.

The Waterloo district was created concurrent with a convention center project in downtown Des Moines.

Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham realized the TechWorks campus also qualified for the designation, Darrah said. TechWorks was among the first three applications for reinvestment district designation, and among the first approved.

Developer Rodney Blackwell laughs about it now, but he was almost oblivious to the reinvestment district possibility when local TechWorks and GCVA officials presented it to him.

“I’m in my office ramping up —this thing takes a lot of staff — and Steve (Dust) calls me and says ‘Hey, would you help support this?’ I said, ‘Steve, I’m so busy I can’t take time to do something else, but it sounds like a great thing.’

“I really support it now!”

Blackwell said. “It was kind of funny how it worked out.

It sounds like a great tool to incentivize some of these communities.”

Darrah said a portion of sales and room taxes generated in the district that would normally go to the state is reinvested into the project. The city retains its portion. “It’s going to be great for their future revenue” Darrah said.

It will contribute to development of light industrial and commercial space on outlying lots on the campus.

The reinvestment district would fund: $8 million for a business class hotel, corporate training and classrooms. $3 million for Tech I Light Manufacturing/ Business Incubator/Makerspace. $1 million for Cedar River Marina infrastructure.

It would leverage $69.1 million in new capital investment in the TechWorks campus, major elements of which do or will include: A business class hotel and restaurant with more than 156 rooms with a mix of in-house dining options.

The Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center, a next-generation industrial facility for introducing and showcasing product and process design.

John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, now open, telling the story of the history of innovation of tractors and engines in the Cedar Valley at the production

Cedar Valley TechWorks president Cary Darrah shows one of the labs in the Tech 1 building.

Construction crews work inside the TechWorks 2.

site of the first John Deere tractors.

High-quality corporate training space located near the John Deere’s Drivetrain Operations facility.

Specialty retail and dining options, ranging from fast casual to high-end cuisine.

Cedar River Marina with boat sales, fuel sales, boat slips, pontoon rental and riverfront dining.

Here are projected economic impacts of the investment district: Gross taxable sales of nearly $21 million.

275,000 annual visitors expected. $2.9 million in annual food, retail and other sales generated on site or elsewhere in the region.

Supports up to 562 new permanent jobs in the state. $35.1 million increase in state’s gross area product.

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | C5

PROGRESS

Enriching members’ lives.

Now that’s progress.

At a not-for-profit credit union like Dupaco, people are worth more than money. That means 2,008 free Money our purpose includes offering sound Makeovers provided by financial advice and education to both Dupaco in 2016 members and non-members.

Each year, Dupaco helps hundreds of members review their entire money picture through our free Dupaco Money Makeover service. During these one-on17,027 people reached one consultations, members learn how to through on-demand cut costs, build savings, establish shorteducational webinars and Money Clips educational videos, and long-term goals and improve their supporting the credit union’s mission of helping improve overall financial well-being. Broken down members’ financial position into five main steps, a Dupaco Money Makeover covers credit scores, budgeting, asset and debt review, systematic savings and retirement planning.

Six months after his Money Makeover appointment, Dupaco member Mark DeRuyter’ss credit score had soared, allowing him to buy his first house—a four DeRuyter’ fourbedroom, walkout ranch that more than doubled his family’s living space

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History Lessons provided to members last year, teaching members how to drive up their credit scores, consolidate debt and pay less

Even the best-laid plans have room for improvement, and the same applies to a personal budget. Therefore, a Dupaco Money Makeover can end up saving members money where they didn’t know they could.

When it comes to your personal credit history, it pays to understand and know your score. A free Credit History Lesson from Dupaco will teach you how to drive up— and maintain—your credit score, consolidate debt, and pay less.

43% of members improved their credit score by at least one credit tier after at least 12 consecutive months utilizing Bright Track—for free credit score access and education.

Joel Mungongo, who has lived in the United States for the past three years, came to Dupaco to sharpen his saving skills after his bank turned him down for a loan because he had no credit. With a Credit Coach loan, Mungongo built up credit and checked purchasing a car off his wish list.

Dupaco members and non-members can request a free, no-obligation appointment for a Dupaco Money Makeover at dupaco.com. Or, give us a call at (319) 235-0381 / 29,134 loans made to Dupaco members in 2016. At a not-for-profit 800-373-7600. credit union like Dupaco, people are worth more than money. That means our purpose includes offering sound financial advice and education to both members and non-members.

Dupaco saved Patrick and Brenda Mirocha $3,000 on their auto loans after a Credit History Lesson helped them drive up their scores. Patrick said the savings were unexpected and made a huge difference in the family’s finances.

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PROGRESS 2017

C6 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

Natural makeup store grows local roots Once online only, store expanding KARRIS GOLDEN

For the Courier‌

MATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Root production manager Jared Ehmen, right, pours lip gloss into tubes in Waverly.

Root stores Root’s retail stores are located at 100 E. Bremer Ave., Waverly; 116 Main St., Cedar Falls; and 115 Dubuque St., Iowa City. her husband, Jake, and their kids, Campbell, now 6, Holland, 4, and Duke, who will be 3 in March.

While Dolash didn’t expect such rapid growth, she has always had a clear vision for

Krista Dolash, owner of Root, is shown in her retail location on East Bremer Avenue in Waverly.

To earn money to fund her makeup business, Dolash made headbands from recycled fabrics, selling them on Facebook. She was able to save enough to launch Root in October 2013 from her home.

She served customers online, and such sales remain a major revenue stream.

“It has taken off in a way I just didn’t imagine,” she said. “I started with one foundation, … and now there’s other makeup, hair care, skin care and home products.”

In less than four years, Dolash scaled up from her kitchen to a production facility and downtown storefront. She opened her second store in Cedar Falls in July 2016 to test Root’s possibilities for expansion.

It worked: Less than

six months later, Dolash opened a third store in Iowa City. Her staff has grown to about 30.

The meteoric rise came with a sharp learning curve, said Dolash. She realized the importance of maximizing time and other resources.

“We used to do custom color blending, but as we grew, that became too time consuming,” she said. “It’s good to have good people in place. I had to learn to not do everything on my own.”

She works long hours and pushes herself to continue innovating. However, accepting help and empowering her team has enabled Dolash to enjoy her some of her success. At work, this includes working directly with customers, her favorite part of owning Root. At home, it means spending time with

1957

what Root would offer: honest, affordable, U.S.-made products that are organic, gluten-free and vegan.

Root has caught the notice of hopeful distributors as well as mass market brands. Distributors would place layers of separation between Root and its end users. It’s possible accepting such offers might necessitate adding things like preservatives or artificial dyes to Dolash’s recipes.

Both notions are un-

Exceptional Persons, Inc.

‌WAVERLY — On the surface, it seemed a little too easy.

A young wife and mother goes from graphic designer to makeup mogul after mixing up a natural cosmetics line in her kitchen. She’s practically an overnight sensation.

Some days, Krista Dolash doesn’t believe it, either.

“I had no idea; I wouldn’t have dreamed all this up in a million years,” said Dolash, founder of Root.

Her unprecedented success making and selling natural makeup and other products is for real; there isn’t a catch. She started Root in her kitchen, selling products online. She just opened her third store and continues to grow.

In 2013, Dolash was a mother of two girls. When she became pregnant with her son, she became a self-described “crazy label-reader,” hyper-conscious of everything her family consumed.

She quickly turned her eye to her “natural” makeup.

She soon learned anything can be labeled “natural” and, as a result, many such products are “filled with scary chemicals.”

“I began researching how to make my own makeup, using nothing more than natural products,” she recalled.

First, Dolash gave her foundation a makeover.

Foundation is used to even out and conceal the user’s skin tone. Typical ingredients in mass market brands blend chemicals, minerals, oils and pigments, including things like bentonite, titanium oxide and urea.

Armed with research on natural alternatives, Dolash created a foundation made entirely of minerals.

“It was just something I did for myself — a hobby, really,” she said. “It was just foundation.”

Not for long. Eventually, she tried her hand at other products, replacing storebought items with her own creations.

Other women noticed the change, paid her compliments and asked questions.

They wondered if she’d mix up makeup for them, too.

They offered to pay her.

Dolash began developing a plan to turn her hobby into a business. Today, she can point to lessons she learned and glimmers of her stubborn streak.

“I refused to take a loan,” she admitted. “I couldn’t take a bank loan. I wouldn’t take a dime from my husband. If the business failed, it would only lose money I had made and saved for it.”

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thinkable to Dolash. She loves talking to customers who say Root’s makeup is the only kind that doesn’t irritate their skin. Both would likely be comprised if she allowed Root to become a big brand.

“It’s important to me to maintain a small-company feel,” said Dolash. “We answer the phone here. We know our customers. We make our products right here in Waverly. I want to maintain that.”

Connecting people, creating opportunities, and nurturing growth since 1957.

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PROGRESS 2017

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | C7

Mid-size businesses see the big picture Advance Iowa offers expert advice CHRISTINIA CRIPPES

christinia.crippes@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — No one is born a CEO. Chief executive officers come to their positions in a variety of ways, but being the boss is something many mid-size business owners never envisioned. So, instead of a business college, they often went to the school of hard knocks and got their education on the fly.

Advance Iowa offers them an alternative — get their education from experts and learn along with peers facing similar struggles. “(CEOs) become so focused on trying to take care of everyday issues that it’s hard for those owners to get a lot of other input.

They may get input from employees or family members, but they want something else. So, what we’ve been able to do with Advance Iowa is put them into an environment where they can share ideas,” said Mark Hermann, a consultant and facilitator with Advance Iowa.

The program, headquartered at University of Northern Iowa’s Business and Community Services, is currently funded with state dollars to help provide consultation to Iowa businesses with 10 to 100 employees, which have an outsized role in job creation in the state.

“The state recognized that this size of company didn’t feel a lot of the love, frankly, and they needed to, because a lot of our smaller towns depend upon those types of sized firms for Beenken job creation,” said Dan Beenken, director of Advance Iowa.

The program started with some pilot funding from the state in about 2012, and worked with a couple dozen different companies. It soon proved its value, and received additional funding

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Mike Tully, president and CEO of Aerial Services, is part of a CEO discussion group in the Cedar Valley through Advance Iowa that helps business leaders connect across industries on issues and concerns common to all of them. to enhance its offerings and grow the program.

Last year, it worked with 226 companies around the state in nine different industries. It reached into 40 Iowa counties last year and expects to grow into another 20 this year. It has seven consultants, most of whom, like Hermann, have previously owned a business and been through similar struggles.

The services range from succession planning to a financial scorecard to a CEO discussion group. Hermann is a facilitator for a group of about a dozen CEOs from a variety of industries that meets in Dubuque, and he’s in the process of forming one in the Quad Cities, where he is based.

“There’s not a lot of cost to do this. But there is some time, and I’ve done the math on it, and it’s about 2 percent of their time per

month, but what they get back helps them save a whole lot more time than that,” Hermann said of the monthly meetings.

But don’t take his word for it.

Mike Tully, CEO and president of Cedar Falls-based Aerial Services Inc., can attest to the value of the CEO roundtable group.

“It does take a chunk out of your day, but it’s worth it. For me, it’s time well spent,” Tully said. “My only complaint is that I’m not able to go all the time because of travel or other commitments or whatever, and that kind of hurts, and I feel like I’m cheating myself when I can’t make it.”

Tully said the monthly, fourhour meetings are beneficial for several reasons, but most particularly to know other CEOs share similar concerns, issues and struggles, regardless of their industry.

“It’s reaffirming to have that kind of group around you that they can give you ideas, things they’ve tried and worked to address a particular issue that I hadn’t thought of yet, so that’s really valuable,” Tully said.

Along with that, Tully said it’s been helpful to have guest speakers and facilitators help work on solutions to a particular struggle the businesses are facing. The concerns can be anything from technological changes — a big issue for Aerial Services with drones, and the cost of digital camera equipment — to personnel issues to better marketing tools.

Though Tully is currently only utilizing Advance Iowa for its CEO discussion group, his business is the sort of ideal image of the companies the program serves.

With 45 employees, it’s been in Cedar Falls for 50 years. It’s on its third generation of employees — though not family owned — and Tully bought the company with three other partners in about 1999 to help keep the company local. He didn’t come in with experience running a business; he was simply an Aerial Services employee.

He freely admits it’s an ongoing learning process. And once again, thanks to Advance Iowa, he knows he is not alone in that.

“The biggest issue that I think these folks struggle with is the fact that … no one is born a CEO,” Hermann said. “You have to learn about all the things that are needed in order to run your company, and that is an ongoing process for the entire time you own that business, from day one to the day you leave or it closes.”

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PROGRESS 2017

C8 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

Waverly Utilities offers telecom services KRISTIN GUESS

kristin.guess@wcfcourier.com‌

WAVERLY — The city ‌ of Waverly officially has plugged in to become a “gigabit” city.

With high-speed internet, enhanced digital cable and digital telephone services, Waverly residents and businesses are able to take advantage of speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second, thanks to a recent $13 million project by Waverly Utilities.

“The average connections speed in the U.S. is 15Mb, which makes our services 65 times faster than the national average,” according to Mike Litterer, COO/director of operations.

The fiber infrastructure has the capacity for even more bandwidth if a business requires services greater than 1,000Mbps/1Gbps.

Crews finished installing more than 100 miles of fiber-optic cables last summer, and the telecommunications services were made available July 1 to the more than 10,000 homes and businesses in and around Waverly.

“The biggest underlying factor for building a communications utility was economic development. ...

If you don’t have good internet access, you can’t run a business.” Litterer said.

“Fiber services differentiates us from other communities when marketing Waverly, Iowa. Fiber and high-speed internet services may tip the scales in our favor when a business wants to relocate or expand in Waverly.”

The goal was to have 600 customers in the first six months. They now have more than 1,200 residential and commercial accounts on board.

“We almost doubled it.

We really did really well,” Litterer said.

Users will be able to surf, download and upload data faster than the national average with prices lower than the standards of competitors, according to Jeff Magsamen, director of telecom services.

“We’re the only one in the state that provides symmetrical ... which means our upload and download speeds match,” Magsamen said.

The additional services prompted the utility to add nine new employees in the last year, for a total of 35 employees.

“We’re investing back in to our community. We care about Waverly as a whole,” said Jennifer Bloker, director of marketing and public information.

Established in 1904, the community-owned municipality provides electricity to more than 4,600

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Vince Bauer-Fisher, a fiber technician with Waverly Utilities, works on isolating a cat5 cable to help update a home to better service that is now available in Waverly. customers in and around Waverly.

Based out of 1002 Adams Parkway since 1967, Waverly Utilities changed its name two years ago from Waverly Light and Power to reflect its diversified portfolio of services.

In 1993, Waverly Utilities became the first public system in the Midwest to own and operate wind generation.

Since then, WU has been positioning itself to accommodate future growth in technology and power.

Last year, the utility began construction on a new substation — which cost around $2 million — located near Wartburg.

“Power isn’t necessarily created in the community you’re in,” Litterer said.

Electricity is shipped to Waverly via transmission lines at 69,000 volts. The electricity hits a substation, which drops it to a lower level down to around 12,500 volts, which is then sent out to places in the community, and then a smaller transformer will take the voltage down to what a typical house can use, which is only about 120 volts.

“Making sure those (substations) are up and running to the best of their abilities is really important,” Litterer said.

A third transmission line

into the city is scheduled to be finished in June, which is when the final connection will be made to the transmission system.

“That was a really big step for us to get a third transmission line connected to our electrical system. We rely on two transmission lines right now to bring in all of our power every day.

That third one really allows us to be more reliable and provides flexibility if we need to take lines down for maintenance a few times a year,” Litterer said.

Waverly Utilities is the recipient of several awards, including the highest rating of diamond status for the Reliable Public Power Award for the years 201518, the Governors’ Iowa Environmental Excellence Award in 2000 and 2001, and the Iowa Energy Leadership Award in 1997.

“There are very few utilities that get that status,” Magsamen said. “It’s a big thing to be recognized among the top tier of those in the U.S.” Electric rates are not affected by the addition of communication services as mandated by Iowa Code 388.10, a state law preventing municipalities from using general fund moneys for the ongoing support or subsidy of a telecommunications system, according to

Litterer.

A partnership was developed with Cedar Falls Utilities to share in the ownership of a new Internet Protocol TV head-end system — which includes satellites, receivers and switches to distribute a TV signal — to serve both CFU’s and Wa-

verly Utilities’ customers.

“We have a good partnership with them,” Magsamen said. “They’re always there to answer questions, they’ve helped us out a lot.

Drawing on CFU’s decades of experience has benefited us greatly.”

William Werger, Waver-

ly’s economic development director, noted Waverly Utilities have been a leader in telecommunications.

“Their reliability is amazing. They keep the infrastructure in good shape, very responsive for their record of down time. They’re really terrific,” he said.

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PROGRESS 2017

THE COURIER

SingleSpeed putting yeast to new use “We hope we make Waterloo and Cedar Falls proud by being the beer ambassador.

We’ve learned a lot in the past four years.”

Former downtown bakery is reborn as craft brewery AMIE STEFFENEICHER

amie.steffeneicher@ wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — If you’re wondering how renovations are going for a new brewery opening inside the old Wonder Bread building, here’s one way to think about it: It takes Dave Morgan about eight months to put in one window.

There’s measuring each unique window cutout, getting energy-efficient plans from the window manufacturer, sending those plans to a couple of different governmental entities to make sure the windows are appropriately historic, then sending the approved plans back to the window manufacturer for changes before the windows are able to be made and shipped to Waterloo.

The SingleSpeed Brewing Co. owner also has a commitment to sustainable construction: He’s working to get his entire facility LEED certified and as energy-efficient as possible — which isn’t easy when you’re also doing a historic renovation.

“A lot of times, LEED and historical preservation are at opposite ends (in terms of their) goals,” Morgan said.

If that’s not enough hoops for him to jump through, Morgan also has floated the idea of getting his company certified as a B Corporation, a third-party standard that would require SingleSpeed to meet social sustainability and environmental standards.

It’s a lot to think about all at once. But Morgan said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s just a process in general,” Morgan said. “We’re lucky. I had a lot of dis-

Dave Morgan, owner, SingleSpeed Brewing Co.

The SingleSpeed brew house. cussions early on. We were ready for what happened.”

The timeline, Morgan stressed, hasn’t changed: He’s still planning to have the beer hall portion ready to train staff on in March and ready for customers in April. A beer garden outside will open when the weather turns warm.

If Morgan’s only concern for his new SingleSpeed beer hall and distribution center in downtown Waterloo was to get it up and running and making money as quickly as possible, he surely would not have picked the asbestos-laden, termite-ridden, 90-year-old Hostess Wonder Bread plant that had been neglected since Hostess went bankrupt and closed it in 2012.

But even before the renovation began, Morgan could see beyond the cracked plaster and boarded-up windows — and he knew plenty of other people saw its potential, too.

Groups like Friends of the Waterloo Wonder Bread Building had been pressuring the city of Waterloo to save the building from be-

beers to new areas — Morgan has plans to talk to people in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport and Dubuque to begin introducing SingleSpeed to “most of eastern Iowa” by late spring.

“We hope we make Waterloo and Cedar Falls proud by being the beer ambassador,” Morgan said. “We’ve learned a lot in the past four years.”

Morgan noted he’s received “more support than I would have ever imagined” throughout the renovation and noted he was anxious to see the response when SingleSpeed’s downtown Waterloo location is finally up and running.

“We were received so warmly by almost everyone,” he said. “It says a lot about our community.”

It’s already begun paying off: A new research and development area gives space to new kinds of beer SinJOHN MOLSEED‌ gleSpeed has wanted to try, like sours made with Iowa yogurt. And the increased ing demolished since the but we’ll get there,” Morgan brewing capacity has now city bought the building said. “We’ll get there.” allowed them to distribute from Hostess in 2015. They were hoping someone like Morgan would bring the building back to its glory days, saving it from the fate of so many other historic buildings in Waterloo.

That’s a lot of added pressure on any business opening, even for a seasoned business owner like Morgan. With the potential to sit 300 at a time, and brew up to 12,000 barrels of beer per year, it’s also the biggest venture he’s undertaken.

“The closer we get to opening, the more scared I get about screwing stuff up,” Morgan said. “This is just such a big building and a big project for us.”

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PROGRESS 2017

C12 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

MATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Waterloo Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson stands along the Highway 63 project in Waterloo. The development included trails with new neighborhood markers.

Highway 63 project rebuilds road, economy TIM JAMISON

tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — The U.S. Highway 63 project goes well beyond repairing a road.

Local leaders view the undertaking as a way to spark new business development and rebuild depressed residential areas from downtown through the city’s north end.

“The Highway 63 project is part of a new chapter in development for the community spanning from city limit to city limit and from neighborhood to neighborhood,” said Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart.

The Iowa Department of Transportation has already rebuilt U.S. 63 from Newell Street north to Donald Street. Contractors are set to return this spring to resume replacing the highway from Newell Street south to U.S. Highway 218 downtown.

While the DOT’s focus is to fix the crumbling pavement, city officials are partnering to ensure the project reverses the negative impact of carving a major highway through once-thriving neighborhoods and provides amenities to promote new investment.

Signs of success are already evident at both ends of the project, with Logan Plaza being redeveloped and UnityPoint Health investing at the north end and a downtown anchor with Grand Crossing, the Cedar Valley TechWorks and a planned Hawkeye Community College adult learning center.

“I believe that highway project was the tipping point for getting this thing done,” said Ben Stroh, who’s redeveloping Logan Plaza as North Crossing.

Hawkeye Community College President Linda Allen said the highway work was a factor in the college’s decision to locate its adult learning center on the former

Waterloo Bowl-in site. The $12 million, 45,000-squarefoot building will be on Jefferson Street between West First Street and Mullan Avenue, which are the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 63.

“Someone said we would be, in a sense, the southern jewel in the crown of the Highway 63 project,” Allen said. “It wasn’t our words, but we really like that.”

HCC is “already in the neighborhood” with a 3D design lab at the Cedar Valley TechWorks, and sees synergies with nearby amenities like the Cedar Valley SportsPlex and developer Brent Dahlstrom’s Grand Crossing, which will include new rental housing units and retail stores.

The adult learning center will provide a variety of educational programming, including a nursing program, CNC training, English language learning, childcare and a clinic as well as a third-floor event center and art gallery.

“It’s such a unique facility,” Allen said. “Not only will it be a wonderful asset to that amazing part of Waterloo, but it will also be an asset to the community for the next 50 years or more.”

Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson said he’s also excited about the opportunities for neighborhood development between the North Crossing and downtown hubs.

When the highway was originally built, engineers did not consider “environmental justice” and developed a road literally abutting front porches and lacking safe pedestrian crossings.

The first phase of the reconstruction removed 26 homes and two businesses and added recreational trails, tree plantings, neighborhood markers, crossings

and other features “to truly make this a new front door to Waterloo from the north,” Anderson said.

“We were able to create a livable neighborhood for the homes that remained while creating some good positive green space and corridor aesthetics for the roadway,” he added.

The city and DOT have a $33 million cost-sharing agreement in place to finish the project, and bids were opened in December on the first portion of that work.

While no homes or businesses are expected to be removed during the next phase of construction, the city has included trails, decora-

tive features and amenities.

Storm and sanitary sewer work also is planned to help alleviate flooding issues that have plagued the downtown portion of U.S. 63.

Another key change will replace the flood-prone Canadian National Railway underpass on U.S. 63 between Dane and Newell streets

with an overpass. The railroad tracks and an existing pedestrian highway crossing would become “tunnels” through the new mechanically stabilized earthen walls of the overpass.

Work on the project is expected to occur during the 2017 and 2018 construction seasons.

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C14 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

MATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Danny Johnson checks the quality of tomatoes arriving in the new addition at Martin Bros. in Cedar Falls.

Martin Bros. expands to meet demand State-of-the-art warehouse now fully operational ANDREW WIND

andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — Danny Johnson dug through one of the boxes of tomatoes that filled a pallet near the loading docks at Martin Bros.

Distributing.

He inspects the quality of produce that comes off the trucks, ensuring it meets standards to be shipped to the final destination. That could be a school, restaurant, health care facility, nursing home or college.

The pallet arrived through one of the nine new docks that are part of a 77,000-square-foot state-ofthe-art warehouse expansion, which opened in October. The facility in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park has grown to 362,000 square feet with the addition.

Johnson could immediately see the benefit of the new space.

“It’s a lot more efficient,” he said. “We can organize things by temperature zones, we have more room now. We can put product where it needs to be.

“It was all in good zones, but we’re able to customize it more,” Johnson explained.

“Little changes make a big difference.”

Space in the warehouse was at a premium when the expansion was completed.

Ethan DeWall, director of warehousing, in the new addition at Martin Bros. Distributing .

Produce is unloaded off a semi.

“By the time we moved into this, we were really tight in the current building,” said Ethan DeWall, the company’s warehousing director. The 17-year employee noted growth has been an ongoing factor in recent years, reflecting an increasing number of customers.

“This is the seventh build we’ve done since I’ve been here.”

The most recent addition, at a cost of $16 million, was the largest for the company in terms of dollar value. The company was founded in 1940 by brothers Roy and Glenn Martin, starting in their parents’ Cedar Falls garage and later relocated to a warehouse on South Main Street. It moved to the industrial park in 1969.

food service distributors.

“We’ll send out about 105 trucks a night to parts of 11 states,” said DeWall. The company is shipping “65,000 cases a night, give or take.”

The warehouse now has 45 loading docks, and the expansion created more food storage space at the facility. Temperature control is important to maintaining quality of the perishable goods Martin Bros. receives.

For example, said Johnson, the produce quality inspector, “There’s an enzyme in tomatoes where, if it goes below 50 degrees, it loses its flavor.”

Around the docks, the thermometer is kept at a chilly 36 degrees Fahrenheit. Other zones are 28

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Overall, there are more than 660 people working for Martin Bros. today, which is still a family-run business. That includes 150 employees in the warehouse and 170 truck drivers. “We’ve had continuous growth of our work force, kind of to match up with our customer growth,” said DeWall.

Among their customers are the University of Northern Iowa, the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. But business has grown well beyond the company’s home state and includes regional distribution of products for a number of restaurant chains such as Pizza Ranch and Godfather’s Pizza. Martin Bros. has become one of the Midwest’s largest

Making Each Moment Matter

degrees for fresh meat, 45 degrees for produce that includes potatoes and bell peppers, and 60 degrees for produce like tomatoes and onions.

The company strives to be environmentally friendly in its operations.

Highly efficient LED lighting is used throughout the facility. “We started that in 2012,” said DeWall.

Sensors help limit energy costs, as well, activating lights only when someone walks into an area.

Additionally, Martin Bros. recycles huge sheets of plastic shrink wrap that are used to stabilize pallets stacked with boxes of produce. The company also recycles other materials it uses such as cardboard, pallets and paper.

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New center will expand Hawkeye services ANDREW WIND

andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — Hawkeye Community College is raising its profile downtown as plans are made to begin constructing a new urban campus.

The $12 million adult learning center will be highly visible from U.S. Highway 218, just to the south, as a 45,000-square-foot three-story building. It will transform a block between First Street and Mullan Avenue with Jefferson Street to the north that has been empty since the former Waterloo Bowl-In was demolished in 2002.

“This is going to be a wholly new landscaped downtown area, so it’s going to be really beautiful,” said Linda Allen, Hawkeye’s president. College officials have budgeted $8 million in voter-approved, taxpayer-backed bond funds for the project. The remaining money will be raised through grants and a capital campaign.

Hawkeye’s main campus, where students can enroll in certificate programs or earn an associate’s degree, has been on the rural southern edge of Waterloo for most of its 50-year existence.

But the college has long served adult education students with noncredit programs through the Metro Center, south of downtown at 844 W. Fourth St., and the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, at 515 Beech St. on the east side.

“This is my dream project,” said Allen. It will allow the college “to create the kind of learning environment and support” needed by adults who are earning high school equivalency diplomas, learning English or building employment skills. Allen believes the facility will take Hawkeye’s services “to a whole new level” — including expansion of credit programs aimed at adult learners.

“Having that larger space, it isn’t just more space. It’s more suitable space,” said Sandy Jensen, director of urban centers and adult literacy for Hawkeye. Current facilities provide inadequate spaces for the expanded credit programs, which train people in beginning career skills. “It’s very crowded, so the new space will give us classrooms that can function as classrooms, but also offer new opportunities.”

After a contract is approved by the Board of Trustees, construction will get underway this spring.

Officials hope to open the new center in the fall of 2018.

“We’re not designing this building to replicate what we offer at Metro and MLK,” said Allen.

Rather, it will meet the needs of the next 50 years, with an eye towards adapting to rapidly changing educational requirements at all levels. A broader base of services will be provided, more than doubling the number of students currently served to 4,500.

Originally conceived as a twostory building, the center’s third floor and 5,000 square feet of space were added during the planning process. Along with classrooms and a computer lab, the third floor will contain an art gallery and space for community events.

“This will allow for the oppor-

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Corey Gevaert teaches a math class at the Hawkeye Community College Metro Center in Waterloo.

COURTESY PHOTO

An artist’s rendering of the Hawkeye Community College adult learning center to be built on the lot on Jefferson Street at West Mullan Avenue and First Street in downtown Waterloo. tunity to have art shows at the new adult learning center,” said Allen.

Even when the gallery is closed during events in the community room, such as hosting a speaker, it will be visible through a sliding glass wall.

A wrap-around balcony off of the community and gallery space will face Mullan and Jefferson.

“You’ll be able to look out over the city,” she noted.

Adult basic education, English language learner and citizenship classes will be offered on the second floor. Classrooms will be designed for what’s known as technology-enabled active learning. Students will use bluetooth equipped laptops with multiple monitors mounted on the walls, allowing for groups to work together online.

Back at ground level, a student-run coffee shop with its own entrance on Jefferson will be open to the community. The shop, also expected to serve some food, will provide practical experience for students enrolled in Hawkeye’s hospitality program.

The building’s main entrance faces a parking area along Mullan.

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As people enter, they will be ushered into the “welcome center” — a processing area to register for classes and sign up for transportation, food and housing services.

“The approach we’re going to take to serving students there is to assume everybody needs these services,” said Allen. Upon determining what a student qualifies for, that person will be taken to a video conferencing room. “We’re actually going to get them connected right there with that service provider, with that agency — whatever that may be.”

Some of those services will be available on the building’s ground floor. Students will be able to enroll their infant to preschool-aged children in the Head Start child care center, featuring a self-contained playground.

“We want to make sure we have support for people that are coming with their infants,” said Allen.

“We know this is a huge burden for students, and we know that this is a reason they don’t finish a program.”

A health clinic also will be open to students on the ground floor.

“It will be basic services like we

offer on (main) campus with free or reduced costs,” she explained.

“We know that health care is an issue for a lot of individuals and that having that right on site is one more way to ensure student success.”

Staff will take the approach what students learn at the center is only the beginning of their training. “What we also want to do at the adult learning center is to prepare students for college,” Allen said, following either a liberal arts or career track.

Several training programs will be offered on the ground floor, as well, in a computer numerical control machining lab and two large certified nursing assistant classrooms. The spaces will allow Hawkeye to expand its Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program already being offered at the Metro Center. I-BEST students receive instruction in adult basic education or English language skills while simultaneously taking CNC machining or CNA courses.

“We really blend the two together so it’s relevant and it engages the students,” said Jennette

Shepard, a lead instructor and coordinator for the program. “They feel like everything they’re learning is relevant and has a purpose.”

The approach accelerates students’ learning so they can more quickly prepare for further education or finding a skilled job.

Bethany Shadow enrolled in the I-BEST CNA program while working to finish the high school equivalency tests. She has completed the CNA requirements, earning three college credits, along with three of the five subject tests for her equivalency diploma.

The 29-year-old Waterloo woman is employed in the dietary department at a nursing home and will begin working as a CNA when a position opens up. She expects to earn the equivalency diploma during the coming months.

Shadow dropped out of Expo High School when she was a teenager. At earlier points, she tried to earn the equivalency diploma but quit.

“It just seemed like so much work then. But now I have more motivation to better myself,” she said, with the simultaneous CNA training option. “The I-BEST is probably one of the best things that came to this school.

“I’m proving to myself that I can accomplish things that I’m doing,” Shadow added. “I thought I wasn’t smart enough to do CNA or high school completion.”

Allen noted the career areas have enough space to be reconfigured as needs evolve. The CNC lab, for example, also could accommodate virtual welding stations if the I-BEST program is further expanded. And, with a child care center in the building, it could serve as a learning lab in a future I-BEST early childhood education program.

“It will let us do all the things we dreamed about and more,” she said.

The Year ahead aT riverview ConferenCe CenTer MarK YoUr CaLendarS 2nd Annual Mega Sale – April 6-8 Priscilla Shirer Simulcast – April 8 10th Annual Riverview Music Showcase – April 29 Mother’s Day Package featuring Master’s Promise & Red Roots – May 5-6 Michael Reed - June 3 Father’s Day Package featuring The Mark Trammel Quartet & The Jim Brady Trio – June 16-17 Steve Hess & Southern Salvation – July 1 Riverview Gospel Sing (formerly Cedar Valley Gospel Music Festival) – July 12-15 Cedar Falls Bible Conference – July 29 - August 6 Jenna Bolerjack- August 12 Bluegrass Camp Meeting featuring The Marksmen & The Punches Family – August 26 Women’s Retreat - September 22-23 The Whisnants – September 23 Family Bonfire - October 13 Spoken 4 & Larry DeLawder as Barney Fife (Branson Style) – October 14 The Kramers – October 19

Learn about these events and more at www.RiverviewMinistries.com

Riverview Conference Center 439 N Division St. Cedar Falls

319-268-0787

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C16 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 | D1

www.wcfcourier.com • ANNUAL PROGRESS EDITION

POWER OF CEDAR VALLEY INSIDE

WORLDWIDE MARKET Local companies span the globe D1

THE COASTERS Coaxing local talent to return D4

FARM LIVING High tech feedlots D6

Global reach

BRANDON POLLOCK PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Josh Wallace welds a stainless steel axle at Jerald Sulky in Waterloo.

Area businesses have footprints across the globe META HEMENWAY-FORBES

meta.hemenway-forbes@ wcfcourier.com

‌WATERLOO — While the obvious world player from the Cedar Valley is John Deere, with its green tractors rumbling across prairie and lowland, plenty of other Cedar Valley businesses make their mark well outside Iowa’s borders.

If you’ve ever knocked in a testy 5-foot bogie putt, odds are you plucked the ball out of a cup produced by Standard Golf in Cedar Falls. The company produces a wide range of products for golf courses on every continent, save for Antarctica.

And anyone who’s been to a high school ball game or watched a

00 1

college game on TV, be it football, basketball or even soccer, there’s a chance the team uniforms were made in Waterloo by Powers Manufacturing.

“Our distribution is all 50 states,” said Powers CEO Mark Weidner. “We are a licensee for Under Armour, and a lot of the product is Under Armour brand manufactured by us.”

Prior to that, the company worked with Nike for more than a decade.

While the majority of Powers’ business is in the U.S., the company does distribute some products to Canada and may expand its international reach. “We’ve been doing some exploring to Turkey,” Weidner noted.

Powers has been manufacturing high school and college sports uniforms in Waterloo for more Please see GLOBAL, Page D2

Rolls of fabric line storage shelves at Powers Manufacturing in Waterloo.

Russ Bentley displays dye sublimation lettering and patterns Jan. 31 at Powers Manufacturing.

Becky Norman, left, and Lynelle Spurling apply finish trim to a cart at Jerald Sulky in Waterloo Feb. 2.

PROGRESS 2017

D2 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Nadzira Uljuhbic sews a jersey at Powers Manufacturing in Waterloo Jan. 31.

Global From D1

than a century. Weidner attributes the company’s longtime success to producing top-notch products.

“We’ve been very good at the quality we produce. We are known for that,” Weidner said. “Particularly football. It’s a tough sport that needs good production, good materials for the intended purpose.

When players are being pulled and

dragged down, those uniforms have to hold up. Durability has really kept us at the edge.”

Other companies in the Cedar Valley are making their mark outside of Iowa as well. Martin Brothers of Cedar Falls has trucks criss-crossing the country, delivering food products to schools, restaurants and health care facilities around the Midwest and beyond. Bertch Cabinets distributes stock and custom cabinets of all shapes, sizes and colors from

coast to coast. All told, the Cedar Valley has a solid business footprint across the globe.

“We like the Cedar Valley. We really do,” said Erik Lee, who coowns the Jerald Sulky Co. in Waterloo with his wife, Shelli. “It’s awesome. It’s just the right size. It has everything you need here and a bunch of stuff you want. There’s a lot of cultural stuff — cool stuff at the Gallagher Bluedorn. And there’s so much great food. We really like it here a lot.”

The Lees moved to Waterloo from Minnesota in early 2016 when they acquired the 118-yearold horse carriage company. Jerald Sulky is “the last commercial manufacturing facility for horse-drawn show vehicles on the planet,” Lee said.

The company distributes the stylized carts across the globe, with broad distribution across Europe, South Africa and Australia. “We’ve even shown up in Namibia,” Lee said.

Jerald Sulky employees are highly skilled, crafting carts that dominate the world stage in the industry.

“In the industries that we serve, we make the cover of trade magazines 30-40 percent of the time,” Lee said. And in the horse racing business, “we were behind every major winner for a really long time. Nevele Pride held records for 30 years. We were the cart behind that. It’s always been a Jerald in the winner’s circle.”

A high quality of life, a diverse and progressive business community, and a college town atmosphere; this is

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With 30 facilities located throughout North America and Europe, PPG Coatings Services, MetoKote has been proud to serve the agricultural and industrial markets in the Cedar Valley region since 1995.

As the world leader in the application of protective coatings, our Cedar Falls location offers the following services to the region:

Electrocoat • Wet Spray PPG Coatings Services, MetoKote 312 Savannah Park Road Cedar Falls, IA 50613 (319) 277-8022

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | D3

PROGRESS

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00 1

cvorthoexpress.com

PROGRESS 2017

D4 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

Coasters coax local talent to return Campaign trying to draw workers to Cedar Valley

“You kind of take for granted what’s going on in your backyard sometimes. A lot of times you move away, and you don’t think maybe there is new stuff going on.”

JEFF REINITZ

jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — A rustic winter scene with a log cabin and the message “More time living.”

A penguin soaring through the clouds with the caption “Be who you want to be.”

The images graced coasters in local establishments over the holidays, just in time to catch Cedar Valley expatriates returning home to visit family.

The goal behind the coaster campaign was to entice people to ponder moving back, said Danny Laudick, director of talent solutions for the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber. He said the coasters, which included a third with local landmarks, were an immediate hit.

“It was meant for people to connect with that while they are home for the holidays and remind them of everything that’s here,” Laudick said.

“We had someone call and ask if she could get the first one of the series because they took the other two out to her son who lives somewhere on the coast, and he wanted a set of all three so he could frame them,” Laudick said.

The drink mats are part of a larger initiative to retain and recapture local talent that began when the Alliance started rebranding. This involved consolidating the organization’s Cedar Valley Life website, a Facebook page and an online job bulletin board under the moniker Live The Valley.

“We were talking about the quality of life, talent attraction side, and how do we make the Cedar Valley the type of place people want to live? So it’s not just marketing the community, but

Danny Laudick, director of talent solutions for the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber

BRANDON POLLOCK PHOTOS, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Danny Laudick, left, with the Cedar Valley Alliance, and artist Scotty Russell show off drink coasters designed by Russell and scattered throughout the Cedar Valley. going to move there,” Laudick said.

The plan came together last year, and the Alliance started promoting in areas where University of Northern Iowa and Wartburg College graduates tend to relocate after earning their degrees.

“You kind of take for granted what’s going on in your backyard sometimes. A lot of times you move away, and you don’t think maybe there is new stuff going on,” Laudick said. He said the online content is designed to show off some of these changes and help Drink coasters designed by Scotty Russell. the community tell its story.

During the summer, the Allihow are we actually improving the types of resources people look ance focused on outside talent the quality of the community and to in a community when they are visiting the Cedar Valley in the

form of internships. It sponsored socials for interns and students, using settings like Lost Island Water Park.

“You’ve got people from all over the world and country coming to work here over the summer as interns, and we wanted to get them together, let them network, build relationships and show them the type of community we have here,” he said.

This included collaboration with Main Street Waterloo to highlight urban living and nightlife activities.

The initiatives appear to be working.

Besides the popularity of coasters, some 200 people showed up for the first summer social, which drew people from 20 states and five counties.

The Alliance keeps an eye on its website traffic, and the jobs board sees about 6,000 views a month, Laudick said.

“About 50 percent of the people looking at the jobs are people from the Cedar Valley, and the other 50 percent are from other big Midwest metros and places that have UNI alumni and Wartburg alumni,” he said.

The Alliance is in the process of creating a tool kit to help employers promote the community when they interview prospective employees from other areas.

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00 1

Thursday, February 23, 2017 | D5

PROGRESS

Hear… …using the latest technology …and stay connected at home and work …those little whispers of love from your grandchildren

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PROGRESS 2017

D6 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

PERFORMANCE LIVESTOCK ANALYTICS

Next wave agtrepreneurs KARRIS GOLDEN

For the Courier‌

FLOYD — Dustin Balsley is ‌ among the many millennials who have proved they can work from anywhere.

As a web-commuter, Balsley worked for West Coast technology firms. This allowed him to remain loyal to his first employer: his father, Brad, owner of Balsley Farm in Floyd.

Fellow Osage High School graduate Dane Kuper followed a similar path. He too worked remotely in technology development while managing his own Northeast Iowa beef production operation.

As a result, Kuper and Balsley were geographically positioned to take part in an agri-technology revolution. Together, they founded Performance Livestock Analytics. The company provides precision, cloud-based livestock operations management tools to owner-operator beef producers.

PLA’s flagship product is Performance Beef, a real-time analytics mobile application for agricultural managers.

“The average U.S. cattle operation is about 1,200 head,” explained Balsley, COO. “You have to make a certain amount off your livestock, and it’s close every year for the smaller operations. We want to improve those odds.”

They founded the company in 2015, which proved a volatile and vulnerable time for cattle producers. Prices trended up across most categories for much of 2014 and ended on a high. All industry sectors posted mostly record profits, according to Beef magazine, and analysts cautiously predicted more of the same for 2015. This was based largely on past performance and estimated data.

U.S. beef cattle prices experi-

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Dustin Balsley, founder of Performance Livestock Analytics, shows off the Performance Beef Operating System on a tablet that monitors the feed mix for beef cattle in Floyd. enced the largest one-year drop on record throughout 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Iowa was among the top five states for large capacity feedlots, according to Beef USA statistics.

Many family operations shuttered due to losses — a staggering blow to an industry that judges success by close margins.

It could have made the sons of family farmers shy from agriculture. Armed with degrees from Luther College and Iowa State University, respectively, Balsley and Kuper had a firm footing in the technology sector.

Instead, they surveyed the beef production industry and decided to be part of a “pivot,” said Balsley.

“We live in a society that cares

about what it eats,” he explained. “(Dustin and I) looked at what was happening and asked, ‘What can we do?’ We realized that, theoretically, it would be great to scan a barcode and have all the information on where your food comes from — a real farm to fork initiative.”

The Performance Beef mobile application is the first step. In its

initial release, PLA on-boarded a long wait list of producers who believe the unique agricultural technology could help them organize and leverage their data.

“You need to run your farm like a business,” said Balsley. “That’s hard to do because successful beef producers are out with their Please see PERFORMANCE, Page D7

Providing the Cedar Valley with prompt and professional service since 1966

Thank you

for trusting us with all your heating & air conditioning needs!

KWWL News Director Shane Moreland points out features of the new newsroom

Quality Service and Integrity Huff Contracting utilizes a proven quality assurance process to ensure every build meets or exceeds our rigorous quality requirements.Your HCI consultant will meet with you and the architect to define the scope and goal of your project.

Our estimating team will evaluate the plan to ensure every aspect is clearly specified and properly budgeted.

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00 1

PROGRESS 2017

D6 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

Performance Livestock Analytics

Next wave agtrepreneurs KARRIS GOLDEN

For the Courier‌

FLOYD — Dustin Balsley is ‌ among the many millennials who have proved they can work from anywhere.

As a web-commuter, Balsley worked for West Coast technology firms. This allowed him to remain loyal to his first employer: his father, Brad, owner of Balsley Farm in Floyd.

Fellow Osage High School graduate Dane Kuper followed a similar path. He too worked remotely in technology development while managing his own Northeast Iowa beef production operation.

As a result, Kuper and Balsley were geographically positioned to take part in an agri-technology revolution. Together, they founded Performance Livestock Analytics. The company provides precision, cloud-based livestock operations management tools to owner-operator beef producers.

PLA’s flagship product is Performance Beef, a real-time analytics mobile application for agricultural managers.

“The average U.S. cattle operation is about 1,200 head,” explained Balsley, COO. “You have to make a certain amount off your livestock, and it’s close every year for the smaller operations. We want to improve those odds.”

They founded the company in 2015, which proved a volatile and vulnerable time for cattle producers. Prices trended up across most categories for much of 2014 and ended on a high. All industry sectors posted mostly record profits, according to Beef magazine, and analysts cautiously predicted more of the same for 2015. This was based largely on past performance and estimated data.

U.S. beef cattle prices experi-

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Dustin Balsley, founder of Performance Livestock Analytics, shows off the Performance Beef Operating System on a tablet that monitors the feed mix for beef cattle in Floyd. enced the largest one-year drop on record throughout 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. Iowa was among the top five states for large capacity feedlots, according to Beef USA statistics.

Many family operations shuttered due to losses — a staggering blow to an industry that judges success by close margins.

It could have made the sons of family farmers shy from agriculture. Armed with degrees from Luther College and Iowa State University, respectively, Balsley and Kuper had a firm footing in the technology sector.

Instead, they surveyed the beef production industry and decided to be part of a “pivot,” said Balsley.

“We live in a society that cares

about what it eats,” he explained. “(Dustin and I) looked at what was happening and asked, ‘What can we do?’ We realized that, theoretically, it would be great to scan a barcode and have all the information on where your food comes from — a real farm to fork initiative.”

The Performance Beef mobile application is the first step. In its

initial release, PLA on-boarded a long wait list of producers who believe the unique agricultural technology could help them organize and leverage their data.

“You need to run your farm like a business,” said Balsley. “That’s hard to do because successful beef producers are out with their Please see Performance, Page D7

Providing the Cedar Valley with prompt and professional service since 1966

Thank you

for trusting us with all your heating & air conditioning needs!

KWWL News Director Shane Moreland points out features of the new newsroom

Quality Service and Integrity Huff Contracting utilizes a proven quality assurance process to ensure every build meets or exceeds our rigorous quality requirements.Your HCI consultant will meet with you and the architect to define the scope and goal of your project.

Our estimating team will evaluate the plan to ensure every aspect is clearly specified and properly budgeted.

319.233.9000 • huffcontractinginc.com NEW IN THE CEDAR VALLEY IN 2017 // SingleSpeed Brewery–Wonder Bread Renovation // Courtyard by Marriott at Techworks // VGM–Campus Expansion

BRING YOUR HOME TO LIFE WITH

Light!

Residential & Commercial

BUILD COMMUNITY. invisionarch.com/histor y

YOUR LOCAL FULL SERVICE ELECTRICAL EXPERTS SINCE 1998

Cedar Valley Electric 5743 Westminster, Suite A , Cedar Falls, IA 319-266-1134 www.cedarvalleyelectric.com

00 1

PROGRESS 2017

THE COURIER

Thursday, February 23, 2017 | D7

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Beef cattle eating from a trough Dec. 22 in Floyd.

Performance From D6

livestock. We created advanced tools … in a system that makes it easier to collect data on the go.”

Even in the best conditions, records management is slow, time-consuming and sometimes inaccurate. It’s difficult to take record-keeping tools into the field — even tougher to access and sync with web-based resources. As a result, farmers record data later, sometimes relying on estimations, averages and memory. Some may wait long periods to document information, which can lead to omissions, inaccuracies and delayed access to data.

In such cases, a farmer’s records don’t necessarily account for the nuanced variables like harsh weather conditions, which can dramatically affect everything

from diet to weight.

Performance Beef combines data on agricultural statistics, meteorological conditions, health and diet information, operations records and accessibility in a cloud-based mobile application.

“A farmer and his advisers can load in all his data,” Balsley explained. “The more records the farmer loads in, the more he’s able to monitor the health of his livestock.”

The app also improves records accuracy, allowing farmers to do real-time record keeping. The farmer also can grant access to veterinarians, agronomists, nutritionists and others.

This enables them to upload and share data during visits instead of waiting until they return to their offices. This in turn allows a beef producer’s entire team instant access to the latest, most accurate livestock data.

“(Dane and I) both grew up on livestock farms,” said Balsley. “We both have the tech background, and we both worked for data science companies. There wasn’t anything like this for livestock — nothing that merged a farmer’s data about his stock with the vet records with the climate information and other tools farmers use.”

After founding PLA in Osage, PLA moved its headquarters to the Iowa State University Research Park in Ames. There, PLA can take part in the Ag Startup Engine and ISU Startup Factory and utilize interns.

Kuper and Balsley work from both Ames and their farms.

In 2016, PLA won the top prize at the Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Venture Competition, including a $25,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance grant.

Next up is Cattle Krush,

a real-time profit management application. Kuper and Balsley also have developed proprietary tools that complement Performance Beef by enabling app users to bypass manual data entry directly from their beef lots.

The partners main goal is to strengthen U.S. cattle production, said Balsley.

“We’ll stay here in the beef feed lots until we have done this job right,” he said.

This includes convincing Performance Beef users to

contribute anonymously to a storehouse of livestock benchmark data. This resource will supply users with tracking and comparison data for the broader cattle market.

“Farmers guard their data fiercely, which is understandable,” Balsley noted.

“You can be an island with your own little research park, or you can use anonymous benchmarks of the entire research park and use that data to find trend lines and patterns. Overall, hav-

ing as much information as possible lets us get the best prices, which advances the industry as a whole.”

Many cattle producers understand the value in building the benchmark cache, he added.

“They see that we can use this information to drive everything to return on investment,” Balsley said. “It will be impossible to feed the world if producers aren’t financially stable. To feed the world, you have to feed the farmer first.”

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MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Dustin Balsley, founder of Performance Livestock Analytics, uses the Performance Beef Operating System on a tablet that monitors the feed mix for beef cattle Dec. 22 in Floyd.

00 1

COURTESY PHOTO‌

The Performance Livestock Analytics chart.

D8 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

CEDAR VALLEY MEDICAL SPECIALISTS is pleased to announce

OUR NEW DEPARTMENT

We welcome our NEW PROVIDERS:

C

Matthew Kettman, MD

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Gregory Harter, MD

Meagan Menken, ARNP

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319-235-5390

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CedarValleyMedical.com

for More Information

00 1

www.wcfcourier.com • ANNUAL PROGRESS EDITION

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 | C1

POWER OF CEDAR VALLEY INSIDE

SKY’S THE LIMIT Waterloo airport ridership rises E3

MALL MAKEOVERS Retail centers get face-lifts E4

EASY LIVING Rethinking retirement E6

Long-term investment Deere retools in Waterloo, readies for 100th anniversary PAT KINNEY

pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com‌

00 1

‌WATERLOO — What weighs as much as four top-line pickup trucks and has a gas tank the size of a compact car?

If you live in Waterloo, or more particularly work for John Deere in Waterloo, you know the answer to that question.

It’s one — just one — of those big-boy John Deere tractors that roll out of the assembly plant on East Donald Street. That’s more or less common knowledge. What may not be is the “big-boy” investment Deere has made in new-product research and development and physical facilities improvements over the past three years.

“I would say from 2013 to 2016, at least a quarter of a billion dollars worth of modernizations and changes,” said Dave DeVault, general manager of Deere’s Waterloo operations.

That’s on top of the $1 billion DeVault invested in the 10 years before that.

Much of the physical improvements over the past year has involved reconfiguring operations at the East Donald Street plant for the production of the new models, DeVault said.

“Over the last two years we were introducing the ‘9 RX,’” a new four-track version of the company’s 9000 series tractor.

The 9000 is “the most varied model we offer today,” with fourwheel, two-track and four-track models. “We have to be able to build all three of these down the same line. What we’ve been doing the last two years is getting ready to introduce these varied models.”

Changes also were made to meet “Tier 4” emissions control standards.

Modernizations also were finished at the Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls. “Of course there’s smaller incremental changes on a continual basis happening inside the shop,” he said.

“We are continuously modernizing and upgrading our equipment to keep in front of the technology curves,” he said. “It’s a different game than it was a decade ago.

“We’re going to continue to reinvest according to what product program we’ve got going on. We are continuously updating and upgrading the tractor models,” DeVault added. “In any industry, if you’re not growing and continue to enhance your products through technology, you’re not going to be around long. Think about your car today. Even an ‘inexpensive’ car is decked out with all kinds of electronics. Used to be a heated seat was an unthought-of thing and now it’s commonplace in a car.

There’s a parallel to be drawn there. “Our customers getting out of a $55,000 pickup truck that’s got all these bells and whistles on it and they get into one of our tractors. And there’s a little difference in price, so you want to make sure the experience is at least as good, if not better.” The days of the steel-seat tractors are gone, he suggested.

Deere support figures in to the future of the Cedar Valley TechWorks, where the company plans to locate a training center, and the continued development of downtown Waterloo and the entire metro area. “We’re there to help,”

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Julian Roby helps attach the cab to the tractor chassis containing engine No. 2 million at the John Deere Tractor Cab Assembly plant in Waterloo. he said. “If you think about 15 years ago what downtown looked like and what it looks like today, people wouldn’t have believed that could be possible.”

That development includes the cooperation between Waterloo and Cedar Falls.

“It’s really nice to see,” he said.

“When I left 10-12 years ago (on another Deere assignment) and came back, to see the lines blurred between what Cedar Falls and Waterloo have become, that, to me, is a testimonial of the community recognizing that growing together and thriving together is the way to have a prosperous community.

“It’s amazing the transformation that’s happened,” DeVault said, particularly the TechWorks campus, located on a former portion of Deere’s downtown facilities where he previously worked.

The adjacent Grand Crossing housing development “is awesome the way that’s transformed,” he said. “Downtown on Fourth Street, Hawkeye (Community College) coming out and building right there, the SportsPlex , that whole area in five years will look totally different than it is. Than it ever has been,” along with other downtown improvements such as SingleSpeed Brewing Co. setting up in the old Wonder Bread building.

He expected some Deere employees will take advantage of the housing downtown, particularly if they work in that area. “I’d be suprised. Pretty short commute if they’re working downtown,” he quipped, “if they want to walk, ride a bike or skip their way to work.”

Please see DEERE, Page E2

Milam new Deere TCAO manager WATERLOO — Michael Milam, newly appointed operations manager of John Deere Tractor Cab Assembly Operations, relocated to the Cedar Valley in December. Milam has extensive experiences in operations, order fulfillment and material flow.

In 2000, Milam joined John Deere at Seeding Group in Moline, Ill., where he held the positions of module leader, materials manager and production planning manager.

Milam then transferred to John Deere Harvester Works where he fulfilled the role of complete goods manager and operations project manager. Milam then held the position of platform order fulfillment manager for Crop Care at John Deere Corporate Headquarters in Moline.

Milam Milam then returned to Harvester Works as Operations manager before his most recent position as platform order fulfillment manager for tractors.

As operations manager of Tractor Cab Assembly Operations in Waterloo, Milam will be responsible for the overall tractor cab assembly operations and will lead the factory team in executing the key business deliverables including safety, quality, delivery and efficiency. Milam has replaced Michael Hilby, who retired Dec. 1.

Mike and his wife, Gina, will be relocating to the Cedar Valley. Together they have two sons, Grant, a senior at University of Iowa, and Carter, who is a freshman at Grandview University.

PROGRESS 2017

E2 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

Deere From E1

Deere continues to partner with HCC, the University of Northern Iowa and Wartburg College in Waverly for employees and 40 to 50 different colleges from around the country for summer interns.

“As we continue to reinvest in our community through the employees, they come from many, many places. And we have been very fortunate to continue to benefit from some very talented individuals,” including locally.

That includes an attention to diversity and inclusion in Deere’s 5,000-plus employee Waterloo workforce, as well as companywide. “We have the data on the demographics of our employees,” he said, but it’s more than a numbers game; a variety of contributions to the end product are the key in a global marketplace. “We recognize that the more diverse of a thinking process you can have, or the more diverse of thoughts and experiences you can have as you’re working to bring the greatest tractors in the world to the marketplace, the better everything is. When you think through the dynamics of the world you serve, that’s where that diversity of thought really helps out.”

The metro area has continued to meet the challenge then-Deere Waterloo operations general manager Mike Triplett issued to the metro area some 15 years ago to make substantial improvements to justify Deere’s redevelopment of its facilities and reinvestment in the community, beginning with the “renaissance of downtown Cedar Falls” that spread to downtown Waterloo and the rest of the community.

Deere and its employees continue to give back to the community, ranging from charitable contributions to volunteer work.

“This last year we had almost a 50 percent in our increase in volunteer hours, over 21,000 hours,” he said, not all of which is counted.

It includes sitting on community committees and involvment with service agencies, including, for

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

A tractor takes shape on the assembly line at the John Deere Tractor Cab Assembly plant in Waterloo on Dec. 12. example, packaging meals for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. “That’s become a blast for everybody,” he said, and a friendly competition among work shifts and facilities.

More than 127,000 meals were packaged in one day. Deere personnel also help with local robotics teams and competitions through the schools, as well Junior Achievement and Partners in Education programs.

Some of the areas John Deere Waterloo Operations’ employees participate include: Support for Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) education and career path outreach.

Support for the Leader in Me. Engineers Week classroom visits in February.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, also in February.

STEM Day at the Deere Engine Works in March.

Support for Project Lead the Way programs in both Waterloo and Cedar Falls schools.

The Cedar Valley STEM Festival in November.

Student elementary mentoring, including Women in STEM. Partnering with UNI on several initiatives.

Cedar Valley United Way contributions.

In 2018, Deere will mark the 100th anniversary of its coming to Waterloo with the purchase of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co., maker of the “Waterloo Boy” tractor. “It’s not early” to plan that celebration, DeVault said.

“We plan on celebrating with the community,” and hope to cultivate community participation in that celebration. The company plans an “internal celebration” with employees and families within the various plants starting in March 2018 with a communitywide celebration anticipated in June 2018.

Deere plans to draw from some of its activities during the 90th an-

niversary celebration in 2008, but one asset available now that was not present then is the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum adjacent to the TechWorks site — where DeVault notes, the original check Deere issued to purchase the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. is displayed.

“We are extremely proud to be part of the Cedar Valley,” DeVault said. “That heritage and history of what we collectively have gone through over that 100 years is pretty humbling. And we all have learned a lot in that century. It means the world to us to be part of this community. We’re very, very thankful that we’re here.”

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | E3

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Workers load baggage onto an airplane at the Waterloo Regional Airport.

Taking to the skies JEFF REINITZ

jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — More people ‌ took to the skies through the Waterloo Regional Airport last year, and flights at the airport saw an increase in reliability.

“Local and area air passengers are becoming more aware that flying out of Waterloo saves money as they do not have to pay for an added fuel expense and the higher cost of vehicle parking,” said Airport Director Keith Kaspari when the numbers were re-

leased as part of the airport’s End of Year report in early February.

The airport totaled 25,322 outbound passengers in 2016, which was an increase of 338 passengers over 2015. It was the highest annual passenger total since 2008 and marked the second year in a row ridership averaged more than 2,000 passengers a month.

The airport’s air service partner is American Airlines, and the increase came, in part, from additional flights on the weekends and

a drop in cancelled flights.

“The increases in passenger numbers from CY-2016, fewer cancellations, improved on-time reliability and competitively priced airfares shows that American Airlines is providing an excellent product for Cedar Valley passengers,” Kaspari said.

Only 20 flights of the 693 scheduled flights were cancelled in 2016, compared to 35 of the 675 fights in 2015, according to the airport numbers. It also represented the lowest percentage of

cancelled flights since 2012.

Airport officials have set a goal of 2,500 passengers a month for 2017. They also are planning to launch some improvement projects in the coming year.

This includes Federal Aviation Administration funds slated for removing a portion of a taxiway on Runway 18-36, repairing a heaved section of a joint that connects the end of an original Runway 12-30 with its extension and undertaking some airfield painting.

Waterloo airport sees ridership rise Iowa Department of Transportation funds are planned for adding energy efficient windows to the airport’s Fixed Base Operator’s building and updating heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. A hangar will be getting roof work and gutter repair and LED lighting inside.

“I feel if we can get all that done, it will make for a busy summer construction season and allow us to continue to focus on building ridership,” Kaspari said.

A Worldwide Leader in Protein, Cedar Valley Strong Tyson Fresh Meats is the world’s leading provider of protein, including pork, chicken and beef. The Waterloo facility produces fresh cuts of pork such as boneless loins, tenderloins, hams and cuts of ribs, all of which are sold to retail, wholesale and foodservice customers throughout the world.

Construction on the plant began in spring of 1988 and plant operations began May 3, 1990, under the IBP brand. Tyson Foods, Inc. purchased the plant in 2003. The facility currently has an annual payroll of more than $88 million.

Our company and our team members are active in the community, donating food, time and financial support to many Cedar Valley nonprofit organizations and events. We partner with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, United Way and the Salvation Army by raising funds annually through Tyson’s philanthropic effort, Powering the Spirit, which aims to end childhood hunger.

Beyond Tyson’s many community contributions, our greatest asset are our 2,600 2,400 team members and the diversity they bring to the community. The many cultures found in our halls enrich the lives of everyone on the Tyson team, and in the Cedar Valley.

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PROGRESS 2017

E4 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

INVISION ARCHITECTURE‌

An artist’s rendering depicts the renovated former Logan Plaza area with a mix of medical and commercial development. This perspective is looking east from Logan Avenue/U.S. Highway 63.

Ben Stroh recycles Waterloo retail sites Entrepreneur transforms 2 area shopping centers TIM JAMISON

tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — Ben Stroh built a business empire by recycling transformers.

The Waterloo entrepreneur is now working to transform his hometown by recycling two retail centers that had fallen into decay.

Stroh is the driving force behind Crossing Point Plaza, which turned the mostly empty Kmart Plaza at Crossroads Center into an attractive retail development housing Planet Fitness, Carlos O’Kelly’s, Tokyo Bay Japanese Steakhouse, Kwik Star, Freddy’s restaurant and other businesses.

Across town, Stroh is partnering with the city and UnityPoint Health to replace the blighted Logan Plaza strip mall and surrounding land with new development dubbed North Crossing. The former strip mall at U.S. Highway 63 and Donald Street has been razed, and work on new medical office buildings and retail stores are slated to begin soon.

Former Waterloo Mayor Buck Clark, who prodded and then worked with Stroh to get both projects moving, said the city was fortunate to have a local developer take them on when other potential investors were reluctant to “get off the dime.”

“Ben is a Waterloo boy and he’s very dedicated to Waterloo,” Clark said. “He’s done good for himself but has remembered his roots. He remembers where he came from and is reinvesting back into the city.”

Stroh grew up in Waterloo’s Highland area and attended East High School. His father, Bernie, was a bar owner, worked nearly three decades at Quality Mat Co. and served on the city’s Commu-

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Construction in progress at the former Logan Plaza in Waterloo. nity Development Board, while his mother, Marsha, was a nurse.

“I’ve been in the scrap business basically since high school,” he said. “I had a water meter business and then did transformers.”

Stroh eventually formed A-Line E.D.S. in 1997, a company that decommissions transformers and related electrical equipment, sells grain-oriented steel to international markets and has operations in Arkansas, Flanders, S.D., and Tonkawa, Okla.

“We work coast to coast,” Stroh said during a recent interview.

“My brother was in New York last night. My other brother’s working in Denver today. We’ve got work going on in Chicago, St. Louis and in Texas, all simultaneously.”

Stroh began investing profits in commercial real estate, the first

major acquisition being the Odd Fellows building at Fourth and Main streets in downtown Cedar Falls in 2005.

“A lot of times people don’t appreciate how costly some of these renovations really are,” Stroh said.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for all Jim Walsh has done in this town” with historic building renovations in downtown Waterloo through JSA Development.

“I don’t quite have the temperment to go through all the grant processes they do,” he added. “They still spend a tremendous amount of money rehabbing this stuff.”

Stroh learned more about construction when A-Line E.D.S. served as its own general contractor for an expansion at its Waterloo plant. But his confidence to invest in Crossing Point Plaza also

involved a change in philosophy at City Hall.

While he may be camera shy — note his photo doesn’t accompany this article — Stroh isn’t afraid to speak his mind.

“We had a lot of places in city government where they were more interested in telling you want you can’t do instead of how to get it done,” he said. “Some people were reluctant to say some of the things I said, but I didn’t have to play by those rules and was able to speak more openly.

“A lot of that attitude has been addressed, and we broke through some barriers there,” he Stroh added. “Over the last many years I think the city of Waterloo has come around and has become more business and development friendly.”

A decision by the city to provide incentives to make project viable got Crossing Point Plaza off the ground.

“I know it took some courage from City Council members to do that, but I think the results have been good and getting better,” Stroh said. “Already people forget how ugly it used to be out there.”

Efforts to revitalize the 1960s-vintage Logan Plaza area were more complicated, working with the city, mall owners, UnityPoint Health and others to make it happen.

“Mayor Clark got the ball rolling and kind of convinced me that the city would stand up and help get this thing done,” he said.

“Mayor (Quentin) Hart picked up the ball and made sure that we got it done.”

While the City Council stepped up with incentives essentially designed to cover the acquisition and demolition of Logan Plaza and surrounding land, Stroh was required to bankroll the project and be reimbursed over eight years.

“Getting a deal done there was very difficult,” Stroh said. “It was frustrating, but it was fun in hindsight. People at UnityPoint have been great to work with.”

The project is also a labor of love for Stroh, who grew up near Logan Plaza and remembers frequenting the hardware store there and getting ice cream at the Maid Rite restaurant on a school trip.

UnityPoint is already committed to locating several medical office buildings at the former Logan Plaza site while several other entities were signed or close to agreements for projects.

“It’s already unrecognizable out there now,” Stroh said. “But by this time next year somebody driving down 63 that hasn’t been to Waterloo for a few years is going to be amazed.”

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PROGRESS

“Through faith we inspire, connect, and honor those on their retirement journey.”

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PROGRESS 2017

E6 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

Boomers rewrite rules for retirement Area communities transform modes of senior living MELODY PARKER

melody.parker@wcfcourier.com ‌

‌Baby Boomers may have been surpassed by Millennials as the “nation’s largest living generation,” according to Pew research, but that doesn’t mean they’ve lost the power of getting their own way. This time, Boomers are bending, breaking and rewriting the rules for retirement and senior living.

In fact, Readers’ Digest lists six ways Boomers and their musthaves are altering the landscape of senior living: 1. If pets aren’t welcome in Mom and Pop’s new digs, they’ll pass; 2. Retirement facilities with vacation-style amenities, lots of services and choices; 3. More space to live, play and entertain; 4. Fitness centers, gardens to tend, volunteer opportunities, social wellness activities and events and other non-sports ways to relieve boredom and stay out of the rocking chair; 5. Urban housing options that emphasize walkability in both distance and ease of walking; and 6. A wired world to stay connected — Wi-Fi for Skyping with grandkids, posting photos to Facebook and, of course, online shopping.

“The future is not a gated community for seniors,” said Western Home Communities CEO Kris Hansen. “Boomers are certainly not going to tolerate doing the things we’ve always done and in the environment we’ve always done it. We want to create an environment that responds to their needs and defeats ageism in our community.”

Recognition of that truth — and a desire to meet the needs of this population — is true at Friendship Village, New Aldaya and other senior living communities.

Hansen says Western Home Communities has been a “catalyst” for senior living advancement for a number of years. Now they are in the thick of a major $42 million project that includes Prairie Wind, an independent living facility with 75 apartments that opens in June, skilled nursing cottages and the centerpiece, Jorgensen Plaza for Well-Being.

The $12.5 million plaza will feature an aquatic center, restaurant and pub, fitness center, salon, large community center, restorative suites and numerous other amenities that also will be available to the public. It is expected to open in January 2018.

“This isn’t just for our residents. We’ve always done our part in serving the greater community, and we’re focused on aging services and future needs.

We are evolving … and we’ve had to change our mission statement.

Instead of fulfilling lifestyles for seniors, we are creating fulfillment for all stages of life. What that means is, we’re all working together in a collaborative way to create a seamless continuum of care for the Cedar Valley,” Hansen said.

Amanda Lynch, wellness coordinator for Western Home Com-

MATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Jake Eitel with Kennedy Insulation works insulation over water lines in the new three-story Western Home Communities independent living community, Prairie Wind, in Cedar Falls.

Workers build the new three-story Western Home Communities independent living community, Prairie Wind, in Cedar Falls. munities, will continue researching “how to find that sweet spot of programming for our residents and the 55-plus folks in the Cedar Valley. It’s amazing and exciting that there will be one place for them to go and do a multitude of things from working out, having therapy, sharing social time with their friends and family. Jorgensen Plaza truly will encompass all the dimension of wellness — health and fitness, spiritual and social,” she enthused.

At Waterloo’s Friendship Village, the mission statement has been a front-burner issue for Executive Director Lisa Gates.

“We’ve refined our mission statement and restated our core values, and that affects all of our facilities. As our legacy employees — people who’ve been with us for many years — are retiring, we’re discovering a need to instill understanding of our culture and values in the younger generation of employees,” she explained.

A grand opening is set for March 17 for the new Cold Creek Café at Village Place, which also features

an outdoor patio for dining. Free samples will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. The Cove’s lounge will get a new patio with a view of the lake on the Friendship Village campus.

Meal plans are becoming more flexible, as well, because of new options outside the traditional dining room.

Friendship Village will observe its 50th anniversary May 1, 2018.

Plans are being made for how best to celebrate the event, as well as options being developed for possible renovations and expansion.

Now, as in the future, Gates says they are “reacting to the wishes and wants of current residents and being responsive to changes in attitude about retirement and senior living care from Boomer-aged retirees.

“Our vision is to continue to provide facilities, amenities, events, activities and programs that feed the mental, physical and spiritual needs of our residents and future residents, and that set us apart,” Gates explained.

Millisa Tierney, executive director and CEO at New Aldaya

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Workers build the wellness and community center for Prairie Wind. in Cedar Falls, said, “There are several plates spinning, as usual, at New Aldaya as we continue to build and enhance services for our residents and the community.”

New Aldaya recently received licensing for a new catering kitchen, adding to their event and catering services for a range of events, including wedding receptions, anniversary celebrations and business seminars. Additionally, the wellness program has been officially branded. ‘Live Better Your Way,’ is open to anyone ages 55 and older to use exercise equipment and participate in a range of classes, including Tai Chi, yoga and boot camp.

“That was rolled out in January 2016, and we’ve had a successful first year, tying together the benefits of living better, living well and staying well,” Tierney says. “New tracks of educational classes are being ramped up.”

She describes New Aldaya as a pioneer “in sticking our foot into the puddle of the blended community model” with New Aldaya Lifescapes’ Main Street, which in-

cludes a pub and café and plenty of live entertainment. “Feedback from community users shows they really like the environment and easy access and parking,” Tierney explained. “Throughout New Aldaya, we adjust to needs and things residents and visitors would like to see to keep it fresh and consumer-centric.”

She acknowledges “tremendous” change in post-acute and extended care health options, which has required some repositioning to address those issues.

“I’m also pleased with growth in employee health participation.

There was huge growth for 2016 in health and wellness for the people who work here.”

Plans are in the development phase for new housing options to offer potential residents, and two smaller capital campaigns are moving ahead for remodeling the chapel, a $300,000 update and an entry garden and outdoor entertainment space, projected at $200,000. That space will have a water feature and be accessible from the chapel or Main Street.

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PROGRESS

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PROGRESS 2017

E8 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Construction crews work on a house in the Arbors development in Cedar Falls.

Construction running on all cylinders Waterloo, C.F. see balance across all building areas PAT KINNEY

pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com and TIM JAMISON

tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — Construction activity in Waterloo-Cedar Falls has been balanced across all areas, and the area is headed for another solid year, locals officials said.

“We’re making strides with development and redevelopment in every sector of the city,” said Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart.

“That’s a positive sign.”

Waterloo enjoyed its second-best construction year in history when it racked up $127.5 million in building projects during the fiscal year ending last June 30, while housing starts also hit an all-time high.

Cedar Falls Building official Craig Witry said his city tallied $151 million in new construction

during the 2015-16 fiscal year.

“Last year was a huge record,” Witry said. “A good year for Cedar Falls is $100 million.”

Midway through the current fiscal year, Cedar Falls has $55 million in construction underway, with more projects in the wings.

“So the pipeline looks good for the second half of the year,” Witry said.

“We’ve got a lot of projects in play right now. It’s good. I’m happy.”

Major Cedar Falls commercial projects include Western Home Communities continued con-

struction on the next phases of a $42 million wellness and community center with independent living and skilled nursing cottages on 16 acres west of Prairie Parkway and north of the Cedar Falls Wal-Mart.

From July 1 through Dec. 31, 82 permits have been issued for new homes, including houses, duplexes and town houses.

In all, 82 permits were issued for new homes from July through December 2017. “That’s a good number,” Witry said — up from

51 at this same point a year ago.

“We’ll exceed 100 without any doubt” for the fiscal year.”

Those 82 new homes have a total valuation of about $17.6 million — an average of almost $215,000 a house. The 51 permits issued for the same period a year ago had a total valuation of nearly $12.6 million — about $247,000 a house.

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | E9

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Workers attach crane cables to a load of roof trusses at the 250 State construction site in Cedar Falls.

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌ MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

Hobby Lobby is one of many new storefronts in Pinnacle Prairie’s Power Center in Cedar Falls.

Construction From E8

in the wings, as well as two major projects at North Cedar and Orchard Hill elementary schools.

While those projects don’t directly contribute to the tax base, Witry said they drive housing growth as new homes are built near the schools for young families wishing to send their children there.

Among major commercial projects, the so-called retail “power center” where a new Hobby Lobby store is located continues to add tenants, adding Ross Dress for Less and a Dollar Tree store. In addition, a large amount of multi-family housing is being constructed along Ashworth Lane along Greenhill Road.

“I haven’t seen a January as busy since I’ve been here,” Witry said.

Other major projects include $1.1 million for Slumberland’s

renovation of the old College Square Hy-Vee building as that store relocates back into Cedar Falls along renovated University Avenue, from a to-be-renovated stretch of the same road a few miles east in Waterloo. A permit has been issued for South Dakota-based Ashley Furniture’s new $7.2 million warehouse on 2615 Capital Way in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park. Company officials also are looking for a site for a new retail store in Cedar Falls.

Cedar Valley Properties has a $1.5 million commercial/residential project at 923 W. 23d St. at the former location of a house just east of University Book & Supply in the College Hill business district. A separate project is proposed at 2125 College St., on the approximate former location of the Great Wall restaurant, destroyed by fire last April.

Also, Rose Co. has taken out a permit for a $1.5 million projecct

at 1304 Technology Parkway, not far from the Mudd Group complex of offices colloquially known locally as “Muddville.”

Waterloo Community Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson was particularly pleased with a boost in new housing construction in Waterloo.

The 99 new single-family homes started in the last fiscal year were the most the city recorded in modern history, with 43 going up in the Crossroads Estates subdivision, 18 in Audubon Park, 16 on Ravenwood Circle and others scattered across the city.

“The recent housing surges we’ve seen have been a blend of people looking to build new homes in Waterloo and developers answering that need with new subdivision development,” Anderson said.

A city program granting three years of tax abatement for new homes played a part, but the city

Workers build the new three-story Western Home Communities’ Prairie Wind in Cedar Falls.

needed developers to create new lots for builders. It also worked with Waterloo Community Schools on infill housing lots at former school sites.

“That helps the overall residential fabric of the city in terms of new construction, helping to stabilize and improve existing neighborhoods as well,” Anderson said.

Some major commercial projects, which drove up construction totals in the last fiscal year, are still underway today, including $20.3 million renovation of a former John Deere Westfield Avenue building into a Marriott Hotel and conference center; a $14.2 million addition at the ConAgra Foods plant on Midport Boulevard; a $9.5 million Grand Crossing Condominiums, a four-story, 67-unit development at West Jefferson Street and Mullan Avenue downtown, and a $10 million historic renovation of the KWWL-TV Building at 500 E. Fourth St.

Waterloo had only issued construction permits for $34.8 million for the first six months of the current fiscal year, July through December 2016. That’s below the $38.9 mllion in permits at the same point last year.

But Anderson believed a $100 million year was still in sight.

“I think we still have a very good year ahead of us,” he said.

“We have over $25 million already announced in projects at Logan Plaza, Love’s Travel Stop, Taylor Veterinary, Kwik Star at Ansborough, Black Hawk Gymnastics, the Grand Crossing Phase II and some other housing projects in downtown Waterloo.

“Add to that the unannounced projects we are working on, which is a good mix of smaller commercial and industrial projects as well as some larger industrial projects, and we should be aiming right at our $100 million mark goal,” Anderson added.

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PROGRESS 2017

E10 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

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COURTESY PHOTO‌

Owner and farmer T.D. Holub poses with chickens on Garden Oasis Farm, which he started in 2013. Holub spoke about starting and running his business at a Buchanan County Business Jelly, an occasional networking event for entrepreneurs.

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According to Matternas, Colorfx is a one-stop shop for retail advertising and marketing services. “If you bring us a project, we can help you develop your target audience, design the piece, print it, mail it, augment that with web design, social media, anything and everything our customers need from a communications stand point,� he said.

Recently Colorfx has acquired a Xeikon 9800 commercial printing press, 360-degree photography capabilities and a Konica Minolta digital press.

Waverly contributes to product sales for local, regional and national customers, including Hy-Vee, Kum & Go, Scheels, NHL’s Chicago Black Hawks and the University of Northern Iowa. “For us the Midwest and Iowa is just a great business climate. The location is very centrally located and allows us to support and deliver to a broad range,�

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ferent, maybe more interesting too,� he said. “One person can get the talk going and the other attendees can kind of fill in the blanks, ask questions, get the whole room talking — which is what it’s all about.�

The Buchanan County Business Jellies have typically attracted just a handful of attendees — though Lake said he’s seen up to 30 at one event. But Lake said he expects the Jellies to grow, if only because business owners have a need to get out and network. “The biggest issue with a business is selling it,� said George Lake. “You might have the best widget in the world, but if nobody knows about it, you might as well close up shop — and you probably will.�

WAVERLY — Waverly ‌ employees are helping Colorfx maintain its position as the largest commercial printer in Iowa.

A property of the Des Moines-based Mittera Group, Colorfx has three facilities — two in Des Moines and the other in Waverly.

About 40 employees are located in Waverly. “They’re doing well,� said William Werger, Waverly’s economic development director. “I think they’re a very successful operation and a great part of our community.�

Colorfx formerly was Waverly Publishing, which has operated for more than 100 years. The Mittera Group purchased the company in 2007. The company then purchased longtime Waterloo-based commercial printer Pioneer Graphics Inc. in 2015, which was combined with Colorfx’s facility in Waverly.

Harry Matternas, general manager of Waverly and

Urbandale operations, said 14 employees from Pioneer decided to join the Colorfx team in Waverly, and all were given employment opportunities. “It’s not our largest facility but a very integral part of our operation,� Matternas said.

Under the Mittera Group — J.B. Kenehan, Mittera Creative Services, Rock Communications and Colorfx — all companies work to provide multi-platform marketing services and materials to clients throughout the U.S., including direct-mail, data and analytics, digital marketing, graphic design, photography and videography. “We are the sum of all of our parts,� Matternas said. “Each shop has a unique capability, unique flavor.�

Waverly’s facility includes digital capabilities, sheet-fed presses as well as bindery, folding, cutting and stitching machines. A four-color 55-inch printing press allows the company to produce large sheet sizes

ED

‌INDEPENDENCE — T.D. Holub started Garden Oasis Farm, a diversified vegetable farm, in Coggon in 2013 as a hobby. But he quickly realized he wanted to grow the business. “I was trying to progress that into a full-time operation and was able to do that a couple years ago,� Holub said.

It’s a success story he shared with other entrepreneurs in Winthrop last fall at a networking event called a “Business Jelly.�

Though the others in attendance had different business concepts than him, Holub said he found value in talking with Buchanan County business owners like himself. “I got to meet some people I hadn’t really known about,� he said. “We discussed some different things about what I’ve learned along the way, what some other people have learned when they’ve started out.�

That’s just what organizer George Lake wants to hear.

Lake, director of the Buchanan County Economic Development Commission, brought the concept of Business Jellies to Buchanan County in March 2016. “The whole concept is that we’re trying to establish an entrepreneurial networking association in Buchanan County,� Lake said.

The monthly sessions (which cease in the winter months) rotate around to different cities in the county and feature a local speaker discussing the successes and challenges of running their business.

The next one will be held at 9 a.m. March 15 at the Stanley Fire Station. “People are sharing marketing ideas,â€? Lake said.

“Some people just want to get out of the office and just work in a relaxed environment, a different environment, and others are coming because they’re struggling with their own business, or they’re wanting to start a business and hoping to draw inspiration from others.�

Lake said the Buchanan County Business Jellies are very much an informal gathering. Free coffee, cookies and wi-fi are provided at the 9 a.m. to noon sessions. “They’re really kind of fun,â€? he said. “And what’s nice is when disparate people that don’t know each other come together, and they find out the things that they share.â€?

Thereasa Hager, coowner of Hager’s Roasting Co. in Quasqueton, spoke about how she markets her coffee and brought samples. But she also found value in what others brought up during the discussion. “It was more laid back, just kind of a really neat environment, but I learned a lot, though,� Hager said, noting she was planning to contact someone who had mentioned they could help her redesign her website.

That sort of cross-promoting and assistance can help businesses grow, Lake said. “If we can identify those people just starting a business, identify their needs and issues, it’s my job to step up and see what we can do to assist them and to get them up and running,� Lake said. “These Jellies are one way we can do that.�

The idea of one speaker beginning a larger discussion made it unique for a networking event, said Holub. “It kind of made it dif-

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Progress 2017

E12 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

the courier

Standard Distribution ‘distills’ its destiny with diversification CHRISTINIA CRIPPES

christinia.crippes@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — Consolidation was the name of the game for beverage distributors when Standard Distributing Co. sold out much of its business in 2000.

Now, as the third-generation family owners have worked the past 17 years to transform the business into a warehousing and logistics company, the name of the game is diversification.

“Our growth was really limited by the suppliers,” said now-Standard Distribution Co. controller Larry Herzog of the beverage company. “By moving into warehousing, what we’ve been able to do is really distill our own destiny by being able to go after all different kinds of clients, and … we have a range of local, regional and national clients that use our services.”

The history of Standard Distribution Co. in the Cedar Valley dates back to its founding by Stanley Seroke as an alcoholic beverage distributor right after the end of Prohibition in 1936.

Seroke’s daughter Joan Poe found it bittersweet to sell off the company’s beverage business in 2000 to focus on sister company Crystal Distribution Services.

But since that time both Crystal Distribution and Standard Distribution Co. have found success in warehousing. The former focuses on cold storage, and the latter focuses on warehousing and value-added services.

The Poe family still owns both businesses. Standard Distribution is owned and operated by Stan and David Poe, and fourth-generation family Andy Poe and Katy Poe Harbaugh are actively involved in Standard Distribution Co. today.

“We focus on diversifying as much as we can, so we’re always looking to diversify our business, which you can see from our beginning in the beverage industry

COURTESY PHOTO‌

Standard Distribution Co., with locations in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, has been growing into a warehousing and logistics business, after leaving its original mission as an alcoholic beverage distributor in 2000.

“We focus on diversifying as much as we can, so we’re always looking to diversify our business, which you can see from our beginning in the beverage industry to where we are today.”

Andy Poe to where we are today,” Andy Poe said.

Where they are today is a rapidly expanding business that works with 10 different industries, including agriculture, pharmaceutical, electronics and retail.

It has four locations in Cedar Falls, including a newly constructed building in the Northern Cedar Falls Industrial Park with access to a railroad spur the

business expanded into in May 2015. And this past August, it returned somewhat to its roots by once again having a location in Waterloo.

“It’s kind of a sentimental location for us,” Herzog said of the Westfield Avenue location. “(Standard Distributing) originally began in that neighborhood of Waterloo back in 1936, and so it’s like coming home. It’s not the exact place; that’s been taken

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In its 17 years after leaving the beverage industry, Standard Distribution has grown from little more than 100,000 square feet to a footprint of 600,000 square feet in its Iowa locations, with another 100,000 right across the state’s border in Omaha, Neb. It works with 15 to 30 companies annually and currently has about 85 employees. But due to its value-added services — the company also provides labeling, kitting and retail display assembly, among others — its employment fluctuates based on needs.

The company has had as many as 120 employees.

Herzog attributes some of the company’s growth to the fact that throughout its history it has listened to its customers, made adjustments as necessary and then hoped to be the right business for another business’ needs at the right time.

And they expect they will continue to grow into the future.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to grow and diversify even further. We’re not afraid necessarily to take risks in that regard,” Harbaugh said.

“We have some things up our sleeve,” Herzog added.

More information about the company, its offerings and its history, is available at www.standarddist.com/.

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PROGRESS 2017

THE COURIER

Thursday, February 23, 2017 | E13

Leader in Me growing part of Cedar Valley’s school culture ANDREW WIND

andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com‌

‌WATERLOO — Student leadership and learning were in the spotlight during a recent community celebration at Kingsley Elementary School.

For a group of kindergarten students, that meant being ready to greet people and hand out pictures they had colored as they walked into a classroom. What did the brightly colored picture of the sun mean to kindergartner Keochky Dorsainvil? “To bring your own sunshine to school, because you have to have a happy face on,” said the boy.

In a first-grade classroom down the hall, Tayler Junker was sitting at a desk applying what she has learned about the seven habits through Kingsley’s Leader in Me initiative. She read a brief scenario about two friends disagreeing over playing a game or watching a movie and applied Habit 4, Think win-win. “I wrote, ‘The best thing is movie first and then games,’” said Junker.

Later, visitors gathered in the gym for a short student-led program, which ended with fifth-graders ringing the room to sing a song.

The second annual Leadership Day followed a month where children chose either the seven habits, the seven continents or the seven wonders of the world during an “interest club” and spent time daily learning about the topic. “It’s kind of like a break to learn about something you’re really interested in,” said Principal Amber Dietz.

Leader in Me has become part of the culture at Kingsley and 20 other Cedar Valley schools in recent years. Created by Utah-based FranklinCovey, Leader in Me introduces students and teachers to the principles of Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and helps to put them into practice.

The effort locally was started and has been coordinated through

MATTHEW PUTNEY, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR‌

First-grader Zoe Ratchford shows the ways the whole body can listen during a Leader in Me event Jan. 6 at Kingsley Elementary School in Waterloo. the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, a regional economic development organization. Officials there believe Leader in Me helps students develop skills which are essential for the workplace but not explicitly taught in school settings usually.

Leader Valley, the educational arm of the chamber, oversees work with educators and schools.

It is also heading up the $7 million Create Great fundraising campaign to help expand and sustain the initiative in the Cedar Valley. So far, the campaign has raised just under $2 million.

Half of the funds would be used for implementation and operating expenses with the other half put into an endowment. “That endowment will provide support to the schools for ongoing operational expenses,” said Melissa Reade, Leader Valley director.

She noted the process of secur-

ing the funds can be slow, as potential donors often need to learn about Leader in Me’s benefits.

“Businesses, especially, want the assurance this is an investment in their future work force,” said Reade.

At St. Patrick School in Cedar Falls, students develop leadership skills by taking on job responsibilities they are assigned through an application process. Students hold leadership roles at recess, lunch or in the office. They raise and lower the flag each day or serve as greeters as children arrive in the morning.

“They have to apply for it and commit to it,” said Principal Bev Mach. Students who don’t fulfill their obligations get replaced.

Fourth- through eighth-graders also can apply to be on the eight-member student lighthouse team. Pairs of students work on action teams to plan events or oversee

activities during the school year.

Teacher Janae Gross, who facilitates Leader in Me and the lighthouse team, said school staff formulates ideas for the action teams and then student members determine among themselves which assignments to take.

Mach said students are learning life skills through their responsibilities. “I just see a change in them of taking more ownership and wanting to do more,” she said.

“I think it became their school and their mission and goals.”

John Deere’s Matt Meyers sees the benefit of the skills students are learning. The manager of business improvement for tractor cab assembly operations also serves on the Leader Valley Council. He highlighted such skills as communication, event planning and management as some of the skills Leader in Me develops.

“The leadership skills they get

through this program and some of the soft skills, it’s impressive,” he said. “The skills that are being taught to kids are exactly what are missing in education today.”

The council includes both education and business members.

It guides the process of implementation at schools and helps to raise money for the initiative. John Deere is one of the companies that has financially contributed to the campaign.

“When I heard that John Deere made the donation and was looking for someone to serve on the council, I volunteered,” said Meyers. He was already familiar with the initiative through his daughter’s involvement at school.

Reade said Leader Valley has engaged the University of Northern Iowa’s Center of Education Transformation to complete a thirdparty evaluation of Leader in Me in local schools as it continues to raise money. That evaluation, which will continue until the end of the year, will look at the initiative’s impact on things like school culture and various student measures.

In the meantime, Leader Valley is building its capacity through FranklinCovey to train school staff locally.

“They’re piloting this with us,” said Reade. “They call it their transfer of knowledge model.

There’s very few entities like us.”

Reade and Teri Trask have been certified to facilitate workshops and are being trained as coaches.

The workshops and coaching are ways to train school staff on using Leader in Me. “We’re leading them through this framework to help them be successful in their implementation,” said Trask. “It’s all about what are the needs of the school, and what can we do to support them.”

“Both of these are ways to extend our investment,” said Reade, noting they will be able to provide more continuity than a trainer who is here for a limited period of time.

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PROGRESS 2017

E14 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

THE COURIER

River Place kicks into high gear in downtown Cedar Falls PAT KINNEY

pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — This is the year massive River Place residential-commercial development along State Street and the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Falls really hits its stride.

That’s according to Audrey Dodd, who helps handle leasing and the overall development of the $43 million, multi-buiding project conceived by her father, tech-company entrepreneur Mark Kittrell.

Major developments the public will see this year include: 250 State, a residential building right along the Cedar River front and tailored to empty-nester baby boomers, who want to downsize their living space after with their families raised, as well as snowbirds. That four-story building is going up now and is anticipated to be completed this year.

A new residential-commercial building at East Second and State streets, facing East Second and just east of businesses in the 100 block of the Main Street Parkade. Work on that building will start this year, after the parking lot is reconfigured to maximize parking spaces there. That building has expanded in size to include a 300-person ballroom/reception/ meeting space.

A plaza area will be created between the East Second and State building and the existing building at 200 State. It is anticipated to include a stage and possibly could double as skating rink in the winter. It would be a gathering space for community events. Work on the plaza area, a now environmentally cleared former scrap yard, would also begin this years.

“In summary, we are starting building three of four,” Dodd said.

The first two buildings in the project, 200 and 300 State, are built and 100 percent occupied. “300 State our original property” built in 2013, “has been really successful. We noticed the population that flocked to that building right away were professionals new to the area, who were really already familiar with downtown living and attracted to that kind of lifestyle. That building has been occupied since a few months after it opened.”

It attracted professionals about age 30 and above, on average. The units are about 1,000 square feet and rent about $1,375 a month.

“It’s typically a young couple or a traveling professional — a lot of people from Deere and the hospitals,” she said, and employees in the Technology Park wing of the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

The second building, 200 State, opened in September 2015. It has studio apartments with a smaller floor plan. “We really aimed that one at kids who were graduating out of UNI,” she said. “We geared this building to younger professionals” in hopes of “retaining some of that younger talent in the Cedar Valley.” Those, units around 800 to 900 square feet for about $1,000 to $1,200 per month, also are 100 percent occupied.

One of those residents is Florida native Kenny Stevenson of the How Factory, a firm that builds software for industrial companies, located at 200 State. He’s

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Work continues at the 250 State construction site in Cedar Falls. lived there four months. He’d been frustrated finding the right type of rental unit. While he initially had misgiving about living in the same building where he works, “it’s really nice just jumping on the elevator going down to the second floor.”

He also said there are great opportunities to make friends and network with other tenants and other users of the co-working space. He enjoys the common areas and is looking forward to using the workout area at 250 State.

“We feel like we really hit our stride this year,” Dodd said. The 44,000-square-foot 200 State building was popular with younger people who were originally from the Cedar Valley area, many of whom work in the Mill Race “coworking” space for entrepreneurs, young professions and others working remotely for other employers. The addition of two commercial tenants — Urban Pie and Absolute Results Technologies, a digital marketing firm — filled out the first-floor commercial space there.

The 250 State building will be 49,000 square feet. The building at Second and State is now larger with the addition of the ballroom and other facilities. The first level will be parking.

“This is really a sister building to 300 State. It’s purely residential,” Dodd said. “We’re back to a bigger unit. This is a mix of one-bedrooms,two-bedrooms and even three bedrooms. We’re noticing our fastest growing population in the neighborhood are baby boomers. It’s people who are interested in downsizing; they’re interested in simplifying; they’re empty-nester travelers.

“We feel this is another sign of success,” she said. “With 200 State we felt we were retaining the young population coming out of UNI. We’re keeping that population here. And with this building, which is geared toward the family-friendly amenities — the larger unit sizes, the heated garage, the scenic, serene view of the river — we really feel that is attractive to that Baby Boomer generation.

We feel they’re able to be retained in this area as well. Rather than completely lose them to Arizona or Florida, they’re at least keeping one foot in the community. We’re already getting that demographic

COURTESY PHOTO‌

An artist’s rendering of River Place. down here,” in other buildings.

“This is obviously a population that’s interested in being down here.”

Retired UNI professor Mike Klassen and his wife, Emily, moved into 300 State after selling their Cedar Falls home of 25 years; then they moved into 200 State when that space was available. They are in Cedar Falls part of the year and travel the rest.

“We owned a house for 25 years and raised three kids and had five dogs,” Mike Klassen said by phone from Santa Barbara, Calif., where he and his wife were traveling and living out of their van.

“We’re kind interested in staying in our unit,” he said. “It’s on the northeast corner and has a 270 degee view from the window, spanning a good portion of the river and downtown landscape.

“This is kind of what we dreamed about,” as retirement approached, Klassen said. “Early on, we couldn’t find it in the Cedar Valley. We thought we’d have to move to Chicago or Minneapolis. Then there it was. Precisely what we wanted. We couldn’t be happier.”

With 250 State the idea is, “let’s build something that suits them even more,” Dodd said. “It’s completely low maintenance. We do the yard work. We do the snow, we do the maintenance, and let them focus on being on the trails and the activity downtown.” A major recreational trail is adjacent to the building, along the flood wall.

The buiding at 250 State, anticipated to be completed in Septemeber, will have 42 living units, ranging from $1,200 to $2,200 a month depending on the number of bedrooms and other factors.

Residents also can have a city view or a river view. First-time tenants in some of the larger units can

make custom improvements — cabinetry and other fixtures — for a longer-term lease.

“2017 is also going to be huge for us in terms of amenities in the neighborhood,” Dodd said.

“This building’s really our amenity-paced building.” It’ll have a fitness center, with showers, that residents and Mill Race co-working space members can use. The lobby will have hotel-lobby style seating with a fireplace and a coffee bar. The building is oriented toward the river and a to-be-constructed events plaza to the north.

One end of each floor will be devoted to common areas residents of individual units may use at different times, like a dining room or larger family gatherings and a media room with a flatscreen television for watching parties. The space between 200 and 250 State would be beautified with green space and possibly a community grilling area. A one-bedroom unit on each floor will be retained for for nightly “bed-and-breakfast” rentals, individuals traveling on business or for tenants who have additional overnight guests. The units will have contemporary finishes and ample closet space. “We think it’ll go over well,” she said.

Some existing River Place residents already have expressed interest in the units. There also are about 20 households on a waiting list for residences. Kevin Dill, executive director of the Black Hawk County Veteran Affairs Commission, is waiting to move into 250 State from another building in the complex.

“We like it,” Dill said. “At times the noise level between units is loud with dogs barking and loud neighbors, but for the most part we like it there. The management team is awesome and it’s a cool

place to live. ... It is an adjustment coming from a house, as you have to get used to noisy neighbors at times.

“The new building will have updated items,” he said. “Larger areas for storage, more appropriate for older folks who have sold their home and want to downsize.

The new place will have two full bathrooms.”

While 250 State is being completed, the parking lot off East Second behind the 100 block of Main Street will be redone beginning in the spring, reconfiguring and adding spaces and making room for River Place’s fourth building at East Second and State.

It’s hoped parking lot work would be completed prior to the annual Sturgis Falls Celebration in late June.

Construction on the East Second and State building, called 100 East Second, would start this summer. “While we’re finishing 250 State, 100 East Second will be breaking ground,” Dodd said.

Plans for 100 East Second were recently expanded in size. “We did a study with our architects, and the building height doesn’t need to grow hardly at all to get an additional floor in there,” she said.

“It was honestly prompted by Pipac closing.” Pipac Center on the Lake in the Cedar Falls Technology Park recently was closed and sold for administrative offices for Area Education Agency 267. They hope to fill a void in meeting space at 100 East Second.

“We think it’s a pretty natural idea for someone to want to hold a wedding in the (planned events) plaza and want adjacent space to hold a reception or party,” Dodd said.

The second floor of 100 East Second would open out onto the top tier of the levee and top of the flood levee and would be coordinated with plans to raise that levy pending U.s. Army Corps of Engineers approval. A restaurant would be located on that level.

Sarah Bey of River Place said the first-level commercial space would have several, smaller “incubator” spaces for beginning retailers, at about 650 square feet each, with the possibility for sidewalk sales, and be anchored by a restaurant adjacent to the plaza.

Residential units would be on two levels with a lofted bedroom.

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PROGRESS 2017

THE COURIER

Thursday, February 23, 2017 | E15

Game industry growing in Cedar Falls software upgrade that can kill half a day at their offices takes about seven minutes here.

“The cost of living compared to LA, or San Francisco, or wherever is not even comparable in a lot of ways, and here, plenty of space, great internet, lower cost of living, great trail systems; there’s a lot of good reasons to live here,” said Cash, who grew up here and went to UNI as well.

CHRISTINIA CRIPPES

christinia.crippes@wcfcourier.com‌

‌CEDAR FALLS — Danny Laudick was interested in the software game development industry. He studied computer science at University of Northern Iowa for awhile. And he grew up here.

Still, it wasn’t until he took a job in a completely different field that he learned the Cedar Valley had its own growing gaming industry.

“I was looking at all the game development companies, in California, Austin, Texas. It never crossed my mind that there might be some local game development companies,” said Laudick, who is now the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber’s director of talent solutions.

But, to be fair, the industry here is just beginning to blossom.

The game development industry in the Cedar Valley started in 1998 with Phantom EFX, which later became part of the international gaming company Scientific Games.

But then it wasn’t until 2011 that a second company, Jam City, expanded into Cedar Falls. Then, in 2012, Marmoset — a support industry that makes art tools and software used in game development, as well as other industries — followed suit.

“We’re just getting to that point where our stuff is about to go out in the wild, and we’ll see how we did, but we’re all pretty excited about it. It’s always fun to put new games out there,” said Nick Cash, lead software engineer at Jam City.

The Cedar Falls branch of Jam City are all engineers, who have helped put together a mobile game that’s about to launch called Snoopy Pop that is like an already popular Jam City game Panda Pop but uses the “Peanuts” characters.

“I think it’s very surprising for people to know that two of the biggest mobile publishers in the world, basically, have offices here,” said Cash, who had previously been recruited to work at Scientific Games but left to help Jam City launch locally.

He stressed, though, the scale

Building an industry‌

BRANDON POLLOCK, COURIER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER‌

Nick Cash at work at Jam City in Cedar Falls.

“We’re just getting to that point where our stuff is about to go out in the wild, and we’ll see how we did, but we’re all pretty excited about it.

It’s always fun to put new games out there.”

Nick Cash, lead software engineer at Jam City is different. Scientific Games has well over 100 employees; Jam City, at least here in Iowa, has five.

But both have room to grow here.

Why Iowa?‌

With Laudick’s work now, he knows there are a few ways to grow industries. It’s about a location’s talent pool, the ability to grow and attract more talented people, as well as having the infrastructure.

Silicon Valley, for instance, has a density of engineers, designers and others eager to work in a tech

industry like game development.

But in 1998, there were four Cedar Falls people interested in going from graphic design to computer game development, and thus, a small, local talent pool formed Phantom EFX. Jam City started the opposite of its predecessor. Where Phantom grew locally and then became part of one of the biggest game development companies, Jam City was founded out west and then, thanks to local ties, expanded into the Cedar Valley.

But part of why both stay, and

why Jam City located here, has to do with infrastructure.

And in game development, that means high-speed internet.

There, Cedar Falls has a bit of a reputation. In fact, former President Barack Obama visited Cedar Falls in January 2015 to highlight it as Iowa’s first city to offer 1 gigabit per second internet service.

Cash said from talking to his San Francisco colleagues, it’s abundantly clear they can’t compete with Iowa’s internet. He once tested the difference with a colleague there and learned a

Laudick works across industries to make sure the Cedar Valley is a place that can grow and attract talented workers. But in the game development industry in particular, Laudick knows better than most the challenge of raising awareness that high-tech companies exist here.

So, he worked with the Alliance to partner with area businesses to host an event in the Cedar Valley: a sort of speed-game development get-together called Ludum Dare. The event will be held April 21 to 24 at Mill Race in Cedar Falls.

The events usually take place online, and development would still happen using computers, but by holding a live event, they hope to raise awareness about the industry by attracting would-be developers.

“We’re looking for artists; we’re looking for composers, anyone with musical talent; any programmers; any game designers, just whoever it’s going to be, get them in the space, preferably get them to meet each other,” Cash said. “If you’re passionate about games, this is a chance for everybody to kind of get together.”

Cash made clear the event is still in the planning phases, but he said it will be an important event to get game developers throughout the Midwest together to keep growing the industry locally.

“It is a networking event, in that way, but our goal is really mostly to build games and have fun and hopefully meet some people,” Cash said.

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E16 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | F1

PROGRESS

POWER

Leading the CHARGE SPARKING ideas

of CEDAR VALLEY 167 YEARS 119 YEARS P & J Equipment Grain Handling Specialists LaPorte City 342-3542 8 mi. S. of W’loo on Dysart Rd.

165 YEARS

Palace Clothiers At Palace Clothiers, we want you to Suit Up! Waterloo 234-7537 Cedar Falls 266-1958 www.palaceclothiers.com

Denver, Readlyn, Shell Rock, Waverly Waverly, IA 1-800-772-2085

319-352-1187 www.kaisercorson.com

163 YEARS

115 YEARS

Black Hawk Hotel

The Powers Mfg. Co.

WATERLOO CEDAR FALLS

AAA Insurance and Travel 3366 Kimball Ave Waterloo, IA 50702 319-236-3620

115 YEARS

First Maxfield Farmers Mutual Mutual Insurance Telephone Company 541 Young St, Jesup, IA 50648 319-827-3434 www.jtt.net

156 YEARS 115 YEARS 615 Main St., C.F. 266-3525 Noble-Brown-Jung-KunzNelson-Richardson

US Bank 3130 Kimball Ave, Waterloo, IA 50702 319-235-3240

Cedar Falls, Plainfield, Waverly 319-352-1340 www.myfnbbank.com

Spahn & Rose 850 6th St., Jesup 319-827-1448 www.spahnandrose.com

A Storey Kenworthy Company Printing Services, Office Products & Furniture, Promotional Products, Facility Supplies Waterloo & Cedar Rapids

Iowa Securities Investment Corp

Serving Iowans w/com’l real estate loans/investments since 1906.

3346 Kimball Ave., W’loo 236-3334

145 YEARS 111 YEARS Black Hawk Mutual Insurance Association

Providing Farm and Home Insurance for Black Hawkand adjoining counties.

353 E. Eldora Road Hudson 988-4101

Universal Industries, Inc. Gentle Handling Specialists Dean A. Bierschenk, Owner 5800 Nordic Dr., C.F. 319-277-7501 1-800-553-4446

145 YEARS 110 YEARS

Black Hawk County Abstract Levi Bros. Jewelers Your Trusted Partner Since 1871, 614 Sycamore St,

420 E. 11th St. Cedar Falls 277-2141

Hilpipre Auction Co. 103 years of family auctioneering.

“Since 1914” www.hilpipre.com Cedar Falls 235-6007

102 YEARS Black Hawk Electrical Co

102 Years

General Sheet Metal Works Inc

Northeast Iowa’s largest supplier of small quantity metals 217 Rath St, Waterloo 319-234-5428 www.generalsheetmetaliowa.com

101 YEARS

90 YEARS Farmers Savings Bank Fred Rewoldt and Martha Bockholt Rewoldt started the bank in Feb., 1926 FDIC. No Service Charge www.frederikabank.com Frederika, IA 319-275-4301

87 YEARS Varsity Cleaners

Full shirt laundry service Dry Cleaning Shirt Laundry Alterations Drapes and More

86 YEARS Roth Jewelers Diamonds • Pandora • Swarovski 229 E. 5th Street, Downtown Waterloo Since 1931

85 YEARS

agvantagefs.com 1-800-346-0058

85 YEARS

John Deere Waterloo Operations

Carney Alexander

99 YEARS Beecher, Field, Walker, Morris, Hoffman & Johnson, P.C.

“JEWELERS SINCE 1908”

98 YEARS Sunnyside Country Club

Marold & Co., L.L.P., CPAs 500 E. 4th St., Ste. 300 233-3318

83 YEARS Petersen & Tietz

Florists & Greenhouses Deeply Rooted in the Cedar Valley 2275 Independence, W’loo 234-6883 1-866-280-4084 family owned and operated www.petersenandtietz.com

83 YEARS

StruXture Architects

www.sunnysidecountryclub.com

Architecture Interior Design Master Planning 314 East 4th Street Waterloo, IA 50703 Tel: 319.234.1515 www.struXture.com

98 YEARS

82 YEARS

1600 Olympic Dr, Waterloo 319-234-1707

Schoitz Engineering, Inc.

78 YEARS

70 YEARS

Wilber Auto Body & Salvage Since 1939 Shop: 232-5927, Yard: 232-1747

78 YEARS Waterloo Lions Club We Serve

Stoner Radiator

HWY. 63 SOUTH WATERLOO, IA 234-6615

New radiators - heaters fuel tanks Air conditioning sales and service USED CAR SALES 724 Jefferson 235-9529

97 YEARS

82 YEARS

The Rasmusson Co. Towing and Recovery Service

“Legendary Customer Service” 406 Viking Rd., Cedar Falls www.martinbros.com

77 YEARS

69 YEARS

Concrete Steps Custom Steel Handrails Septic Tanks 2116 Commercial Waterloo 232-4727

76 YEARS

International Paper Waterloo Container Plant 800 W. Parker 234-1753

73 YEARS Young Plumbing & Heating Co.

72 YEARS

Locke Funeral Home Where your wishes have governed for four generations. www.lockefuneralhome.com 1519 West 4th, W’loo 233-6138

Moeller & Walter

Northland Products, Co.

Tjernagel Insurance

BDI 1826 Black Hawk St, Waterloo 319-234-6845 www.bdiusa.com

81 YEARS

72 YEARS

95 YEARS Farnsworth Electronics

Always Dependable, Honest Service & Fair Prices

“Electronic Parts Distributors”

Where it is our mission to do what’s right, put our clients first, and provide financial security 319-233-8441 waterloo.nm.com

1010 BROADWAY 233-8411, 268-9110

122+ YEARS 107 YEARS Iowa Custom Machine

Bloom Mfg., Inc. Hydraulic Cable Winches.

General Machine Work 206 Edwards, Waterloo 233-3918

Visit our website: www.bloommfg.com 1443 220th St., Independence 319-827-1139

122 YEARS

106 YEARS

Cardinal Construction, Inc. “Build with the Best”

531 Commercial St, Suite 700, Waterloo, IA, 232-5400 www.cardinalconst.com

YWCA of Black Hawk County 425 Lafayette St. Waterloo, IA 50703 319-234-7589 www.ywcabhc.org

122 YEARS 106 YEARS

201 E. MULLAN 234-6681

Sales/Service Freight, passenger and home elevators One Schumacher Way, Denver 800-779-5438, 984-5676 schumacherelevator.com

94 YEARS

81 YEARS

The Sinnott Agency, Inc.

tobaccos, and liquor 617 SYCAMORE, W’LOO 234-5958

Service Roofing Company

The Cedar Valley’s leading Low-Slope Commercial Roofing Contractor 319-232-4535 622 West 4th St., 233-6103 www.serviceroofing.net Bill, Steve, Tom and Dan Sinnott Insurance and Financial Services.

93 YEARS Waterloo Mills Co. 2050 Mitchell Ave., Waterloo 234-7756 800-772-2045

92 YEARS

Michael Painting and National Cigar Store UnityPoint Health Your Complete Newsstand Decorating Allen Hospital Featuring quality pipes,cigars, Co. Painting and Decorating Quality Since 1895 1008 JEFFERSON 232-3755

Schumacher Elevator

“The Heart Of Your Healthcare” allenhospital.org

80 YEARS

Kaplan University Real Iowans. Real Results.

72 YEARS

Wood, Metal and Plastic Patterns Full CAD/CAM Services 84 W. 11th St., W’loo 319-232-7993

Schuerman Auto Repair

Formerly Schuerman’s Phillips 66 Serving Automotive Needs Since 1945 1505 West 1st, C.F. 277-5343

72 YEARS

Higby Co Family run hardware store 3315 W 1st St, Cedar Falls 319-266-0720 www.higbyco.com

71 YEARS Huff Contracting, Inc.

1310 Grandview Avenue Waterloo, IA 50703 319-277-0220 319-233-9000 7009 Nordic Dr, Cedar Falls www.huffcontractinginc.com CF.Kaplan.edu

80 YEARS Kirk Gross Co.

“1937-2017” Your one source for successful business facilities. www.kirkgross.com 4015 Alexandra Dr., W’loo 234-6641

Craig Fairbanks Homes

71 YEARS Lebeda 5713 University Avenue Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-6278 www.lebeda.com/cedar-falls

60 YEARS

Advanced Systems Waterloo

57 YEARS Wayne Claassen Engineering AND SURVEYING, INC. 2705 University Ave., W’lo

57 YEARS Financial Decisions Group

Trust, Dependability, Experience 319-232-6621 www.asiowa.com

3013 Greyhound Dr. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-8476 www.FDG.net

60 YEARS

56 YEARS

Exceptional Persons, Inc. Black Hawk Hearing

59 YEARS

56 YEARS

School Bus Sales Goodwill Industries

63 years, 3 generations 319-553-1457 www.craigfairbankshomes.com

4537 Texas St, Waterloo, IA 319-296-1363 www.sbsales.com

63 YEARS

59 YEARS

Art Carter and Son Electric

Hawkeye Alarm and Signal Co.

of Northeast Iowa “Our business works so people can.”

2640 Falls Ave. Waterloo 234-4626

55 YEARS

Cedar Falls Construction Co.

3533 W. Airline Hwy. Waterloo, IA 50703 Family Owned Highway Construction Business 319-235-6746

Family Owned Bob Frickson, owner Specializing in sewers, waters, basements, and demolition.

319-235-0080

725 Adams St., W’loo 319-232-9808

68 YEARS

63 YEARS

59 YEARS

55 YEARS

Don’s TV & Maximum Sight and Sound

Holmes Weldingand Fabrication Ltd.

Town & Country Home Improvement

Manpower Services

Employment and Staffing and Workforce Solutions 3823 University Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701

68 YEARS

Petersen Hudson Hdwe. Plumbing & Heating

Residential and Commercial Wiring

Warren Transport, Inc. Waterloo Warren Transport’s Home 210 Beck Ave., W’loo 233-6113

67 YEARS The Crown Group

Iowa’s Oldest UL Listed Burglar Alarm Company 16 W. Commercial, W’loo 232-0490

www.maximumsightandsound.com 4017 UNIVERSITY 234-0344 Terry Root - owner

“Knowledge and experience make the difference.”

Hudson 319-988-3727 www.holmeswelding.com

63 YEARS

59 YEARS

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Ray Mount Wrecker Service

Community Builders Supply Co.

City and National Employment

62 YEARS

Midwest Pattern Co.

108 YEARS

63 YEARS

68 YEARS

Est. 1944 Your full service feed, egronomy, and grain cooperative business.

Dunkerton, 822-4201

800 Commercial Street 319-233-0471 www.overheaddoor.com

Morg’s Diner

520 Mulberry St., W’loo 319-234-2416

Connecting people, creating Aid Centers 4501 Prairie Pkwy opportunities, and nurturing HEARING UNLIMITED Cedar Falls, IA 50613 growth since 1957.

Sound Advice and 319-277-8000 760 Ansborough Avenue, Sound Products Waterloo, IA, 50701 https://www.lockardhomes.com 3138 Kimball Ave., Waterloo www.episervice.org 234-4360 319-232-6671

73 YEARS

81 YEARS

Fereday Heating and Air Conditioning

65 YEARS Lockard Realty

www.youngphc.com

97 YEARS

123+ YEARS

319-827-6920

People who “WORK” for you!!

One call does it all!!

221 E. 4th, Waterloo 232-6641

Dunkerton Co-op

Overhead Door Company of Waterloo

57 YEARS

319-235-6294

Family Owned and Operated Tom Petersen, Owner 520 Main St. 988-3231

“Your Choice for Comfort”

109 YEARS

Northwester Mutual

Frickson Bros.

Excavating

319-233-8473

141 YEARS

www.moellerandwalter.com

69 YEARS

Peoples Appliance Amana Maytag Kitchenaide Tappan Frigidaire Brad-Fred-Morris Adam Morris 451 LaPorte Rd., W’loo 232-0140

Lister Concrete Products

Family Owned Since 1952 “Best Darned Ribs in Town” 315 Park Rd., Waterloo 233-9111

722 Water St #302, Waterloo, IA 319-234-3542 611 Young St, Jesup, IA

Ready Mixed Concrete, Inc. Serving the Metro Area for 65 Years 725 Center, C. F. 266-2641

Martin Bros.

Distributing Co., Inc.

60 YEARS

918 Newell Street,

1009 W. 23rd Street Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-7581 www.panthersupply.com

77 YEARS

65 YEARS

D&K Hickory House

65 YEARS

Benton’s

Iowa Wall Systems, Inc.

Rely on Iowa Wall Systems Inc for all your wall and ceiling needs. 4601 Crestwood Dr, Waterloo.

296-1663. www.iowawallsystems.com

Pieters & Pieters

Waterloo, Iowa 50703

60 YEARS

60 Years of Delivering Innovation to Design Professionals 6201 Chancellor Dr., C.F. 319-277-5538 www.rapidsrepro.com

KBBG - FM 88.1

69 YEARS

University Book & Supply

65 YEARS

Rapid Reproductions, Inc.

70 YEARS

78 YEARS

www.blackhawkabstract.com

Complete Insurance Since 1920 www.tjernagel.com 2920 Falls Ave.W’loo, IA 50701 319-235-6719

5714 Nordic Dr Suite 100, Cedar Falls 319-277-1026 http://craftcochraniowa.com

319-235-1515

9716 University Ave. Cedar Falls, IA 277-3802

1000 Rainbow Dr., W’loo 319-234-5585

Craft-Cochran, Inc Screenprint and Embroidery

www.kbbgfm.org

306 E. 4th, Waterloo 233-6951

101 Blackhawk St, Reinbeck, IA 50669 319-788-6459

319-277-9748

RothJewelers.com

99 YEARS

Est. March 1918.

116 E 4th St, Cedar Falls, IA 50613

216 W. 11th, Waterloo 233-3571 www.varsitycleaners.com

PDCM Insurance 3022 Airport BLVD, Waterloo, IA 50703 234-8888 www.pdcm.com

AGENT: United Van Lines 5614 Nordic Dr., Cedar Falls 266-3591 www.bluelinemoving.com

2000 Heritage Way Waverly, IA 50677 www.cunamutual.com

Waterloo. 291-4000.

00 1

7th and Commercial, W’loo 232-6861

Locally Owned Since 1916

319-234-1766 www.Beecherlaw.com 620 Lafayette St, Waterloo

149 YEARS 111 YEARS Matt Parrott

Serving the community and industry for 87 years

www.usbank.com

153 YEARS 112 YEARS First National Bank

Fullfilling Lifestyles for Seniors

since 1905

156 YEARS

Richardson Funeral Home

Maid-Rite

1615 Jefferson St, Waterloo 319-233-3387 www.blackhawkelectrical.com

www.mn-ia-aaa.com

FOUNDED IN 1862

70 YEARS

Blue Line Moving & Storage, Inc.

1340 Sycamore 233-6118

100 E. 4th

801 S. State St., Denver, IA 50622 319-984-5255 www.firstmaxfield.com

79 YEARS

Superior Welding Supply Co.

Supplying America’s Finest Quality Special Order Athletic Uniforms

157 YEARS 115 YEARS The Courier

90 YEARS

Western Home Communities

116 YEARS 103 YEARS Kaiser Corson Funeral Home

115 Main St Cedar Falls 319-277-1161 www.theblackhawkhotel.com

105 YEARS

ENERGIZING lives

Stetson Building Products, LLC

829 Sycamore Street, Waterloo 232-4444

Over 55 years’ experience!

1127 Jefferson St, Waterloo 1-800-728-6665 www.communitybuildersia.com

59 YEARS

54 YEARS

Riddles Jewelry

65 Stores Family Owned We are committed to products 57 Years Crossroads Mall Upper Level & College and service which exceed our Square. One of the largest customers expectations.

236-5074 selections of jewelry in 320 W. 18th, W’loo Eastern Iowa www.stetsons.com www.riddlesjewelry.com

61 YEARS

Woodruff Construction, LLC

59 YEARS NewAldaya Lifescapes

2320 Northeast Dr, Waterloo, IA 319-493-3490 www.thecrowngrp.com

Locations in Ames, Fort Dodge, Iowa City, and Waterloo 319-233-3349 www.woodruffcompanies.com

7511 University Avenue Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-268-0401 www.newaldaya.org

67 YEARS

61 YEARS

58 YEARS

Big River Equipment Co., Inc. New and Used Forklifts, Parts, Service All Brands, Rentals 2950 West Airline Hwy., Waterloo 319-235-6741

67 YEARS Don Gardner Construction, Company

Community Foundation of NE Iowa

Changing communities together.

For good. For ever.

319-287-9106 www.CFNEIA.org

61 YEARS Evansdale Pharmacy “For all your healthcare needs.”

Com’l, Ind’l, Res’l Mark Gardner-owner 315 LaPorte Rd., Waterloo 234-0272

3506 Lafayette Rd., Evansdale 233-3395

67 YEARS

61 YEARS

Schuck Realty Co. SINCE 1950.

REAL ESTATE OUR ONLY BUSINESS www.schuckrealtyco.com PARKERSBURG 346-1364 319-404-1502

66 YEARS

Bowers Masonry, Inc. Waterloo, Iowa 63 Years in Business Concrete, paving brick, block.

233-0168

66 YEARS

Pawsitive Pet Care Dr. Bradley Kneeland Taking care of your furry friends for 59 years.

1799 Ansborough, W’loo 234-7511

More Years In Business on next page.

Grout Museum of History & Science

(Currently known as The Grout Museum District) 503 South Street Waterloo, IA 319-234-6357 www.gmdistrict.org

5 4920 Dubuque Rd Waterloo, IA 50703 319-235-9565 www.TCHomeImprovement.com

Cadillac Lanes 650 La Porte Rd, Waterloo

Cedar Falls Mobile Home Village

Quiet Park-New/Used Sales 1 mile W. of the UNI-DOME 266-6093 cfmobilehomevillage.com

54 YEARS Sandee’s Custom engravers Stamp-Signs-Seals Stencils-Promo Products 1111 South St., W’LOO 235-1681

54 YEARS Silver Spur Saddle Shop

Full Service Western Store

319-234-6888

3574 W Shaulis Rd, Waterloo 319-988-4539 www.silverspurshop.com

58 YEARS

53 YEARS

Elliott-Hartman Agency

Property and Liability Insurance for Businesses and Individuals 611 Ansborough Ave. Waterloo, IA 50704 319-233-8459

58 YEARS

Narey’s 19th Hole, 2073 Logan Ave, Waterloo 319-234-9739 Family owned since 1959

104 Blackhawk St, Reinbeck

53 YEARS Kramer Sausage Co.

Wholesale-Retail Custom Processing 322 Main St., La Porte City 342-2693 www.KramerSausage.com

60 Years

58 YEARS

52 YEARS

Hawkeye Sheet Metal Co

Goos Implement Ltd

Denver Sunset Home

83 W 15th St, Waterloo, IA 50702 319-233-1415

60 YEARS Stickfort Electric Co 201 E 22nd St, Cedar Falls, IA 319-266-5438 www.stickfortelectric.com

235 N Mill St, 1333 IA-96, Gladbrook, Denver IA 50622 IA 50635 319-984-5372 641-473-2403 www.goosimplement.com www.denversunsethome.com

57 YEARS Harris Cleaning Service

Family Owned and Operated Since 1960 Fred J. Harris Brian - Tim - Ronda Waterloo, IA 235-6647

52 YEARS

Remedy Intelligent Staffing

Placing Light Industrial and Clerical Positions To apply online www.remedystaff.com or call 319-236-2330 1034 Alabar Plaza, W’loo www.remedyintelligent staffing.com

F2 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

POWER

Leading the CHARGE SPARKING ideas

of CEDAR VALLEY 52 YEARS

48 YEARS

TrueNorth-Kimble Insurance Group

HyPro Inc.

45 YEARS

Bachman Tool & Die Co

40 YEARS

37 YEARS

www.truenorthcompanies.com

51 YEARS

48 YEARS

44 YEARS

40 YEARS

37 YEARS

Hawkeye

Murphy’s Auto Service, L.L.C.

Cedar Falls Brown Bottle

Harwood Lawn Grooming

Koch Construction

Since 1969

Italian dining

1116 Wren Rd, Waterloo,

1111 Center Street, C.F. 319-266-2616 www.thebrownbottle.com

IA 50701

319-296-HAWK Waterloo

414 East 7th Street Waterloo 319-234-9752

51 YEARS

48 YEARS

44 YEARS

LaPorte City Specialty Care

RC Systems

Aspro, Inc.

Community College Connect hawkeyecollege.edu

A radio communications company.

La Porte Lodge - Video Surveillance A Care Initiatives Facility - Access Controls Devoted care to older Iowans We Service All Major Brands 319-342-2125 1657 Falls Ave. 234-3511

50+ Years

47 YEARS

Milroy’s Tuxedo

The Other Place 5 Local Locations in

When you want him

Asphalt Paving Contractors

35 YEARS

33 YEARS

Casa Montessori School

Stephen D. Knapp

Rainsoft

44 Years

40 YEARS

Jesup

110 Clay St, Cedar Falls 319-277-2528

319-827-1463

Automotive Service Solutions

46 YEARS

43 YEARS

39 YEARS

Powering Complex Brands

Boubin Automotive Services Cedar Rapids, Independence

Ridgeway True Value Hardware

Dennis Eslick Eslick Financial Group

Hellman

www.hellman.com 1225 W. 4th St. Waterloo 319-234-7055

50 YEARS 1-800-Flowers Flowerama Serving Iowa for Over 50 years!

Municipal Pipe Tool Co., LLC

Proshield Fire & Security

42 YEARS Christie Door Company

Raynor quality garage doors/openers.

209 W 5th St, Waterloo, Service/parts for all brands.

IA 50701 Locally Owned/Operated 319-232-3014 1905 State St, CF 266-1627 www.waterloobrownbottle.com

45 YEARS The Sled Shed

42 YEARS

North Star Community Service

Computer Reboot

When Used Will Do” 202 Glendale St., W’loo 234-7715

Schaefer Tree

27 YEARS Furniture Showcase

2806 Falls Avenue 319-233-9580 www.creboot.com

21 YEARS Cedar Valley Mobility

915 Technology Parkway Cedar Falls, IA 50613 877-321-4992

39 YEARS

36 YEARS

35 YEARS

32 YEARS

27 YEARS

21 YEARS

Anderson Collision

Youngblut Motors

Craig Holdiman

Brothers Construction, Inc.

LJ’s Welding & Fabrication

Specializing in Residential Real Estate Appraisals 209 Graceline, 236-2942 www.holdimanappraisals.com

Remodeling New Construction 319-342-3534

319-236-2844

Pat’s Auto Salvage

We love it when you succeed!

106 E. 3rd St. Waterloo, IA 50703

3804 Hammond Ave, Waterloo, IA 50702 319-291-7210

I Care Certified Environmentally Friendly We sell Quality used parts and buy wrecked or unwanted cars.

945 Lowell Ave., 232-0704

Automotive Collision Repair Specialists 6th & Washington Cedar Falls 277-5661

Dave, Tadley and Howard

39 YEARS

36 YEARS

35 YEARS

31 YEARS

26 YEARS

21 YEARS

Waterloo Oil Co., Inc.

C & C Welding and Sandblasting

VJ Engineering

Benton Sand & Gravel Inc

Express Employment Professionals

Curran Plumbing, Inc.

Where customer and quality comes first offering custom blended renewable fuels.

319-234-4693

120 Vinton Waterloo • 232-6849

REAL ESTATE APPRAISER

141 Center St Waterloo, IA 50703

Civil/Structural Rod Curran, Owner Owners: Joel and Jeff Cizek Engineering and 905 Center St, Cedar Falls Helping People Succeed Since 1996 Drawtite hitches Surveying “The Plumber Your Friends estern & Boss snow plows 3014 Rownd St. 319-266-2621 Call” Blue Ox Towing Equipment 1501 Technology Parkway Cedar Falls 277-6603 1714 River St. 232-4741 233-0353 www.expresscedarfalls.com Cedar Falls 266-5829 www.bentonsg.com

36 YEARS

34 YEARS

31 YEARS

26 YEARS

21 YEARS

Professional Lawn Care

Automatic Amusements, Inc.

Craig’s Vac Shop

Karen’s Print Rite

Kvale Insurance

Business and Personal Printing Embroidery

Barmuda Companies

Service Signing LC

SALES AND SERVICE

1425 West 5th Street

Complete line of traffic control devices for sale or rental.

Waterloo, IA

Providing the Cedar Valley www.pemltd.com with Internet Juke Boxes, 2635 W.C.F.& N. Dr. Pool Tables and Dart Leagues Waterloo, IA 50703 232-1371 e-mail sales@pemltd.com 319-232-2311 Milton Horak, President

45 YEARS Europa Cycle & Ski

45 YEARS

2515 Falls Ave., Waterloo 235-6085

36 YEARS

34 YEARS

31 YEARS

26 YEARS

21 YEARS

Lichty Auto Repair

Potter’s Hearing Aid Services

L & N Transportation Services, Inc.

Aces

111 West 4th, C.F.

Magee Construction

Design/Build Industrial, Commercial, Residential 1705 Waterloo Rd., C.F. mageeconstruction.com 319-277-0100

41 YEARS

38 YEARS

36 YEARS

Helland Engineering & Surveying LTD

Compressed Air and Equipment

41 YEARS

John Deery Motors Hoffman & Hoffman Trenching, Inc. Nissan Lincoln Mitsubishi www.deery.com 6823 University, Cedar Falls 277-6200

Underground Utililty and Directional Boring contractors 3822 W. Airline 232-4807

45 YEARS

41 YEARS Transmission

(319)296-2994

Waterloo 319-833-9428

3533 W. Airline Hwy 235-9356

Sales and Repair of Transportation Brokerage All Major Brands 1416 W. 4th St., Waterloo 209 Main St. Cedar Falls 232-7113 319-266-2845

34 YEARS

30 YEARS

Manchester Livestock AUCTIONS, INC.

Fifth Street Tire Co B.W. Contractors, Inc.

quality tires from Goodyear, Kelly, Dunlop and other top tire brands as well as automotive repair and services to the Waterloo area 515 W 5th St, Waterloo

25 YEARS

319-266-9800 Trust IT To Us!

21 YEARS Breakenridge Memorials

319-234-6871 www.fifthstreettire.com

Industrial Machinery Moving and Rigging Heated Storage Shrink Wrap Services 23 Years of Excellence Family Owned 987-2070

“Let us show you the difference” 319-988-4051 Family Owned and Operated Scott, Judy, Joe, Dawn www.breakenridgememorials.com

34 YEARS

30 YEARS

24 YEARS

20 YEARS

Tim & Mike’s Auto Repair

Rileys Floors

Sweerin Brothers

3230 Marnie Ave

Deery Brothers Collision Center

Masonry

201 E Seerley Blvd, 319-266-9900 www.deerycollision.com

36 YEARS

Cunningham

Waterloo Auto Parts

Construction

USED-NEW-REBUILT

277-3001

1501 GRANDVIEW, W’LOO 1-800-728-5207 319-234-5207

216 7th St., Janesville 319-987-2271 24 hr. towing Tim Ward Mike Paul 319-231-4459

www.rileysgoors.com

Concrete and Masonry 319-235-9698 sweerinbrothersmasonry.com

38 YEARS

36 YEARS

34 YEARS

30 YEARS

24 YEARS

20 YEARS

Aable Pest Control

Waterloo Warehousing & Service Co., Inc.

Reedy’s Auto Sales

Cedar Valley Lawn Care

Chain of Lakes Marine Inc.

1025 Center St. Cedar Falls

Dan Deery Motor Co.

WATERLOO 233-7649

49 Years

45 YEARS

40 YEARS

37 YEARS

Clark & Associates Prosthetics

TnK Health Food Store

Bertch Cabinet Manufacturing Inc Family owned and operated 4747 Crestwood Dr, Waterloo 319-296-2987 www.bertch.com

Waterloo, IA 50701

38 YEARS

• Chrysler • Dodge • Jeep • Toyota • Scion www.dandeerymotor.com 277-4500 233-5000 266-5500 Cedar Falls Waterloo

2125 FALLS AVENUE

7735 Ansborough Ave.

manchesterauction.com Since 1983 Manchester, Iowa 563-927-2540

www.lattinphoto.com 3429 MIDWAY DRIVE CEDAR FALLS 277-7100

Rebuilders, Inc.

Office Concepts, Ltd.

European Car Specialist

Waterloo’s Leader in Office Supplies, Furniture and Printing 319 Broadway, W’loo, IA 234-1221 Fax 234-6506

Ford, Kia, VW, & Chevy 20833 La Porte Rd. 234-4200 2728 Main St. C.F. 277-8123 www.withamautocenters.com

“Try TnK for a Healthier Way” 1023 Peoples Square, Waterloo 319-235-0246 www.tnkhealth.net

266-0105

6027 University Avenue Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-9994 www.barmuda.com

All Makes of Vacuums

Waterloo • Grundy Center Independence • Waverly 319-272-2002 800-617-1972 www.cvhospice.org

Headquarters for Your 707 Hwy. 218 N. Bicycling and Crosscountry La Porte City 342-2440 Skiing Needs 1-800-727-7908 4302 University Ave.,C.F 1107 Technology Parkway Cedar Falls, IA 50613 24 hr. Answering Service 277-0734 www.compress-air.com www.europacycle.com 266-0161

Life Touch, formerly Witham Auto Centers Lattin Photography

527 Park Lane, Waterloo 319-233-8911 www.clarkpo.com

Agape Therapy

211 W 6th St, Cedar Falls, No job too big or small, bonded and insured for your protection.

IA 50613 Concrete, residential, commercial 319-277-3166 1310 Grandview Ave www.agapetherapy.com 319-236-0300

38 YEARS

49 YEARS

Ford Has Been Here Serving You

“Why Buy New

42 YEARS

Imports, Front Wheel Drives, Domestics 500 Ansborough, Waterloo 232-9991

49 YEARS

22 YEARS

Power Engineering Manufacturing LTD

Live a Healthy Life 3731 Kimball Ave., W’loo 319-232-1143

La Porte City 342-2207

28 YEARS Christone Concrete Inc.

45 YEARS

“If You Need a Garage You Want ACTION!!”

Free Estimate 232-1477 or 1-877-488-1477

Independence 334-2868

32 YEARS

105 E. 9th, Waterloo 235-9200

234-0652

525 E. 18th St. Cedar Falls 266-7721

Cedar Valley Hospice

Storage Co.

Over 40 years experience in the Waterloo, Cedar Falls area 233-4157

9 20th St SE Oelwein, IA 50662 319-283-2393 www.FurnitureShowcaseInc.com

Vanderloo Chiropractic Clinic

Ready Rooms

35 YEARS

Complete service from Design to Finish.

516 Bluff, Cedar Falls 277-0627

Specializing in large tree transplanting. Nursery stock available.

Cedar Falls 277-7173

Action Garage Builders

49 YEARS

37 Years

Regal Plastic Supply Quail’s Auto Salvage Company

High quality tools, dies, fixtures, molds.

Cedar River Tower Senior Apartments

38 YEARS

233-3543

A-1 “Jim’s” Appliance Service

Repair Auto Stainless Steel Polishing Refurnished 319-478-8351 503 2nd, Traer www.qualityauto56.com

AND STUMP REMOVAL • Land clearing for new construction we also remove hedges and shrubs. Any stump, any size, any place. Our smaller stump grinder fits thru a 3’ gate, call anytime.

236-1956 269-1544

42 YEARS

Electrical Contractors

Quality Auto Repair

Cover-All

Mudd Advertising

45 YEARS

1915 Jefferson St., W’loo

22 YEARS

Harting & Hunemuller CONTRACTORS, L.C.

Dierks Tree Transplant, INC.

49 YEARS

Of Waterloo

28 YEARS

Blackhawk Automatic Sprinklers, Inc.

319-233-3942

Paulson Electric Co.

33 YEARS Industrial Standard Tooling, Inc.

32 YEARS

1118 La Porte Road, Waterloo, IA 50702 319-233-3439 www.proshieldfireandsecurity.com

K&S Wheel Alignment Service

35 YEARS

35 YEARS

Outdoor Power Equipment “Formerly Adults, Inc.” Day, Employment and Sales & Service Sewer Maintenance and Supported Community 1626 Burton Ave. Rehabilitation Contractors Living Services for adults Waterloo, IA 50703 515 5th St., Hudson, with disabilities 232-8894 IA 50643 3420 University Ave., 319-988-4205 www.thesledshedwloo.com Waterloo 236-0901

50 YEARS

37 YEARS

36 YEARS

Waterloo Brown Bottle

50 YEARS

319-233-2038 3130 Marnie Ave. Waterloo

39 YEARS

2637 Wagner Rd.

22 YEARS Henninger Electric Serving La Porte City, Waterloo and Cedar Falls areas for all your electrical contracting needs 4031 Scenic Dr, Waterloo 319-232-6373

42 YEARS

Waterloo, IA 50703 235-9537 Highway and Concrete Paving Contractors cedarvalleycorp.com

24 Hrs Service 7 days a week Family owned and operated 3488 Wagner Rd. Waterloo, IA 50703 234-9114

Safeco - Travelers Progressive - Guide One 3826 Cedar Heights Dr. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-2320 1-800-800-8818

46 YEARS Cedar Valley Corp., LLC

Emerson Crane Rental

Let Us - Help You Save Transportation Dollars!

Waterloo, Iowa 1-800-234-3930

Manchester, Waterloo www.boubin.com

Scheels

www.scheels.com

Douglas Trunnell Insurance Agency

999 Home Plaza, Suite 201 319-833-5555 www.eslickfinancial.com

45 YEARS

319-277-3033

Gray Transportation, Inc.

2130 Kimball Ave Waterloo, IA 50702 319-234-0383 www.truevalue.net/ridgewaytv

50 YEARS

Cedar Falls

22 YEARS

Carl Luze Real Estate

117 Industrial Dr. Evansdale, IA 319-232-8757 www.regalplastic.com The Midwest’s Leader in the Distribution of Plastic Sheet, Rod, Tube, Film, and Fabricated Parts.

www.Flowerama.com

402 Viking Rd. Trail

28 YEARS

Like us on Facebook!

Dr. Robert Ebert, D.C. Dr. Chad J. Buss 1445 Ansborough Ave., W’loo 319-232-9436

dba Automotive Electric Embroidery, INC. Serving N.E. I.A. Corporate Wearables automotiveelectric.com 950 Sheerer Ave. And Work Wear Gary Gilbert, owner Waterloo, IA 50701 Dennis Rogers, svc advisor www.coverallembroidery.com 319-233-2533 1808 East. St., Cedar Falls 500 W. 5th, W’loo www.blackhawkgymnastics.com 233-4466 277-2385

50 YEARS

319-277-9355

of The Larrabee Center, INC Visit Our Biggest Little Thrift Store 8,000 Square Feet 114 10th Street SW Waverly, IA 50677 319-352-8029 www.larrabeecenter.com

Commercial Industrial Institutional

28 YEARS

35 YEARS Ebert Chiropractic Clinic

We’re proud to be part of the community.

Trinkets & Togs, A Division

33 YEARS

37 YEARS

All Car Transmission

Real Estate Leasing Self Storage

Black Hawk Roof Co., Inc.

215 W. 9th St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 277-8121 Serving Families For 31 Years

40 YEARS

K Properties 721 Timber Oak Rd. Evansdale, IA 319-231-6795

22 YEARS

Specializing in Acreages, Residential and Com’l Real Estate.

Serving Tama, Benton, Black Hawk Counties 329 Main St., Dysart, IA 319-476-4949 tamacountymis.com

44 YEARS

Metal Spinning for the Industry

Farris Stereo

23 YEARS

28 YEARS

Remote car starters car video - car stereo - car alarms Professional Installation 4007 University Ave, W’loo 232-0119

7314 Chancellor Dr., C.F. 266-1771

47 YEARS

Store, Inc.

Beal’s Sheet Metal

Kryton Engineered Metals

50 YEARS

1134 220th St.

33 YEARS

37 YEARS

3613 TEXAS ST. WATERLOO, IOWA 319-232-6537

Black Hawk Gymnastics

CAREER SOLUTIONS Hwy. 63, Hudson 3356 Kimball Ave., Suite 1000 988-4153 319-234-6201 www.billcolwellford.com 800-283-2756 www.byrnesandrupkey.com

40 YEARS

Ryan Exterminating, Inc.

milroysformalwear.com

Toby’s Tax

Clearly A Better Place

319-232-5129

493-4000

B&B Farm

Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.

Since 1980 215 E. Main St., C.F. 319-266-0807

Satisfaction....

Today and Tomorrow

Pest Control & Radon Testing 6607 Hammond Ave Waterloo, IA 50702 319-296-3227

REALTOR

29 YEARS

Bill Colwell Ford

7744 Ansborough Ave, Waterloo, IA 50701 (319) 233-8224 www.bealssheetmetal.com

Cedar Falls, Waterloo, Waverly, and Evansdale www.TheOtherPlace.com

to look his best!

35 YEARS

BMC Aggregates LC

33 YEARS

Supplying Crushed Stone, Sand and Gravel in Waterloo-Cedar Falls and the surrounding Cedar Valley area.

101 BMC Dr., Elk Run Heights, IA 50707 www.bmcaggregates.com 319-235-6583

Quality and Service You Can Depend On All Work Guaranteed 407 E. Mullan, W’loo 235-6300

Crossroads Mall Waterloo,

Servicemaster

by Harris

Omega Cabinetry Diamond Body Shop Combining experience with our production capabilities SPECIALIZING IN Providing Fire and Water Damage to create a broad range 1205 Peters Dr, Waterloo Restoration, Carpet and Upholstery COLLISION REPAIR of precision-machined Cleaning, Mold Remediation and “Quality Is Never components and assemblies Custodial Services 319-236-2256 An Accident” 1111 4th Ave, Independence 432 Locust St, Waterloo 319-334-6004 3419 Lafayette, Evansdale 319-291-3391 www.btdiowa.com www.smbyharris.com www.omegacabinetry.com 235-0479

Precision Machined Components From Concept to Completion 711 Enterprise Drive Cedar Falls, IA www.hypro.com

226 Main St., Cedar Falls 319-268-2034

35 YEARS

ENERGIZING lives

B&R Quality Meats, Inc.

Ready and “Aable” to serve you!

Warehousing

319-291-7200 1800 Commercial St. Waterloo

324 Duryea St. 236-0467

35 YEARS

34 YEARS

Midwest Boat Sales Den Herder & Repair Veterinary Hospital

Waterloo, IA 50701 319-233-9911

Mike and Derrick Reedy We Tote the Note Used cars of all types 232-4667 2009 Commercial St. Waterloo

1025 Peoples Square, Waterloo

Cedar Falls

2909 Airport Blvd., Waterloo 319-266-8500 319-233-1000 www.cedarvalleylawncare.com www.chainoflakesmarine.com

29 YEARS

23 YEARS

20 YEARS

Coachlight Homes Inc.

Heartland Financial Services Ltd

Bob’s Guitars

David Beaty Retail & Wholesale Mon.-Fri. 10-7; Sat. 10-5 Trust your pets with only the highest Dennis Payne Specializing in Senior Asset 6818 Streeter Rd, A Special Thanks to All quality Iowa veterinary staff!

3766 W Airline Hwy, 5911 University Ave. and Income Preservation Our Customers.

Cedar Falls, IA 974 Home Plaza, Waterloo, 50703 Thunder Ridge Court 200 Park Rd., W’loo.

Cedar Falls Waterloo, IA 50701 319-234-8610 2302 W. 1st St., Ste. 120, C.F. 319-232-1268 232-MEAT(6328) 319-277-1059 319-232-5292 www.coachlighthomes.com 319-277-8863 www.b-rqualitymeats.com www.midwestboatrepair.com

More Years In Business on next page.

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 | F3

PROGRESS

make it your business to stay in the know with

March Business Monthly is now available! Business Monthly is Direct-Mailed to Chamber Members and the Business Community. To get on the mailing list, contact Sheila Kerns at (319) 291-1448 or sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com VISIT wcfcourier.com/business/

POWER

Leading the CHARGE SPARKING ideas

of CEDAR VALLEY 20 YEARS

19 YEARS

Gulbranson’s Appliance Service

East Iowa Plastics, Inc.

Fast professional service on all major brands.

2509 Valley Park Dr., C.F. 266-1437 or 231-0765

601 17th Street S.E. Independence, IA 50644 319-334-2552 www.eastiowaplastics.com

20 YEARS

18 YEARS

Cambrian Granite and Stone 5814 Westminster Dr # C Cedar Falls 319-266-7160 www.cambriangranite.com The Cedar Valley’s best source for quality custom granite, quartz, and marble surfaces and countertops

20 YEARS

Harrison Truck Centers

Freed Construction, Inc. 319-239-0514

18 YEARS Glass Tech

Selesky Manufacturing

Wrage Realty

Farms, Residential and Acreages

Peetza Joynt Chicago and New York style pizza 126 Brandilynn Blvd, Cedar Falls 319-277-2800 www.doughyjoeys.com

16 YEARS Blue Sky Disposal, Inc.

David J. Wrage, Broker 315 Main St., Dysart 319-476-7070 1-800-796-8488

OPEN TOP DUMPSTERS FOR CLEANUPS “Fast, Courteous Service, Rain or Shine!”

319-226-4665

18 YEARS

16 YEARS

Aspire Therapeutic Horseback Riding

Cetek, Inc.

18 YEARS

18 YEARS

16 YEARS

King Automotive

New York Life

AND “Complete Auto and Truck Repair”

John Fitzpatrick

425 LaPorte Rd., Waterloo 319-234-8822

19 YEARS

18 YEARS

5743 Westminster Drive Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-266-1134 www.cedarvalleyelctric.com

18 YEARS

Doughy Joey’s

Industrial Controls Integration• Microprocessor • Based Control Systems • Circuit Board Design • Passenger Elevator • Controller Manufacturing Cedar Falls 290-3910

Machining Welding - Fabrication 339 Rath St., Waterloo 234-1388

Cedar Valley Electric

The Solution to Your Cleaning Needs 319-291-2850

15 YEARS

17 YEARS

“Where the dreams of children and the magic of horses come together to create memories of a lifetime” 8100 Kimball Ave. 296-0964 www.aspiretrp.org

AUTO GLASS Harrison Family Ownership Freightliner Truck Dealer Repair & Replacement Sales-Service-PartsProfessional Work Collision Quality-Convenient service 101 Plaza Dr., Elk Run Heights, Locally-Veteran owned IA 50707 510 State St., Cedar Falls 234-4453 htctrucks.com 319-268-9850

20 YEARS

18 YEARS

Professional Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, Inc.

Montage Make Your Mouth Dance!

222 Main Street, C.F. 319-268-7222 www.montage-cf.com

and Jeff Fitzpatrick

Chapman Electric, Inc. 319-232-5228

www.chapmanelectricinc.com

319-287-5915

17 YEARS

McLaughlin INVESTMENT SERVICES Casey McLaughlin, Registered PrinicipalSince 1984- full service brokerage.

621 Grant Ave, Waterloo, IA 50702 287-5080 877-811-5080 233-5023

16 YEARS Mike’s Archery

Bow Tech, Diamond and Bear Authorized Dealer 1904 Falls Ave., Waterloo 319-233-7443

ENERGIZING lives 14 YEARS

Cedar Valley IT Services

12 YEARS Advanced Diagnostic Imaging

Turnkey Associates

Technology Partners for 319-235-2724

3015 Greyhound Dr. Waterloo, IA 50701 (319) 232-4242

4006 Johnathan Street Waterloo, IA 50701 319.236.2700 www.adiofiowa.com

15 YEARS

13 YEARS

11 YEARS

Small Businesses

Wapsie Pine Lawn Herman’s Kitchen Care & Landscaping & Bath Design 618 State Street Cedar Falls , IA 50613 319-277-9400 www.wapsiepines.com

B&B Lock Key “A Better Locksmith”

130 W. Fayette, Denver

15 YEARS

Shoff Consulting Engineers, L.C.

D&W Floor Covering

Under new ownership Opening 15th We carry carpet, vinyl, 2nd Location in wood, ceramic, laminate Mason City, IA 501 Main St., La Porte City Sales & Installation 422 Washington St. 319-342-4550 doublelungarcheryinc.com Hudson 988-3587

6 YEARS

9 YEARS Fleming’s Landscaping and More

Nelson Electric of Black Hawk County

984-5262 hermanskitchens.com

“Outdoor Living at it’s Best!”

Over 15 years experience.

319-240-9565

13 YEARS

11 YEARS

8 YEARS

Civil Environmental • Wastewater • Municipal • Industrial• Structural 5106 Nordic Drive, C.F. 319-266-0258 Fax: 319-266-1515

5222 Weiden Rd., Waterloo 319-296-2553

14 YEARS

13 YEARS

Where K9 kids come to play

Pump Haus Pub Jennifer’s on Main & Grill

Aire Serve

2213 La Porte Road Waterloo, IA 50702 319-229-7420 www.aireserv.com/cedar-valley

10 YEARS

www.jennifersonmain.com

14 YEARS

12 YEARS

Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-4880

New Creation Salon 140 Brookeridge Waterloo, IA 50702 319-234-8644

Electrical Contractor 809 Ansborough Waterloo 235-2445 www.nelsonelectric.biz

5 YEARS

Budget Blinds

TNT 3614 Beaver Ridge Cir, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-7000

8 YEARS

411 Tremont St. Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-242-7088 www.budgetBlinds.com/ WaterlooIA

4 YEARS

Protective Matting Systems Dura Deck

Corky’s Car Care

2398 Midway Ave Denver, IA 50622 319-238-3467

Sales-Rentals Temporary FloorPortable Access Roads 319-987-2070 Questions@bwcontractors.com

9 YEARS

7 YEARS

3 YEARS

Dolphin Gymnastics LLC

303 Main St

311 Main Street Downtown Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-8111 www.thepumphaus.com

105 Industrial Drive Evansdale 319-232-0094 800-500-0199

Double Lung Archery

2200 Falls Ave. Waterloo, IA 50701 319-234-5397

K9 Playhouse

ABC Embroider and Screen Printing

6 YEARS

9 YEARS

Benjamin F. Edwards Open Locally Since 2013 116 East 4th Street Waterloo, IA 500703 319-233-3297 www.benjamineedwards.com

Field of Yoga Project Live What Matters 319-830-2080 www.fieldofyoga.com

319-232-0450

Pawsha’s Pet Salon

We offer caring and compassionate grooming for all pets, large and small 2309 Main St, Cedar Falls 319-266-2100

Fresh ideas For creating beautiFul spaces SPRING ISSUE NOW AVAILABLE

Find your copy in select areas in the Courier, and at Hy-Vee, Fareway and other prime Northeast Iowa locations including Cedar Rapids and Iowa City

For more information, Contact Sheila Kerns at 319-291-1448 or sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com

BARBER &

Beauty guide

hair care services

Providing high quality Pr to the Cedar Valley since 1970!

Wide variety of services for men, women, and children!

2060 Crossroads Blvd Ste 161, Waterloo IA 319-232-9177 • http://www.kjandkompany.com

5601 University Ave, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-260-2020

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Master Colorists on staff, FREE Consultations Specializing in Color Correction and Custom Color Air-Brush Make-up Specialist.

Facials, Waxing & Sugaring Treatments HIGH QUALITY EXTENTIONS. PRE-BOOK NOW for FREE Consultation.

We offer hair services, manicures, and waxing.

Call today for an appointment!

305 Main St, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-0502

www.salonzola.com

We offer a variety of services and products to fit every person’s needs!

Call today to schedule your appointment!

6015 University Ave #C, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 • 319-266-6603 • www.polkadotsalon.com

F4 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

10REASONS you should choose

to see the Specialists of

Cedar Valley Medical Specialists:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

World-Class Care – Specialists from CVMS come from

the most prestigious names in medicine, including Harvard, The Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, The University of Iowa, and many others.

Close To Home – Specialized care available at major

10

health facilities outside our area is offered right here in the Cedar Valley for the convenience of our patients.

Over 20 Specialties – CVMS has over 400 dedicated

staff, including over 50 specialized physicians and over 35 advanced care providers, servicing the needs of specialty care.

Dedicated Specialists – Physicians and providers are true

specialists in their areas of expertise.

Patient-Focused – CVMS is a professionally managed

organization with over 21 years of experience allowing the physicians and other providers to focus their full attention to the needs of the patients.

Savings On Health-Care Costs – CVMS doesn’t have the

same costly overhead that many hospitals and other organizations have, allowing CVMS to be the lowest cost provider for the patient and their insurance provider for medical and other ancillary services.

No Referrals Needed – CVMS does not require referrals to see our specialists (However, some insurance providers do require a referral – so check with your insurance provider.).

Independently Operated – Specialists operate

independent of area hospitals, but many have privileges to provide services at area hospitals including ER consults, inpatient and outpatient surgery, and more.

Convenient Locations – Specialists are located at their

individual clinics throughout Waterloo and the Cedar Valley – each with easy access and close parking. CVMS also has clinics in surrounding communities, and many specialists serve smaller hospitals in the greater Cedar Valley region.

Specialized, Comprehensive Care In:

Allergy & Immunology Anesthesiology Audiology Bone Health Breast Care Cardiac Services Cardiology ENT/Otolaryngology Facial Plastic/Reconstructive Surgery Gastroenterology General Surgery Imaging Center (Advanced Diagnostic Imaging) Nephrology Neurology Occupational Physical Therapy Ophthalmology Optical Orthopedic Surgery Pain Management Physical Therapy Pulmonology Radiology Rheumatology Sleep Center (Cedar Valley Sleep Center) Skin Cancer Center

Choose a Cedar Valley Medical Specialist Today CedarValleyMedical.com

4150 Kimball Ave. Waterloo, Iowa 50701

CedarValleyMedical.com 00 1

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Logo Contest To

LUCAS SORENSEN, CEDAR FALLS The winner of our Logo Contest and the recipient of a year’s subscription to the Waterloo Courier.

The following businesses participated in our contest in December.

How many were you able to identify?

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F6 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

As a patient, you have The right to choose.

The right to save.

When you need diagnostic imaging services, most patients don’t realize they can speak up and say WHERE they want to go. In the Cedar Valley, the smart choice is ADI – Advanced Diagnostic Imaging.

More people choose ADI for incredibly accurate and quality imaging – at the lowest cost in the Cedar Valley. That means you get significant savings on services and diagnostics from the area’s leading imaging experts.

Insist on ADI for:

CTs

X-rays

PET/CTs

MRIs

Ultrasounds

Nuclear Medicine

INSIST ON SAVINGS. INSIST ON ADI. We’re all trying to do our part to keep health-care costs down

sense without sacrificing quality. That’s why choosing ADI makes sense.

Ask your physician or medical provider about ADI for your next scan, X-ray or imaging service.

 4006 Johnathan Street

Waterloo, IA 50701

(Located in the Tower Park Complex) 

319-236-2700

ADIof Iowa.com

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2017 |

FRESH IDEAS FOR CREATING BEAUTIFUL SPACES SPRING ISSUE NOW AVAILABLE Find your copy in select areas in the Courier, and at Hy-Vee, Fareway and other prime Northeast Iowa locations including Cedar Rapids and Iowa City

For more information, Contact Sheila Kerns at 319-291-1448 or sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com

RESTAURANT Guide 1111 Center St., Cedar Falls, IA (319) 266-2616 Monday-Saturday – 4:30-10 PM Sunday – 4-9 PM

Daily Specials Open Monday-Friday 6am - 2pm; Saturday and Sunday 6am-1pm

222 Main St., Cedar Falls, IA (319) 268-7222

520 Mulberry St., Waterloo (319) 234-2416

Monday-Saturday – 4:30-10 PM

Stop in for

Hot Beef Wednesdays, Taco Thursdays, and Fish Fry Fridays for Lent

cold beer, great food, and good company!

Watch Our Facebook Page for Other Daily Specials

open daily from 10 a.m – 2 p.m.

Check our Facebook page for daily specials!

Live Music most Weekends!

2719 Center St, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 • 319-277-1508 www.facebook.com/Mary-Lous-Bar-Grill

110 25th Ave, Gilbertville, IA 50634

319-505-2392

The Lone WoLf Grab a burGer, pizza, chicken tenders and a beer!

In the Heart of Independence Established 1997

Sunday – Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to Midnight

201 1st St West, Independence, IA 50644

777 Isle of Capri Blvd, Waterloo, IA 50701 • 319-833-4753

319-334-BILL (2455) • www.billspizza.net

Otis & Henry’s ENJOY STEAKS, SANDWICHES, SOUP, SALADS, AND MORE!

View our menu and make reservations at www.theislewaterloo.com

777 Isle of Capri Blvd, Waterloo, IA 50701 • 319-833-4753

Farmer’s Pick BuFFet Enjoy a truE farm-to-tablE dining ExpEriEncE 7 days a wEEk!

777 Isle of Capri Blvd, Waterloo, IA 50701 • 319-833-4753 00 1

6222 University Ave. Cedar Falls, IA Ph

319.266.0200

famousdaves.com/cedar-falls

F7

F8 | Thursday, February 23, 2017

PROGRESS

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES DIRECTORY Quality Year-Round Child Care and Preschool Since 1943 Infant and Pre-School Age Child Care

AVAILABLE AT 2 LOCATIONS 1407 Independence Ave., Pinecrest Bldg.

608 West 4th, Waterloo

291-2424 236-2063

• • • •

Pre-School 3 Day or 5 Day Pre-School 7:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

6:30 Certified Teachers - State Licensed

277-8121

215 W. 9th St., Cedar Falls

Scholarship funds and State Voluntary Pre-School available

casamontessoricf@gmail.com casamontessori@cfu.net Non profit and non-sectarian

QRS rating 4 out of 5 stars

It Is our mIssIon to provIde qualIty dance and fItness InstructIon for the cedar valley.

Cedar Valley PresChool and ChIld Care CeNTer

308 E 4th St, Waterloo, Iowa 50703, (319) 233-0747 • Fusiondancefit.com

Looking for child care?

Help is just a call or click away.

Free Services: • • • •

Child care provider referrals Tips to choose a quality provider Cost & options consultation Assistance information for income eligible households

Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral

Call Today!

(855) 299-0499 www.iowaccrr.org

CCR&R of Northeast Iowa is a program of Exceptional Persons, Inc. (EPI). Funding provided by the Iowa Department of Human Services through the Child Care Development Fund.

State Licensed • Limited Scholarship Options

Providingquality quality childcare months through years for 46 42 Providing childcareforforages ages18 18 months to 1111years 43Years years.

(319) 268-1944 - www.cvpccc.com

With Support from Cedar Valley Promise and United Way

Where Iowa’s 21st Century Leadership Begins

T R A T S D A E H age Y f o T s N U year O 4 C to TRI atal Pren CALL

3 8 3 0 .

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• Preparing children • Ongoing for school assessments • Health and nutrition • Income-based eligibility • Family services • Positive outcomes • Children with special needs welcome

tricountychildandfamily.org

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