Progress Edition 2015

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE H1

H1

SUNDAY FebrUArY 1, 2015

COUNTDOWN

IGNITION

LIFT OFF

Cedar Valley has mechanisms in place to nurture new businesses. pages H1-H8

Heavy industry, tourism humming along in Northeast Iowa. pages I1-I8

Housing, health care and education make strides in the Cedar Valley. pages J1-J8

Start me up!

Cedar Valley gains a reputation as Mecca for new business JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — Got an idea? Go into business.

That philosophy is catching on in Waterloo and Cedar Falls.

This list of startups either in development or full-blown profitability mode is growing, organizers of the business incubators at the University of Northern Iowa say.

The Cedar Valley is not exactly Des Moines in terms of startup activity — yet. But it has been playing some serious catch-up, said Randy Pilkington, executive director of Business and Community Services at the University of Northern Iowa.

“Business and community services entrepreneurship programs have been working in this direction for at least 15 years,” Pilkington said.

The first steps were focused on building a support system for entrepreneurs, with the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center focused on students and faculty and UNI’s Regional Business Center focused on community and regional entrepreneurs.

Next came investment in the Regional Business Center at 212 E.

Under the big top Waterloo Tent & Tarp reinvents itself, finds new markets. page H2

Plugged in Growing menu of networking events encourages budding entrepreneurs. page H3

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Brittany Hawthorne, owner of Frosted!, decorates a pair of Converse shoes in the Northern Iowa business incubator in Cedar Falls.

Fourth St. in downtown Waterloo in 2000. There, incubator tenants were provided technical assistance, mentoring and networking opportunities as they launched

businesses, Pilkington said.

A lasting business “Approximately 45 businesses One example Pilkington cited graduated from the incubator, and is Andy Van Fleet, a partner with most located within close proximity of the incubator,” he said.

See STARTUPS, page H6

The eyes have it Startup business knows what grabs and holds attention on a website. page H4

Area women make their mark building businesses JIM OFFNER

jim.offner@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — Kate Washut and Therese Kuster are showing a woman’s touch can be golden to a startup business.

Both have tried and succeeded in helping to build successful businesses in the Cedar Valley in the last few years.

Washut was a comparative pioneer, having founded information technology firm Far Reach in Cedar Falls in 2007 with partners Chad Feldmann, Jason Nissen, Chris Rouw and Lana Wrage.

The five colleagues, who had worked together at CUNA Mutual, slowly formulated their plan before making the jump into their own venture in the Business and Community Services Building at the University of Northern Iowa.

Far Reach helped launch Hired Hand Software, a joint venture between Far Reach and Traerbased Moco Creative. The company offers a management system for Texas longhorn breeders.

Another startup Far Reach

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Therese Kuster co-founded TargetClick Marketing, which Mudd bought last year. helped to get going was Nu Squared, a management system for vision therapists.

Far Reach was the first startup to “graduate” from the UNI Business Incubator, moving into its own home on Main Street in Cedar Falls.

“We felt really fortunate to have been the first tenant in and out of that new incubator, and we really felt like that experience allowed us to get a really solid start in a way that I think better prepared us for what was to come,” said Washut, CEO of Far Reach. “We had access

to resources that would have been more difficult to find and afford.

We got some good advice and felt we were growing in a way that was sustainable. ... We felt it gave us a nice foundation for standing on our own and moving the company forward.”

In June 2011, Kuster, an incoming senior at UNI, and Greg Jass, a recent UNI graduate, merged their startup, SEO Solutions, with Doug Drees’ TargetClick Marketing to form TargetClick Marketing Solutions, operating out of UNI’s Innovation Incubator.

One year later, Mudd Advertising, a Cedar Falls-based agency, acquired TargetClick Marketing Solutions and brought the three principals onboard.

“The experience was incredibly important,” Kuster, now 25, said.

Mudd has added nearly 40 employees to its digital marketing efforts since the TargetClick acquisition.

“TargetClick grew steadily with new clients through networking and past relationships,” Kuster said. “We worked with clients in

the Cedar Valley as well as other metros across the country. I’m not sure there was ever a moment where we said, ‘Oh, now we’re successful’ or ‘because of this, I know we’ll succeed.’”

Kuster also said her business incubator experience was invaluable.

“TargetClick benefited from both the R.J. McElroy Student Business Incubator, as well as the Innovation Incubator — directed more toward community members than students,” Kuster said.

“Each business goes through similar challenges of figuring out how to become an LLC, how to handle their own accounting, how to market the business, etc.,” Kuster said. “It’s great to have a community of other startups all around you to help navigate those challenges.”

Each company had to adjust its business model as it matured.

“Our business model has changed most significantly over the last two or three years as

See WOMEN, page H6

PAGE H2

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

Big top Waterloo Tent & Tarp reinvents itself

JIM OFFNER

Photos by MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Jennifer Jesse sews a canopy for shade.

Cody Cranston, top, and Leon Jackson fold up a game top for shipping. pieces,” Downs said.

But the trouble was worth it. The business “just took off,” Downs said. “We were known as the creative ones.”

More carnivals came calling for their own customized designs.

That led to a shade division, which also created a new client base in the form of water parks.

“All the water parks around the state, if there’s a shade structure or 20-foot umbrella, it’s ours,” Downs said.

“We manufacture and ship them all over the country.

And our carnival product is shipped all over the world.

That in part is due to Vern Reiter, because he started the manufacture of original equipment. He built the first top for us, so we have the patterns for many of the tops.”

Sales were steady in the 2000s, but some improvement was needed.

“In 2008 our revenues were good, but financially

LIFE MAY NOT BE PERFECT, BUT YOUR COMFORT CAN BE. The Ultimate Comfort System™ is a groundbreaking home heating and cooling system that makes perfection possible.

RECEIVE UP TO A

3,850

$

REBATE*

with the purchase of qualifying Lennox® home comfort system.

“Make it Mike, A Name You Can Trust!”

Waterloo: 319.232.0900 • Cedar Falls: 319.277.1091 Waverly: 319.352.4099 • MikeFeredayHeating.com OFFER EXPIRES 2/13/15 *System rebate offers range from $300 to $3,850. See your local Lennox dealer for details. © 2014 Lennox lndustries lnc. Lennox dealers include independently owned and operated businesses. One offer available per qualifying purchase.

The Courier

A cutting machine cuts out patterns at Waterloo Tent & Tarp.

jim.offner@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — Pete Downs feels like he’s running a startup, even though his company, Waterloo Tent & Tarp Inc., has been doing business since 1884.

He basically had to rebuild the company on a sharper, more efficient business model since he bought the company in 2009.

“It’s reinvention since 1884,” Downs said, noting he has brought the company, which makes tents for carnivals and other special events, in line with the changing times.

“They were way behind the times in terms of technology,” Downs said, discussing his first years at the company after he joined as sales manager in 1998. “Microsoft Office had been out eight or nine years, and they did not have that. All entry was done on little 3-by-5 cards. I found a place I could help.”

Waterloo Tent & Tarp has caught up to the future. The company now manufacturers an array of solar panels, generators and chargers to go with its line of shade structures and carnival tents.

The company’s business model has changed, too, having morphed from a “straight-line production” model to a “creative, customized one-off manufacturer” of tents.

That took some time and a lot of innovation. The company had to develop its own technology to manufacture the product.

Former company owner, the late Vernon Reiter, got that started when he found his way into the carnival industry and started making tops for rides and canvas for midway games, Downs said.

“In 1999, we produced our first patterned top, which is still the most popular design we have; it looked like confetti,” Downs said. “The first trade show out of the chute, people loved it, but it was twice as (expensive). It became almost a badge of honor to own the most expensive design. All of a sudden margins increased and the concept of having a custom-designed top took off.”

The company has perfected its process over the years, making it a bit less cumbersome.

“It’s a pain, still a major project; some tops have 300

•

there was probably some things going on in the business where revenue wasn’t put into the bank. In essence the bank was closing the business,” Downs said. “But I knew we had a strong sales team.”

So, in the midst of a national economic downturn and at a time when “money was cheap,” Downs bought the company.

There were 28 full-time employees in 2009, and revenues were $2.9 million that

year.

“Today, this year we’ll be at $3.9 million with 37 full-time employees,” Downs said.

Achieving that required borrowing ideas generally applied to startup businesses, Downs said.

“First thing is creating a point of difference; everybody competes in a market, and you have to establish your place in that market,” he said. “By doing that, you either decide, ‘Do I belong here?’ And, if so, ‘How do I make it better?’”

Whether it’s “a kid building skateboards” or a company of 30 building carnival tents, the principle is the same.

“How do you make it more interesting?” Downs said.

One of the basic philosophies Sun Tzu lays out in “The Art of War” centers on winning a fight without conflict. Waterloo Tent & Tarp borrowed from that theme, Downs said.

“We didn’t compete on price,” he said. “Anyone can put money on the table and sell it. For us, it had to be service and quality, and those are the things we really tried to improve on over the years and do it without taxing our production team. We were working hard enough.”

Efficiencies have cut costs, too. As an example, the company now pays $1.6 million per year in workers compensation insurance, only half of

what it paid in 2009, Downs said.

“We are able to manage the business rather than the business manage us,” he said.

“People were just wearing out. We’re able to now extend our production cycle.

Right now, we’re probably at a six-week backlog and

by February or March, we’ll be at a 14- to 16-week backlog, and they still purchase from us. They understand it; we’ve been able to coach them along the way.”

Having a sense of timing helps, too, Downs said.

“There’s a huge horseshoe in the middle of the season where you’re just slammed,” he said. “We’ve been able to bring discounts and increased our productions in December, January and February when it was slow.”

Margins have increased “dramatically” in areas that had no margins five years ago, Downs said.

“It was bleeding, but that’s no longer true,” he said of the business.

The company has availed itself of the expertise at the University of Northern Iowa’s Business Incubator, Downs said.

“For small businesses, that scares people like, ‘These people don’t know my business,’” Downs said. “For me, it’s education. You’re not going to learn everything, but you are going to pull something out of it. They could do what I would’ve needed two years to do in a month — mapping out where our customer base is, where are we shipping product.”

Waterloo Tent & Tarp is exactly the type of client UNI’s Small Business Development Center tries to help, said Dan Beenken, the center’s director.

“He has put incredible effort into diversifying and growing his business,” Beenken said. “We would call that working ‘on the business’ versus ‘in the business.’

Business owners, often busy dealing with crises that pop up from one day to another, devote too few resources to that kind of activity, Beenken said.

“They are too busy fighting fires of immediate concern to get up out of the weeds to think about the bigger picture,” Beenken said. “We’ve assisted Pete with research to help make those decisions and also served as a sounding board to him.”

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE H3

Networking events whet startups’ appetites Businesses share brews, ideas at gatherings.

JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — Good and bad business ideas deserve a hearing, and they have plenty of opportunities in the Cedar Valley.

An entrepreneur whose business is at any stage of development need only reach as far as the nearest computer to get feedback.

Those who want more personal contact and lengthier exchanges have numerous networking programs at the ready — and the time of day often doesn’t matter.

A major online resource is MyEntre.Net, a network of resources and services designed to connect and educate small businesses and startups with online business assistance, capital and their peers.

Nearly 12,000 small business owners are engaged with MyEntre.

Net resources each year, according to organizers at the University of Northern Iowa’s Business and Community Services department.

The program has numerous networking events, workshops, webinars and an EntreFest statewide conference.

For those who want to share ideas with like-minded venturers on an informal basis over a beverage or two, regular social gatherings are available year-round.

TechBrews bring together the area’s IT brains to swap ideas that marry IT and entrepreneurship.

Startup Drinks brings wouldbe and current business owners together to get feedback on their ideas and provide the same

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Michael Caraway, right, talks with young entrepreneurs at Sidecar Coffee for a Cedar Valley Open Coffee event.

The events are to encourage other potential startup business owners. for others in attendance. Open Coffees, which launched in 2014 at Sidecar Coffee in Cedar Falls’ College Hill neighborhood, operates on the same principle.

Similar events dot the calendar.

Kate Washut, CEO and founding partner at Far Reach Technologies in Cedar Falls, is a regular at TechBrews.

She said even experts can find fresh approaches to time-tested concepts at the event.

“One of the keys to growing technology companies, I think, is getting and keeping people excited about the possibilities,” she

said. “People have never really thought about the Cedar Valley as a tech hub. It’s a manufacturing town or a college town, but definitely not a tech town.”

She said anyone — not just “geeks” — interested in technology can attend a TechBrew.

“I think they’re really important because they create a sense of community for people who are doing the same kinds of things and are interested in the same kinds of things. It’s an opportunity to commiserate about trials and tribulations. You’re constantly meeting new people

and making contacts and hearing new stories, and all of that feeds on itself and grows a sense of community and shared purpose, almost.”

No one wants to feel alone in any endeavor.

“The more we can interact as a startup community or tech community the better it is, because there are some really solid partnerships and friendship that can arise out of that,” Washut said.

“With Far Reach, it’s making connections with people who are trying to change the world and doing things not only for themselves but

the Cedar Valley, and that’s really exciting to see.”

Greg Jass, a 2011 marketing graduate of UNI who has a couple of startups under his belt, including a co-founding role in digital marketing company TargetClick Marketing in Cedar Falls, attended a recent Open Coffee.

He and his partners sold TargetClick to Cedar Falls-based Mudd Advertising, and he stepped away from the business in September so he could start a new company.

“I’m basically here to mingle with these people and just hang out,” he said.

Jass said he caught the startup fever early and hasn’t lost the drive to keep pushing for new ventures.

“Ever since my first day of college, I was working at the John Pappajohn (Entrepreneurial) Center,” he said. “Another kid started The Belly Button Ring Co. in the incubator as well. I worked with him until he sold his company in 2010. That’s when I started mine.”

Networking programs like Open Coffee, Startup Drinks and TechBrew are ideal informal get-togethers.

He said he might find some potential business partners at the events.

“I’m not a developer or designer; I’m more of an idea guy,” he said. “I’m just looking for contacts, some talented people.”

Jass, 25, prefers the Open Coffees.

“Some people function better in the daytime,” he said. “With a lot of developers and technology people out there, they may be more introverted. Give me a cup of coffee, and I get going.”

Denita Gadson has long been a champion of small businesses HOLLY HUDSON holly.hudson@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — Denita Gadson has a passion for helping people, specifically small business owners.

Gadson can trace that passion back to her roots in a small village in rural Mississippi and a woman named Willie Sayles.

“She was the first African-American female that I knew that owned her own business. That left a lasting impression. The seed was there.”

Over the years, Gadson has been a champion of small businesses and the “critical role those businesses play.”

She is the former local coordinator for Iowans for Social and Economic Development and currently is a small business counselor operating Four C’s Consulting — standing for communication, connection, catalyst, change. Additionally, she has started a new marketing agency, iGUS Marketing, to help small businesses get their message out through high-definition digital

TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

Denita Gadson at Cottonwood Canyon in Waterloo. billboards located in restaurants, shops and gyms.

Gadson also has served on the EntreFest planning committee, the steering committee for 1 Millions Cups Cedar Valley and the board of directors of Main Street Waterloo’s Economic Restructuring Council. Currently, she sits on the boards of directors of the Waterloo Neighborhood Economic Development Corp. and Renew Waterloo.

And she continues to promote networking among area professionals and

business owners, including sponsoring and helping to organize an African-American Professionals Network event sparked by the Iowa Black Business Summit in September. “ We t h o u g h t , ‘ W h y don’t we do something to get folks together?’ The AAPN had been somewhat dormant. We could revive that group and create an opportunity for AfricanAmericans. People don’t realize the number of black professionals in our community,” Gadson said.

The event drew about

40 participants, includ- for me to do,” she said of to give. I want to be a part ing UNI professors, small starting her own busi- of it, to create change and business owners, physi- ness. “And I will continue make an impact.” cians, attorneys and more from as far as Cedar Rapids.

“It was important in that it brought people together,” Gadson said.

Celeste Bembry, student C h E R i S h E v E Ry recruitment and retention MoMEnt coordinator in the College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences at the University of Northern Iowa, attended the event.

“It was an opportunity to be supportive of each other and to show all we do to serve the community,” she said. “It was a chance for young professionals and long-term residents to share their knowledge and experience. There was laughter, discussion and debate, very enriching and empowering.”

Gadson’s advice for prointroducing the 2015 valentine's Day spective business owners Collection from PAnDoRA is to “take the plunge.”

“There’s never going to be a perfect time,” she said. “The time to do it is 229 E. 5th Street now.

RothJewelers.com “I was comfortable do319.234.6979 ing what I was doing, but Some jewelry displayed patented (US Pat. No. 7,007,507) • © Pandora • PANDORA.NE Like us on Facebook Some jewelry displayed patented (US Pat. No. 7,007,507) • © Pandora • PANDORA.NET I believed there was more

PAGE H4

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

•

The Courier

Rite Environmental has reached the next level

Startup recycling business morphing into new services.

JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — Someday, perhaps, Brian Hoyer will make time to finish his business administration degree at the University of Northern Iowa.

The 25-year-old from Cedar Falls hasn’t had much luck with that over the last couple of years — what with his startup business having exceeded all expectations.

Hoyer owns and runs Rite Environmental Community Solution, which started in 2011 as a curbside recycling pick-up service but has morphed into other areas.

“Our recycling division is just one part now,” he said.

As a young college student, Hoyer was working at the Western Home when he realized some simple chores seniors need help with weren’t met by other services — for example, disposing of Christmas trees and other little tasks. He started Hoyer Senior Services to do just that.

That only fueled his ambition for bigger things. He started his business in the garage of his parents, Todd and Amy Hoyer, but soon outgrew that space.

Hoyer moved the business to a warehouse in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

Further growth required a move to a still-larger facility on Airline Highway in Waterloo.

Ethan Sankey, left, Darren Dillon and Casey Hostert sort recycled material at Rite Environmental Inc. in Waterloo.

He formed additional divisions, including Refuse Rite and Sweep Rite, to join Recycle Rite under the Rite Environmental umbrella.

And then, there’s the matter of studies.

“I’m still shoving along, trying to get that done,” he said, noting he’s currently enrolled in one class. “If I were to go full-time I’d have a year left, about.”

Piecemeal progress is

about as much as his work schedule will allow for the moment, he said.

And he’s getting busier as his company expands.

R i te E n v i r o n m e n t a l launched Sweep Rite last fall when it landed a municipal street-sweeping contract with the city of Aplington.

It leases a street-sweeping vehicle from Cedar Fallsbased Wayne Engineering.

“I know the people at

Wayne pretty well, so they give me a much better deal than most people,” Hoyer said.

Refuse Rite is a wastecollection division Hoyer is still working to fully launch.

“We have a truck, and we’re waiting for some of these municipal contracts to come up for bid in the next year,” he said.

Growth has more or less followed the plan Hoyer

BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

drew up for his company.

“It’s what I pictured,” he said. “I remember starting it in my parents’ garage.

We had this little warehouse with a sorting line and baler. It’s what I pictured in my head. Whether I thought it would happen actually is a different story. I got lucky and kind of made it happen, but this is what I envisioned. Now, I’m starting to work on the vision of

making things grow.”

Hoyer declined to disclose specific revenue figures, but said sales have taken sizable jumps each year.

“We have had good, steady growth, in that 25-40 percent range,” he said.

It’s manageable growth, he said.

“I feel like I can get a better handle on our growth with

See RECYCLING, page H5

iTracking focuses on what website users look at first, longest JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — Mike Whitson and Bill Harwood might sum up their business plan thusly: “The eyes have it.”

For their startup business, iTracking Research Inc., success is found in what grabs and holds attention on a website.

Harwood, a chemistry professor at the University of Northern Iowa, and Whitson, a retired Cedar Falls firefighter, launched iTracking Research three years ago based on research they did at UNI on the effectiveness of eye tracking for assessing visual cognition and website usability.

The company is two years old and still in the startup phase, operating in UNI’s business incubator.

It has been around long enough to have developed iTR360, an eye-tracking research tool. They also have hired Alyssa Nolte, who earned a psychology degree

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Mike Whitson, Alyssa Nolte and Bill Harwood with iTracking Research in Cedar Falls. at UNI in 2013, to lead their marketing efforts.

Whitson said iTR360 helps clients figure out what works and what doesn’t with their websites.

“Basically, we’ve been

helping companies understand how well their websites function, how well does their ad design function, media marketing, anything that essentially has a visual component,” he said.

R & N Investment Properties, LC. "Leasing great spaces at fair prices"

• Office Suites • Office Building Your key to progress in the • Industrial/Warehouse Cedar Valley • Manufacturing

319-266-9907 4817 University Ave., Suite A • Cedar Falls

“We’re able to measure how people interact with it.

What do they look at and, more importantly, ignore.”

Harwood said the company helps website designers know what will work before

the site goes live.

“We’ve done that for a variety of companies, and it has outperformed their standards in that industry,” he said.

The company is still in the startup phase, but it is looking to move to the “next level” in the next year or so, Nolte said. The company has generated a big following, which has buoyed those hopes.

“You Google it, and you get tens of thousands of hits, compared to 30 or 40 before,” Whitson said.

“That’s been such a great transition for us. Our customer base has grown considerably since we reached that point.” iTracking has a consistent customer base of about 30 companies — primarily small businesses whose budgets wouldn’t accommodate such research services in-house. But that’s also starting to change.

“We’re beginning to get more success in the national level as well as into the

Fortune 500 companies,” Whitson said. “We we focus mostly on small to medium-sized businesses with our work because we realized that our handful of competitors in the world simply were ignoring that classification of business.”

In developing their business plan, Whitson and Harwood tapped into expertise available through the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at UNI and vetted their plan further in competition with other startups.

“We learned the business plan is a living document that almost changes daily,” Whitson said. “It’s a constantly moving target because we’re still a startup.”

Customer feedback forces further adjustments.

The company developed its Snapshot tool through customer input.

“We developed the Snapshot so we can provide eyetracking research beginning

See ITRACKING, page H5

From all of us at Dalton Plumbing, Heating and Cooling, we thank you for a wonderful 2014 and we look forward to serving you in 2015.

Andy Nedoba since 2013

Anne Salasek since 2010

Ben Kreimeyer since 2014

Bill Bentz since 1978

Chassidy Hawbaker since 2014

Chris Stafford since 2010

Chris Thorpe since 2013

Dave Krejchi since 2001

Jake Flanscha since 2010

Jeff Nielsen since 2005

Kasey Schmidt since 2010

Logan Einck since 2012

Mandi Perry since 2014

Mitch Meyer since 2012

Pete Mangin since 1983

Scott Knight since 2003 Your Comfort is Our Promise

DaltonPHC.com Steve Michel since 2009

Steven Feist since 2014

319-266-3513 5536 Nordic Drive | Cedar Falls Industrial Park

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

•

PAGE H5

Catching up with four past 20 Under 40 winners HOLLY HUDSON holly.hudson@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — The Courier has been naming 20 Under 40 winners since 2002, each year honoring some of the best and brightest the Cedar Valley has to offer. Their combined contributions to the community, both professionally and personally, are immeasurable.

We thought it was time to check in with a few of the past winners to see where they are now.

Janelle Darst

Janelle Darst made the 20 Under 40 list in 2009 while serving as the director of marketing for the GallagherBluedorn Performing Arts Center. She was Janelle Darst 34 at the time.

Darst is almost a year into her new job with the Cedar Falls Community School District as coordinator of communications and community relations, a newly created position.

“After 14 years with Gallagher-Bluedorn, you build close relationships, you become family,” Darst said. “It was difficult to leave, but I’m glad I did it. I was ready for the next step in my career.”

Darst said she knew Cedar Falls had an exceptional school district “from the outside.”

“But unless you are part of the day-to-day workings of an organization, you can’t understand how amazing

the people are, the work they do and the decisions they make,” she said.

While Darst has cut back on some of her volunteer efforts — with a 6- and 8-year-old, “I’m much more active in kids’ activities” — she is involved with the Cedar Valley Leadership Institute through the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

“That has been a great experience, a great opportunity,” she said.

In her current position, Darst focuses on media relations, communicating with parents and social media.

“Social media is a huge area that just continues to grow,” she said.

“The first year at any job there is a great learning curve,” she said. “I’m still learning, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

Mike Young

Mike Young had just been elected to his first term on the Waterloo School Board and was an atto r n e y with Dutton, Braun, Stack and Hellman Mike Young w h e n h e received 20 Under 40 honors in 2007.

Today he is nearing the end of his second term on the school board — after serving as both president and vice president — and is a partner at the law firm, practicing primarily business and corporate law.

When his term on the school board ends, he will

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Brent Matthias, a past 20 under 40 winner, is vice president of Lincoln Savings Bank in Waverly. not run for re-election, he said.

“I’m kind of transitioning out of that,” said Young, who added his work on the board led to other opportunities with the Waterloo Schools Foundation, where he also is a board member.

Young also has recently become involved with the R.J. McElroy Trust.

And he and his wife are raising three boys: Thomas, 9; Ben, 7; and Raines, 5.

Young said he was proud at the time he was named to the 20 Under 40 list.

“It is something I am very grateful to The Courier and the community for,” he said.

“I am from Waterloo and I moved away and moved back and it was very exciting for me to recognized, and I was very encouraged by it,” Young said. “Waterloo has been a great community for my wife and me.

I am very appreciative of the recognition and have found

it to be a great way to recognize emerging leaders.

“There have been some great (20 Under 40) classes, a great group of people who, to a person, are all very deserving.”

Brent Matthias

Brent Matthias was a member of the 2005 20 Under 40 class, while serving as the director of alumni and parent programs for Wartburg College.

He then served as assistant vice president for admissions at Wartburg, was chief marketing officer at Mudd Advertising and was named executive director for Waverly Area Economic Development. He now is vice president-branch manager at Lincoln Savings Bank.

Additionally, Matthias started his own business, Matthias Entertainment & Consulting, more than five years ago. “ I d o m o t iva t i o n a l speeches, business training,

I try to connect people,” he said. “If they need something and I can’t do it, I connect them with someone who can.”

And Matthias was just announced head softball coach at Waverly-Shell Rock after serving as the head baseball coach in Denver for eight years.

“I hardly sleep,” he said.

“You’ll get enough sleep when you’re dead.”

Additionally, Matthias and his wife are parents to four: Brenden, 18; Kali, 16; Kira, 12; and Keela, 8.

“I’ve always felt a sense of being blessed,” he said. “I believe in being grateful for what you do have and not thinking about what you don’t have.

“I have an opportunity to help others in the community through my job and through other avenues,” he said. “Those are the things I look forward to every day.”

Matthias also was grateful to be named one of the 20 Under 40.

“It is a great honor from your peers being recognized for the work you do,” he said. “Life isn’t about honors and accolades, but when those things are mentioned it is a special feeling seeing the positive you are doing in others’ lives.”

Sarah Corkery

Sarah Corkery was named one of the 20 Under 40 in 2004 and has gone through huge changes in both her professional and personal life.

Eleven years ago, Corkery was working at ME&V in the health care marketing division.

“I had a wonderful career

ITRACKING

RECYCLING

From page H4

From page H4

at $50 and running to a couple of hundred dollars, and we can get it in a couple of days turnaround time,” Harwood said. “We realize that, particularly in smaller businesses, they need that information quickly because their clients are demanding fast results, as well.”

Harwood described Snapshot as the company’s “bread-and-butter” service.

Nolte said she had tracked Whitson’s and Harwood’s work while she was still a student and wanted to be part of it.

“I was interested in a demo they were doing late in 2012; I was so interested in the tech, I couldn’t shut up,” she said. “I was so excited about what they were doing, I pestered Mike for six months to see where they were at.”

It was a good fit, said Whitson, who retired from the fire department in 1998 and returned to school “and did other things” for about 10 years before launching the business with Harwood.

“Up to then, Bill and I were just

just this nice, steady pace,” he said. “If we were to double our business overnight, we couldn’t offer that same service that we do offer, so it allows us to do that. It also lets you budget things a little better.”

Such growth is pushing the company beyond the “startup phase,” Hoyer said.

“We’re working at taking things to the next level,” he said. “We have to figure out a strategic plan where we want to take this company as a whole. We’re looking at what services we offer.”

The company has not yet brought in any investors.

“I’m talking to a few people,” Hoyer said. “I’ve gotten the company as big as I can get it with my current bootstrapping and investment. To be a million-dollar business, we’re going to have to take on new investors or acquiring other

Company plans to eventually move out of business incubator

Company is considering taking on outside investors

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

iTracking Research uses technology that tracks eye movements to provide research services for companies for media, product and ad design. scientists trying to sell this,” Whitson said. “She understands marketing and sales and psychology, and she can take this technology and translate it in terms businesses can understand, and that’s made all the difference.”

The company eventually will move out of the business incubator.

“When we meet specific sales

targets, it will be time to graduate and move out on our own, join the other successful folks who have left the incubator,” Whitson said.

Then, the two entrepreneurs might provide crucial guidance to some other startup.

“We want to give back,” he said.

“That’s important because we’ve benefited from that ourselves.”

there,” she said. “I just decided it was time for a phase 2 career.”

Corkery was looking for something in a not-forprofit setting.

“I found a great opportunity with Veridian,” she said.

Corkery is now with the executive development program at Veridian Credit Union.

In her spare time, Corkery channels her energy into causes she is passionate about, and many of her choices are based on having a child with physical disabilities. Corkery’s son, Jude, 5, is legally blind.

Corkery is a marketing volunteer with Inclusion Connection, sits on the boards of directors for Cedar Valley’s Promise and Beau’s Beautiful Blessings, and is a member of TASH — a disabili ty a dvocacy group — and the Wa r t b u rg College National Sarah CommuniCorkery cation Arts Advisory Board.

She also is working on bringing the first inclusive playground to Cedar Falls.

Corkery and her husband also have two young daughters, Lucy, 8, and Anna, 18 months.

“It was such an honor to be recognized for something I was passionate about,” Corkery said of her 20 Under 40 honor. “It set a course for a successful career, and I wear it with pride.” smaller haulers to kind of boost our clientele.”

Taking on investors means diluting control over the business for the first time.

It’s a kind of crossroads, and Hoyer said he’ll have to decide which direction to choose for his company.

“I’ve got feelers in both directions,” he said. “Obviously, if I could acquire another hauler and finance that myself, I’d like to retain as much ownership as possible. If it means I need investors, I’d rather have a smaller piece of a big pie than big piece of a small pie.”

The company’s business model has evolved as it has grown.

“When we first started, our plan was pretty much subscription curbside recycling,” Hoyer said. “We did additional forecasting and growth projections based on that one service. Now, we’re looking to grow and do other things; it changes cost structure and other things. It makes things a little more diverse but also more complicated.”

Discover the power behind the cube.

The marketing and fundraising power to connect with your audience, motivate action and most importantly, measure results.

Amperage is powered by ME&V’s and HRB’s merger.

Call 319.268.9151 or visit AmperageMarketing.com.

Cedar Falls | Cedar Rapids | Des Moines | Dubuque | Quad Cities

PAGE H6

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

STARTUPS From page H1

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Brittany Hawthorne’s business Frosted! specializes in “frosting” shoes, clothes and accessories.

the same year, providing an opportunity for the Regional Business Center to expand business incubation services for community entrepreneurs and faculty members.

The local startup community was developing in other ways, too, Pilkington noted. MyEntre.Net, an online support program for entrepreneurs, was launched to provide 24/7 access to information on launching or growing small businesses.

MyEntre.Net became the core for launching IASourceLink.com.

“Without this strong base and support system, we would not have the startup culture we see today,” Pilkington said.

UNI also conducted Venture School for the first time in this region, Pilkington said.

“Over the past few years, the Cedar Valley had the good fortune to support some very successful enInnovation Incubator An Innovation Incubator trepreneurs, such as Wade opened in the BCS Building Arnold, Aaron Schurmann,

WOMEN

Female entrepreneurs find success in the Cedar Valley From page H1 we’ve added the marketing and creative services to our portfolios,” Washut said. “That came about very organically. As we thought about how we wanted to grow our business, we knew ourselves we’d need marketing help, so we brought it on internally first. It was such a good move for us we felt it was something we should offer to our clients. We quickly realized it’s something a lot of smaller businesses in our shoes could benefit from.”

Far Reach evolved from a technology-focused company to “more of an endto-end solutions provider,” Washut said.

“That wasn’t necessarily

The Courier

up in recent years continue to feed a growing startup culture.

“Entrepreneurial programs and incubation are designed to guide and assist startups to grow and be successful,” she said.

Cedar Valley gives start-up businesses lots of support Visual Logic Group, one of the first tenants in the Regional Business Center in 2002.

Van Fleet, who had graduated from freelance to startup, operated in the center until 2011, when he and nine employees found their own space in downtown Waterloo. The company now employs around 25.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls area has been fertile ground for his business to grow, Van Fleet said.

“I think the main thing I’d say is I was overwhelmed by the professional support that was available to me,” he said. “People I didn’t even know reached out to offer help in areas I needed help in.”

Maureen Collins-Williams, former director of entrepreneurial outreach at UNI, assembled an ad-hoc advisory board that helped Van Fleet navigate some early challenges, he said.

“That support was really overwhelming and really was the foundation to the success of the business,” he said.

At the same time, the JPEC was launching a pilot incubator for student businesses. That became permanent when the Business and Community Services Building opened at UNI in 2007, Pilkington said.

“Combined with a robust entrepreneurial curriculum, the R.J. McElroy Student Business Incubator provides a complete learning lab for students to launch businesses while still in college,” Pilkington said.

•

something we anticipated when we started but ended up being a very good move for us,” she said.

TargetClick’s business model has evolved, too.

“Before we were acquired

by Mudd, we had to evolve based on what services we had sold, changes in the industry and our own ability to fulfill the work,” she said. “We started selling websites to clients because many didn’t have a strong web presence and didn’t want to send traffic to a website that didn’t represent their businesses.”

Originally, Kuster considered her company more of a “boutique” online marketing agency, she said.

“We did very custom work based on what the client wanted and needed,” she said. “Some of that was because we worked with clients in many, many different industries. Some of it was because of how

Andy Van Fleet, the Far Reach team and others,” Pilkington said. “They were building the culture from the private sector and participating in regional and statewide events and being recognized by the Technology Association of Iowa.”

Pilkington also credited the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber for supporting startups and the growth of second-stage companies — known as “economic gardening.”

‘Gardening’

Economic gardening is crucial to helping new companies that have found their initial footing reach a higher level of development, said Dan Beenken, director of UNI’s Small Business Development Center and Innovation Incubator.

“Our services, under the banner of Advance Iowa, encompass a variety of offerings that we gear toward firms with roughly 10-100 employees,” Beenken said.

“They want a sounding

board, access to talk to their peers and help with strategic and financial planning.

We have since added resources to fill those gaps.

We are launching some CEO roundtables across the state and providing more oneon-one coaching to our clients.”

The Alliance & Chamber served as a testing ground for many programs and facilitated the growth of local startups like Cedar Fallsbased IT firms Banno and Williams Interactive, Pilkington said.

“EntreFest also created broad awareness and excitement for the entrepreneur and small-business culture,” he said.

UNI launched the program eight years ago, and it expands to the other two state universities this year.

Katherine Cota-Uyar, associate director and instructor of entrepreneurship at the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center at UNI, said the multiple programs that sprang

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Kate Washut, center, wraps presents with her employees at Far Reach for an adopt-a-family program Dec. 15 in Cedar Falls. rapidly the industry was changing, particularly best practices for search engine optimization and social media.”

Since TargetClick joined Mudd, it has narrowed its focus primarily to the automotive and agricultural industries and found more consistency in the products and services its clients need, Kuster said.

“While we still provide custom campaigns and solutions to clients, we’re able to replicate certain aspects in order to make it more scalable,” she said. “It has allowed us to become more efficient and provide better results to our clients.

Even today we continue to evolve as we balance clients’ traditional and digital marketing needs.”

from Waterloo, launched the enterprise in October.

“Brittany has always had a love and passion for arts and crafts and enjoys expressing her creativity through customized products,” CotaUyar said. “Brittany is excited about growing and exChallenges met celling her business, FrostEach startup has chal- ed, utilizing her creative lenges, but local programs skills.” have provided the knowledge, resources and tools to Competing, cooperating help companies make good Hawthorne’s nascent decisions for the future. business is just the latest in Recent successes include a string of successes in the current UNI student Bri- startup community. an Hoyer’s Rite Environ“We are excited and enmental Inc., which sprang couraged by the success of out of a one-person recy- Rite Environmental, Targetcling service and has ex- Click, and iTracking,” Cotapanded into other areas of Uyar said. “These successes waste disposal; Greg Jass help inspire us to keep doing and Therese Kuster’s SEO the work we do. These sucSolutions, which was born cesses provide inspiration in the UNI student business for new business owners as incubator and merged with they navigate their way to Doug Drees’ TargetClick success.”

Marketing to form TargetPilkington said the Cedar Click Marketing Solutions Valley’s startup community and later was sold to Mudd can’t be compared to othAdvertising in Cedar Falls. ers in the state, such as Des “Rite Environmental has Moines and the Iowa Citybeen presented with nu- Cedar Rapids “Creative merous opportunities for Corridor,” and comparisons other service lines and stra- are beside the point anyway. tegic partners,” Cota-Uyar “All three areas have a difsaid. “Each opportunity has ferent economic base and to be evaluated and consid- priorities,” he said. “In adered in regard to the entire dition, some of our UNI business as well as specific programs work with the parts of the business. Tar- corridor and Des Moines getClick Marketing Solu- area to assist with economtions also had opportuni- ic gardening and entrepreties and had to make deci- neurship support, so we try sions that would benefit the to find ways to work togethbusiness as well as its own- er rather than compare who ers. Every business every is doing the best. A good exday has to evaluate oppor- ample is Startup Weekend. tunities and make the best We had participants (even decision for the business at teams) from Cedar Rapidsthat time in that situation Iowa City and Des Moines. and for the business’s fu- However, I do think being the lead for Advance Iowa, ture.”

One of the newest start- the commitments and enups in the business incuba- thusiasm of the RBC and tor is Frosted, a custom re- JPEC teams, and having a design business specializing great group of student enin “frosting” shoes, clothes trepreneurs with outstandand accessories. Brittany ing leadership capabiliHawthorne, a junior busi- ties does give us some real ness management major strengths.”

Both TargetClick and Far Reach had multiple partners – and perspectives – to help guide their progress. That was beneficial in the formative stages.

“Learning experience is kind of an understatement,” Washut said.

“We’ve learned something different with each one.

The nice part of about having five partners is you’re certainly not on your own, making decisions blindly or unsure of yourself.”

Kuster agreed.

“As for working with partners, I think that’s crucial,” she said. “Greg, Doug and I complemented each other so well. We were a balance of vision and detail, big picture and small.”

Washut and Kuster noted more women are becoming entrepreneurs.

“The numbers don’t bode too well historically, but I don’t feel like there are any overt reasons why

those numbers of women entrepreneurs couldn’t increase,” Washut said. In fact, there’s a statewide effort to do that very thing.”

Kuster said more women are going into business and technology in general.

“UNI has a great student entrepreneurship program that I think introduces more students, male and female, to entrepreneurial opportunities and ideas that they’ve maybe never been exposed to before,” she said.

2015 neW in See WhAT’S

2015!

Feb. 5-8

Iowa State FaIrgroundS deS MoIneS VarIed InduStrIeS bldg. thursday & Friday Noon to 9:00 pm Saturday 10:00 am to 9:00 pm Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm adults $7 Children (Under 12) $2 Senior Citizen day (Thursday) $6 Free ParkIng Motor HoMes ■ travel trailers ■ Fold-downs ■ 5tH wHeels

Just like home.

Only Better.

Did you know?

As an independent living resident, you can...

• Enjoy an all-inclusive lifestyle for one low monthly rent.

• Bring your pets.

• Get all you needs covered for less than living in an assisted living facility.

• Interact with people who understand and enjoy the same things you do.

• Receive 3rd party medical services from licensed Home Health Care provider.

2603 Orchard Drive, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 319-277-6111 mallard-point.com *Holiday Retirement is not affiliated with any health care provider. Services and cost vary, by provider.

©2014 HARVEST MANAGEMENT SUB LLC 22911

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE H7

Does it Feel Like a Toothache in Your Leg or Thigh?

Do You Have Hip Pain? Are You As Stiff As a Board When You Try to Get Up From a Chair? Have You Run Out of Hope?

How 5 Lies About Low BACK PAIN May Keep You Hurting, Frustrated & Exhausted...Forever!

NEW Scientific Breakthroughs Often Make Short Work of Low Back Pain...Just What Big Medical Centers and High Priced Clinics Are PRAYING You Never Figure Out On Your Own!

I’d be stupid to make such a claim if I couldn’t back it up. But I’m so confident we can help your back, I insist on giving you a 100%, TRIPLE SATISFACTION PLEDGE at our HealthSource Chiropractic™ clinics. I hate empty promises, and I also hate the lies most folks have been told about their backs. That’s why it’s important I expose these MYTHS about back pain:

MYTH #1: Sciatica (pain down your leg) is always caused by a herniated disc!

No way...even though most doctors will sell you a $3,000 MRI at the first sign of leg pain.

But they don’t tell you about a 5-inch muscle in the hip that can squeeze the sciatic nerve.

And it feels EXACTLY like you’ve got the worst slipped disc on earth. It’s a major discovery and...

The good news is that it can be easy and inexpensive to correct! How? Just keep reading! But first, here’s a picture to show you where the pain comes from:

MYTH #2: Stiffness from Arthritis means you’re getting old...and it must be the reason for all your pain and stiffness!

Not true, because thousands of folks with arthritis in their backs have absolutely NO PAIN! Then why do YOU feel like your back will snap if you bend forward or twist too fast? Because the truth is: Your stiffness may be caused by a hidden, even more dangerous problem than arthritis, and it can lead to a hip replacement!

It’s NOT just your spine, and it’s NOT just your muscles.

As a matter of fact, if one of the major muscles that stabilize the spine is partly spasmed, a “2nd stringer” will have to carry the load. But this is a serious problem...

It’s like having your plumber doing all the dangerous electrical work!

Sure, he may get it done, and it may work at first, but how long until there’s a fire? Or your back locks up?

Which leads me to our next myth:

MYTH #4: “It’s Only a Muscle!”

Boy, it’s scary how many people think muscle problems are no big deal. Unfortunately, tight, bound-up, and spasmed or tight muscles can wear out joints faster than you can say, “Charley Horse”!

That’s why it’s important to examine the spine AT THE SAME TIME as the muscles that control it.

It’s also why we’ve had such outrageous success with even the worst backs at HealthSource Chiropractic™.

Because we deal with BOTH the spine and muscles at the same time. We have spine doctors (chiropractors) and muscle professionals (therapists) and together they deliver an outstanding way to help “bad backs”.

This ties in to Myth #5 and the diagram:

MYTH #5: “Muscle Relaxants” will help your muscles heal!

Good grief, NO! Your muscles tighten up for a reason, and muscle relaxants are like turning back the clock on a time-bomb... you know it’s still going to blow up! Sure, you may feel better now, but you’ll pay later...and pay “in spades”!

So don’t fall for these lies about your low back. They’ll keep you hurting, frustrated and exhausted—forever!

WOULDN’T YOU RATHER: Turn over in bed without pain waking you up?

Be able to stand for as long as you want without sitting down for relief?

Lean forward over the sink without that “stabbing” in your back or leg?

But did you know that many arthritis problems are CAUSED by a combination of unseen imbalances in the spine and surrounding muscles? It’s the most common cause of hip replacements but not that hard to correct if we catch it in time. It’s like the tires on your car...

Then cut out my FREE coupon NOW!

MYTH #3: Your Back is “Out”!

Sure, that’s exactly how it feels. But guess what, we found that’s usually not the case. It sounds good, but we now know better.

You see, there are 7 different reasons for that painful, locked-up and stuck feeling that causes so much misery:

• low-grade spasm • pelvis torque and tension • imbalance of hips • fallen or dropped arches • stiff vertebra joint • adhesions in leg muscle • pinched nerve

❏ Bent—crooked off to one side and can’t stand up straight if your life depended on it ❏ Trigger Point...zinging pain to butt-cheek

❏ Stiff as a board...creak and groan when you first get out of bed in the morning ❏ Traitor...can’t trust your back and what it’s going to do—or when! ❏ Vice-like...constantly locked down tight! ❏ Shooting...vicious but short-lived

❏ Lumbago...hard to pin it down—just seems to hurt all the time, but it’s hard to say where ❏ One-sided...right at that “bone” on one side

❏ Jack hammer...pounding off and on like a heartbeat or a toothache in your back ❏ Aching from 1-5 years

❏ Chronic pain for over 5 years No one will try to sell you anything, and you make no commitment...you just find out what’s wrong!

*Our TRIPLE SATISFACTION PLEDGE!!

1. You get in the same day you call, or your first treatment’s FREE. 2. If you do in fact qualify for treatment and are not cheerfully greeted by our warm and friendly team, then your treatment is FREE. 3. If you find a better PLEDGE someplace else, you get an entire week of free treatment!

P.S. Why You MUST Not Wait! Because of appointment availability, we can only honor this FREE offer through February 28th. So don’t say, “Well, maybe I’ll be better tomorrow.” Don’t put your life on hold. Don’t call in sick again. Live your life pain free! Tie your own shoes for a change.

FREE Gift: There’s one more thing to encourage you to quit waiting for the tomorrow that never comes. If you’re one of the first 7 to call, you’ll receive a soothing, 1/4-hour relaxation massage, so call before February 28th.

Get up in the morning without being as stiff as a board?

You see, most folks believe that something mysterious (like maybe an “arthritis fairy”?) waved a wand over them, and they’re cursed... doomed to suffer forever.

If the alignment is off just a teeny-weeny bit, at first you don’t notice, but over a few thousand miles you start to see signs of wear...that is, if you’re lucky enough to catch it before a flat on the freeway ruins your day. In your spine, you’re lucky if you catch untreated imbalances before they ruin your spine! How to fix them? Just look at Myth #3.

❏ Tension...always tight across the beltline

Call NOW! Cedar Falls, IA - 319-277-9755 6015 University Ave.

Nagging Backache—GONE! “For 30 years, off and on I have been dealing with back pain. I have tried chiropractic, PT and epidural injections - to NO effect. Surgeons wanted to do surgery.

After doing decompression it’s the best I’ve felt in 30 years. After getting the proper size lift in my shoe and some rehabilitation I feel great and my x-rays prove it. Pain is GONE from left leg and lower left back!”

Michael Kayser - Waterloo

SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH:

Community Service Screening “A great way to find out about your pain...”

Whether or not you feel pain right now, let our team of doctors find out for sure with a 19-point, detailed service screening (a $189 value) that’ll identify even the smallest of problems. We’ll even throw in the X-rays if we feel you need them.

Just bring in this coupon, and we’ll take care of the costs.

THERE’S NO OTHER OBLIGATION. Just call 319-277-9755 and you’re guaranteed to get in today!

Once we track down your pain, we’ll work on getting you back to doing the things you love—FAST! Make your appointment TODAY! 319-277-9755 P.S. It’s Time to STOP wondering “What If,” and time to START putting the confidence back in your body and your life. There’s ABSOLUTELY nothing to lose.

CALL RIGHT NOW! 319-277-9755 P.P.S. Be one of the first 7 people to call and receive a relaxing 1/4-hour massage. Start on your road towards recovery TODAY!

A hidden muscle may be causing your SCIATICA! Does Your Back Seem “Too Old” for Your Own Body?

Not everyone qualifies for treatment, so help us see if you do. If you check off even one box, drop what you’re doing and call HealthSource Chiropractic™ NOW. And bring this coupon when you come in for your Complimentary Community Service Screening.

Now check off what describes you:

Dr. Sean Conlin, D.C.

Cedar Falls - 319-277-9755 6015 University Ave.

(This offer does not apply to federal insurance beneficiaries and ACN participants.

Hi, I’m Dr. Sean Conlin, and if you’ve got any kind of back, hip or leg pain, your worries may be over in just a few minutes.

Why? Because I’m the director of HealthSource Chiropractic™ of Cedar Falls clinic, and Dr. Sean Conlin I’ve discovered what may be the best healing secrets for “bad backs”—EVER!

PAGE H8

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

•

We asked for your advice.

And then we took it.

We asked 100 community leaders and citizens to help us identify the most important health needs in the Cedar Valley. Without exception, they said we all need better, faster access to behavioral health physicians, nurses, counselors, services and facilities.

We took that advice. Black Hawk-Grundy Mental Health Center and UnityPoint Health – Waterloo now have affiliated to help meet those needs. We are working together to coordinate physical and mental health services for our patients. It won’t be quick or easy, but it’s the right thing to do. Thank you for helping us get started.

The point of unity is you.

unitypoint.org

The Courier

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE I1

I1

SUNDAY FebrUArY 1, 2015

Pedal to the metal Independence aluminum producer keeps on growing strong. page I2

Worldwide cred Waverly manufacturer UEA keeps expanding its reach. page I3

John Deere employee Kristi Bacon tightens lugs on an engine at the engine works plant in Waterloo.

Photos by TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

Plowing ahead

John Deere’s Cedar Valley operations stay strong amid challenges PAT KINNEY pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — Despite challenges, John Deere, entering its 97th year in Waterloo, is still the economic engine that drives the Cedar Valley — in every sense of that phrase.

Nowhere is that more evident than the Deere Engine Works on West Ridgeway Avenue, 40 years old this year. It has seen numerous recent improvements and added production capacity as part of the company’s multi-year reinvestment in its Waterloo facilities.

It has modernized its crankshaft machining operations, automated engine assembly and upgraded its electrical infrastructure.

The engine works produces 9-liter and 13.5-liter engines for large agricultural equipment — including large row-crop tractors — as well as construction and forestry equipment. It also produces industrial, generator and marine engines for original equipment manufacturers outside the company.

“The 9.0 liter goes into some of John Deere’s most famous products: combines, loaders and 7R and 8R/8RT series tractors,” said Curt Cline, factory manager of the engine works.

The engine works improvements are part of a massive fiveyear investment in Deere’s Waterloo operations.

“At Waterloo Works, Deere inCurt Cline vested $915 million from 2010 to 2014,” said Dave DeVault, factory manager of the John Deere Waterloo Works.

That investment includes the improvements at the engine works, as well as recent modernizations at the foundry and Waterloo Dave DeVault Works operations on Westfield Avenue and East Donald Street.

More improvements are in process at Deere’s Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls.

“The investment at PEC is proceeding on schedule, and the majority of upgrades will be online mid-2015,” DeVault said. “This investment supports the engineering operations and will improve operating efficiencies, institute the latest technology and support the continued evolution to larger

John Deere employee Paul Jungen II adds and secures a piece to an engine. agricultural equipment.

“While we believe the PEC project will finalize our current major investments in Waterloo facilities, our team is always looking for new and innovative ways to improve our processes,” DeVault said.

Despite recording the secondbest year in company history, with earnings of $3.1 billion for the

year ending Oct. 31, fourth-quarter earnings were down 21 percent, with company equipment sales expected to be down by a similar percentage for the first quarter of this year and 15 percent for the full fiscal year.

The company is about to enter into a second wave of layoffs.

It indefinitely laid off about 460

Waterloo workers in the fall. It announced in January another 560 workers will be idled this spring.

It also will be negotiating a new labor agreement with the United Auto Workers in 2015.

“The coming year is projected to have some challenges, but our goals have not changed,” DeVault said. “We are committed to our

Unique visits Cedar Valley expands attractions in hunt for tourist dollars. page I4

customers and plan to provide them quality products to feed the world’s growing population.

“We continue to have a strong employment base in the Cedar Valley,” DeVault said. It will be about 5,500 employees across the Waterloo operations after the layoffs this coming spring. DeVault said that includes “our salaried and qualified manufacturing work force that engineer, test and assemble tractors, engines and other components.”

Despite challenges, there are several bright spots on the horizon for Deere in 2015. While agricultural and turf equipment sales are projected to be down, “Deere’s worldwide sales of construction and forestry equipment are forecast to increase by about 5 percent for 2015,” Cline noted. “The gain reflects further economic recovery and higher housing starts in the U.S. as well as sales increases outside the U.S. and Canada.

Global forestry sales are expected to hold steady with the attractive levels of 2014.”

Also, the company is anticipated to fully implement “Final Tier 4/ Stage IV” air emissions standards in its engines in 2015.

“John Deere takes its responsibility to the environment very seriously,” Cline said. “We have been working on lowering engine emissions since 1967, years before government standards were set. We have taken an integrated approach to cleaner air while improving fuel economy and engine performance.”

Additionally, the company will continue to invest in new product research and development at the Product Engineering Center and companywide, DeVault said.

“Deere has historically supported product research and development through all market fluctuations,” he said. “The ongoing investment in the Product Engineering Center supports the continued development of our new products that benefit our customers.”

Also, the company’s volunteer and philanthropic investments in the Cedar Valley continue, DeVault said.

“Our employees are vitally concerned with investing time and resources in their community. Waterloo Operations employees completed over 12,000 hours of volunteering in 2014,” DeVault said.

The company sponsored an Honor Flight of World War II and Korean War veterans from

See JOHN DEERE, page I7

PAGE I2

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

•

The Courier

Pries preparing for another big year in Independence If it’s made in Iowa of aluminum, Pries probably made it.

DENNIS MAGEE dennis.magee@wcfcourier.com‌

INDEPENDENCE — Open a file cabinet or window. Sit at a desk or on bleachers.

Load equipment on a trailer.

Throw tools in a tool chest.

Odds are, if the product was made in Iowa with aluminum parts, you’ve encountered Pries Enterprises.

“I think every single day you’re probably running into an aluminum construction, probably three or four times a day — structural things that you never think of,” said Matt McMahon, 41, the company’s president.

“It’s kind of fun. We’re never the name on anything, but we provide a lot of the components,” he added.

Pries Enterprises is by now probably the largest m a n u fa c Merle turer of aluMcMahon minum extrusions and fabrications in Iowa. McMahon’s late father, Merle, and his partners started the company in 1975, and originally the outfit had facilities in Waterloo and Independence.

The company consolidated in the 1980s in Buchanan County, and now Pries Enterprises fills a 160,000 square feet facility. The manufacturer installed a 9-inch press in September to compliment its production line, and the initiative will raise Pries Enterprises’ output significantly.

“This new press will

A stacker organizes finished pieces coming out of the press.

Photos by DENNIS MAGEE / Courier Regional Editor

Pries Enterprises in Independence installed a 9-inch press in September to expand its production of extruded aluminum. provide us 20 million more pounds of capacity,” McMahon said.

“This will allow us to add the business that people have wanted to give us but we have not been able to provide them,” he added.

Del Moore, the company’s operations manager, also sees new avenues opening because of the investment.

“It will also get us into some markets where we haven’t been able to compete before,” Moore said.

Pries Enterprises delivers 85 to 90 percent of its products to nearby companies.

“We’re an Iowa company delivering and really focusing on Iowa and the Midwest,” McMahon said.

“Extrusion” accounts for

90 to 95 percent of Pries Enterprises’ production. The process involves heating 15foot aluminum “logs” to 820 to 980 degrees and squeezing the now more malleable metal through forms. The pressure involved can reach 100,000 pounds per square inch, according to McMahon.

“We press it through, like Play-Doh, in whatever shape

The new press provides 20 million pounds of additional capacity.

you want it to be,” he added.

Pries Enterprises, though, also can add finishing touches to its aluminum shapes, punching holes or cutting angles customers request.

McMahon is optimistic heading deeper into 2015 for a couple of reasons. While Pries Enterprises does not provide components for vehicles, its competitors do. So as demand for aluminum increases in the automotive industry, those firms shift their attention.

“A lot of aluminum manufacturing is being taken up by cars. It’s the trickle-down effect,” he said.

The end result will likely be more demand for Pries Enterprises’ products and services, according to McMahon.

“The whole industry has done much better, and one of the reasons has been cars adding more aluminum,” he added.

Looking further out, McMahon also sees manufacturers making agriculture equipment turning to his favorite metal more and more in the next few years. Implements continue to grow in size, raising engineering is-

sues and cost considerations aluminum can address.

“If you’re making an arm, for instance, steel going out 10 feet may not be that big a deal. But if you’re going out 30 feet, you might want to reduce weight,” McMahon said.

McMahon also is confident moving forward because of Pries Enterprises itself.

“We have an unbelievable team,” he said.

“A third of the employees have been there for over 10 years, and 50 percent are women. It all comes down to the employees,” McMahon added.

Moore, for instance, has worked for Pries Enterprises since 1995 and has seen the company grow.

“We’ve built two buildings since I’ve been here and purchased two machines,” he added.

Moore credits McMahon’s vision for making the latest leap.

“It came to the point where we were staying the same or growing. Matt decided we were going to grow,” Moore said.

“To his credit, he knew it was time to grow.”

Aluminum Extrusions and Fabrication

Made in America • 800-394-7068 Since 1975, Pries Enterprises has been a leading producer of complex custom profiles for a broad range of customers throughout Iowa, the Midwest and across the nation, delivering superior quality products, competitively priced and at the industry’s fastest lead times.

Pries Enterprises provides standard and custom aluminum extrusions to a variety of markets including Industrial, Commercial, Housing, Transportation, Electrical, Agriculture and a number of specialty products. Products range from windows, doors, office furniture, trailers, lighting, lift gates, heat sinks, and displays just to name a few.

We also provide a wide range of competitively priced finishes including anodizing, painting, and powder coating through a network of life-long supply chain partners who can provide our customers with all shades and colors including color-matching.

We’ve designed our top-notch training and development programs with your growth in mind, because when you succeed, the company succeeds.

Pries Enterprises can provide a broad range of shapes from simple to complex aluminum profiles for any volume from prototypes to large production runs. We go to great measures to assure that we maintain the capacity required to meet whatever volumes our customers require.

Apply Now at

www.priesenterprises.com

104 Years 19

09-2011

Same Day Service • 24 Hour Service • All Makes

1933

CBEjobs.com EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability. Background checks and drug testing required.

Credit checks not conducted for entry-level positions.

Supplier

cedar v a he ey for ll

Serving t

Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm | 500 Westfield Avenue, Waterloo, IA 319-292-6126 | WaterlooTractor&EngineMuseum@JohnDeere.com

Of ChOiCe

2014

Professionally laundered and pressed men’s dress shirts, quality garment dry-cleaning and pressing, laundered or dry-cleaned household articles including: draperies, comforters, bedspreads, and feather pillows.

We also do custom garment repairs and alterations.

Locations in Waterloo & Cedar Falls 216 W 11th St. Waterloo, IA 2120 Kimball Ave (Ridgeway Plaza) Waterloo, IA 4th & Washington Cedar Falls, IA

319-233-3571

www.varsitycleaners.com

tom Fereday

oWNer/ PresIdeNt

Charlie Fereday VICe PresIdeNt

“Family owned and operated for over 100 years” Thank You for your business!

Waterloo

(319)233-8411 Cedar Falls

(319)268-9110 1010 Broadway

www.FeredayHeating.com

319-234-6122 84 W. Mullan 105 BMC Drive 3553 Airline Hwy 3140 W. Shaulis Road

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

•

PAGE I3

BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

Mark Hanawalt, president and CEO of United Equipment Accessories, gives a tour of the plant as part of the “It’s About Jobs” Tour in Waverly.

BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

Mike Mangine prepares equipment for testing at United Equipment Accessories in Waverly.

BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

A new expansion will provide better space for this trailersized CNC mill.

Waverly’s UEA has local roots, worldwide reach

Hydraulic swivels latest high-demand item by company.

JOHN MOLSEED john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

WAVERLY — Waverly’s United Equipment Accessories does business internationally while based in the Cedar Valley. Next year, that base will be a little bigger.

UEA is in the middle of expanding its facilities. A 20,000-square-foot expansion will bring UEA’s total facility space to about 100,000 square feet. The project broke ground in October. It will house equipment and machines used to build a line of hydraulic swivels company officials say have seen increasing demand since they were developed in 2004.

“If we needed to bring in new machines, we really couldn’t do that without expanding the space,” said Daniel Hanawalt, UEA marketing coordinator.

With the hydraulic swivel, the company combines what most other manufacturers create as two parts.

BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

The new space will house additional production, assembly and testing space.

Jeremy Sessler wires a slip ring on a part.

“We build it all in one package and can make it into one overall unit,” Hanawalt said.

Demand for other equipment UEA makes, including slip rings for wind turbines, has been rising too. A new full-time international sales official in South Carolina

TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

also has been growing business overseas.

“He’s out there targeting things we might have been passive about before,” Hanawalt said.

Although the company’s sights are set globally, keeping manufacturing small — but large enough to make

orders — gives UEA a competitive edge, Hanawalt said.

“It’s not all made by robots and shipped out the door,” he said. “We don’t build thousands and thousands and thousands of the same thing.”

A lower volume of production means the company can

focus on quality and respond to specific customer needs, Hanawalt said.

“We’re willing to work with customers for oneoff jobs or a low volume,” he said. “We work on getting the customer what they need on time and going the extra mile. When they have a need, go ahead and fill it.”

UEA was founded in 1952 by Vern Iserman, Dan Hanawalt’s grandfather.

“We’re proud of our heritage,” Hanawalt said, adding he can’t imagine having the company based anywhere else.

“I don’t know where else we’d want to be,” he said.

“One of the things that makes UEA what it is, is the long-term loyalty from its employees.”

That a manufacturer doing

Waterloo Operations

A great company is also a great citizen. Throughout our history, John Deere has strived to enrich the quality of life in communities where we live and work around the globe.

That's what being a great global citizen is all about.

Deere & Company is committed to the success of customers whose work is linked to the land, providing advanced products and services to cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, shelter and infrastructure.

business internationally calls the Cedar Valley home might surprise some people. However, UEA company president Mark Hanawalt, also is the chairman of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry board.

He has hosted political leaders at UEA to talk about the upcoming legislative session and issues Iowa ABI members believe should be addressed in the current legislative session. He has learned firsthand about the variety of industrial businesses that call Iowa home.

“There are so many good stories about these companies in Iowa providing good jobs in their communities,” Dan Hanawalt said. “But they’re selling to everywhere and doing business throughout the world.”

PAGE I4

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

•

The Courier

New Waterloo airport director seeks more flights Industry veteran hopes to improve service to Waterloo.

TIM JAMISON tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — Keith Kaspari steers the Waterloo Regional Airport from the board room and not the cockpit.

That’s just the way he likes it.

“I’ve always shown an interest in aviation, but didn’t want to be a professional pilot,” Kaspari said. “I figured I could keep my feet on the ground as an airport manager.”

The Minnesota native who took the reins at the Waterloo airport Nov. 17 brings a wealth of knowledge and connections that have Mayor Buck Clark and airport board members hopeful additional flights — potentially even a second air carrier — could be on the horizon.

“We were incredibly fortunate to have somebody of Keith’s caliber come to Waterloo,” Clark said. “He brings a lot of experience at bigger airports and he has a ton of contacts in the industry that I’m very hopeful he can use to improve air service at the Waterloo airport.”

Kaspari said that is exactly the challenge that

attracted him to Waterloo, along with the location being closer to his native Minnesota roots.

“I wanted to see what I could do to jump-start an air service program here in Waterloo,” he said. “Not just to see good air service with American, but to see if there’s a possibility we could see expanded service with American.”

Originally from Thief River Falls, a small town in northwest Minnesota, Kaspari joined in the U.S. Navy after high school. Serving on an amphibious transport dock, he enjoyed the flight deck operations surrounding the CH-46, CH-53 and Cobra helicopters and Harrier jets on board.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of North Dakota with plans to attend the school’s space studies program and work for NASA. But things changed before graduate school when he started working as an operations officer at the Grand Forks, N.D., airport.

The first airport post eventually led him to an operations supervisor’s job in Burbank, Calif., where he would spend seven years, meet his wife and earn a master’s degree in public administration from

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Keith Kaspari is the new director of aviation at the Waterloo Regional Airport in Waterloo.

California State University, Northridge.

“I wanted to get closer to home, so I accepted a position as assistant director in Sioux City, where I spent two years,” Kaspari said.

Budget cuts in Sioux City forced another move.

He would later work in airport management and operations in Abilene, Texas, and Marquette, Mich., before taking a job in 2012 as the senior vice president and chief operating officer at

the much larger Capital Region International Airport in Lansing, Mich.

“Waterloo came calling,” Kaspari said. “I looked at this not just as an opportunity to get closer to home but to see if I could be a difference-maker in this community.”

Hugh Field, who chairs the Waterloo Airport Board, said Kaspari is the “right guy” to help improve American Airlines’ current service to Waterloo, which could keep

more local travelers from seeking other facilities.

“Keith was the No. 2 guy at a bigger airport,” Field said. “I think we thought we were hiring a superstar, and I think we did.”

Kaspari said he’s working hard to get a third daily departure from Waterloo. The airport currently has two daily flights — one on Saturday — to and from Chicago O’Hare International Airport on American Airlines’ American Eagle regional

service.

“I think over time we can justify those flights if we can keep our passengers here,” he said. “The challenge is being so close to Cedar Rapids, which has United, American, Delta” and Allegiant Air. “We can return some consumer confidence so that passengers in the WaterlooCedar Falls area continue to give Waterloo a try,” Kaspari said. “Our fares are there, the success stories are out there, you just don’t hear them often enough.”

A key to improving consumer confidence is making sure flights arrive and depart on time, a concern Kaspari has been relaying to his contacts with American at O’Hare.

Kaspari hopes getting additional American Eagle service would help reduce the subsidy Waterloo receives from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Essential Air Service program. Eliminating the subsidy would make it easier to justify a second air carrier.

Mayor Clark said those goals are in line with expectations.

“We need to crawl before we walk,” he said. “But I’m excited about the prospects of being able to land another carrier.”

Cedar Valley tourism officials want visitors to dig deeper JEFF REINITZ jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — At 27,000 square feet, the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum at the Cedar Valley TechWorks brings the experience of the famous factory tours without working around production schedules and reaches a wider audience.

And officials said the addition will help attract tourism to the area.

“With the factories being factories, there are rules and regulations as to who can be there. So, a group of Cub Scouts couldn’t go, because you have to be a certain age,” said Aaron Buzza, executive director of the Waterloo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“With the museum there is a whole new market they can speak to, that is parents with children. An 8-yearold has as much interest as a 15-year-old in agriculture, in John Deere, and this reaches that audience,” Buzza said.

The tractor museum is only the latest attraction for people coming to the Cedar Valley, and tourism officials say it will bolster the area’s reputation as a travel destination.

In neighboring Cedar Falls, Kim Manning, manager of the Cedar Falls

A 1928 John Deere GP tractor is featured in the new John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum.

Photos by MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

A Froelich Traction Engine from the late 1800’s on display in the new John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum in Waterloo.

Tourism and Visitors Bureau, said patrons at the tractor museum will find several other attractions.

“I would think that a lot of the folks that are interested in that would also be interested in taking a look at the Ice House Museum, because that has a bit of a related story. I think we can offer at least a full day’s experience. Actually, there’s enough to do for a couple of days,” Manning said.

The new attraction is another feature for promoting the Cedar Valley as an

agri-tourism destination, Buzza said.

“Agriculture and ag tourism is a growing, emerging market worldwide. We are in the perfect spot for that.

Not only do we have the John Deeres, but you got a place like Hansen’s (dairy in Hudson) and Moo Roo’s (Ice Cream),” Buzza said. “There is an interest from farmers worldwide in what we do, how we produce crops, how we manage animals and livestock.”

The new museum is in good company, with four

others within a mile. Waterloo’s Grout Museum District was named an Iowa Tourism Conference Hall of Fame Attraction Tourism Leadership in 2013. And in October, Cedar Falls was named the Conference’s Outstanding Tourism Community of the Year for 2014.

“That’s a great promotion,” Manning said. “That helps us to get the word out without having to purchase advertising space, and it validates what we’re saying, that we do have a good mix of attractions and

The first step in making the right decisions for you and your family is having the information you need.

Owned and Operated by the Moore Family for 3 Generations Since 1957

LifeLong Links is a free resource that helps older Iowans, individuals with disabilities, veterans and their caregivers think about and plan for long-term independent living.

events that are of interest to people. And it gives us a nod that what we’re doing to promote those things is working.”

To draw visitors from outside the area, tourism officials attend travel and trade shows. Last month, Manning was in Des Moines for the Iowa Bike Expo — an annual gear and destination show that attracts some 4,500 cyclists — and in March, officials will spread the word at Canoecopia, a paddle sports expo in Madison, Wis., that reaches 20,000 people.

“Those are big attractions for us. We have over 100 miles of hard-surfaced trail in the county, and we have a lot of water trails as well.

That’s a good niche for us,” Manning said.

Tourism officials are also marketing the Cedar Valley as an affordable leisure destination to people within the relatively drivable distance of 100 to 200 miles.

“You can come from that distance on a Friday evening, spend two full days and still be home for dinner on Sunday,” Buzza said.

Such draws include the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo and the state’s largest water park at Lost Island. Tourism promoters encourage visitors to dig deeper and do one more thing in the area like take in a restaurant or a performance or visit a museum.

“Add the playhouse and Black Hawk Children’s Theatre to that, add the amphitheater with potential concerts, Mark’s Park. It all ties in together,” Buzza said.

You hungry?

Ox Yoke Inn®

4420 220 Trail Amana, Iowa th

Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner Banquets • Sunday Brunch

319.622.3441 oxyokeinn.com

Welcome to comfortable food ...

Handmade in our kitchen from four generations of recipes.

Serving daily family style for our friends on the road and just down the road, too.

Elmo R. Moore Patrick R. Moore Mason P. Moore FOUNDER

CHAIRMAN

PRESIDENT

Always look for the RED RIBBON. It’s the symbol you can trust.

OVERHEAD DOOR CO. OF WATERLOO 800 Commercial St. • 233-0471 www.OHDCWaterloo.com

75th Anniversary Commemorative Calendar $4.95

CALL 866.468.7887 or go to www.lifelonglinks.org TO BEGIN PLANNING NOW

Proceeds Benefit Safe Haven Animal Shelter.

Includes $350 worth of coupons. Pick yours up today.

An Amana Colonies Tradition Since 1940

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

•

PAGE I5

Interns are programmed for success at Banno MIKE ANDERSON mike.anderson@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — Wes Iliff remembers how he got a job at Banno, a web/mobile marketing and development company based in Cedar Falls.

It was 2010, and he was a computer science student at the University of Iowa, where he noticed a lot of fellow students walking around campus with backpacks emblazoned with the T8 Webware logo, the name of Banno in those days.

So Iliff applied for an internship. Five years later, he is the team leader for the entire internship program of a company that has burgeoned into a haven for tech-minded programmers and web developers in the Cedar Valley.

When Iliff started, Banno was operating with a skeleton crew of two or three people. Now the company has more than 20 paid interns under its wing, and Iliff’s success story has been replicated several times over: More than 70 percent of Banno’s current full-time work force started with the company as an intern.

“We’ve got a pretty good retention rate,” Iliff said.

“We’ve got entire teams made up of people who used to be interns.”

As the award-winning company grew, Iliff said, it became clear it had another role to fill besides providing web development services for more than 375 financial institutions around the country.

“We realized this was a good way to get involved in the community, to teach people and get them closer to an environment they’d find in a bigger city,” Iliff said. “Whether they come

COURTNEY COLLINS / Courier Staff Photographer

Wes Iliff, intern team leader at Banno, poses for a photo as interns work at their desks Jan. 15 in Waterloo. with us full time or go back out in the wild, we’re trying to make sure the tech community is a little better than when we started.”

Education is a cornerstone to Banno’s approach, Iliff said: Teach people the skills they need while they’re young and success, either within the company or without it, will follow.

“We try to bring in anyone who’s willing to learn,” Iliff said.

“We’ve got a pretty good retention rate. We’ve got entire teams made up of people who used to be interns.”

Wes Iliff

team leader for Banno internship program

A good portion of Banno’s interns are computer science students from UNI, but a college degree is not required to get into the program. Some amount of experience with computers is

preferred, but whatever you don’t know going in can be learned during what Iliff calls “boot camp,” a six- to eight-week training period.

“We teach them everything they need to know,”

Iliff said. “Programming languages. Software. How to work with certain operating systems.”

Banno’s internship program has been steadily growing since its early days, and the company’s recent acquisition by John Henry & Associates Inc. — a leading provider of tech services for financial institutions — has only bolstered that growth, according to Iliff.

Banno, along with Iliff’s internship program, has gotten to maintain its autonomy while reaping a few extra benefits for today’s interns, including limited paid time off and 401(k) contributions.

“It’s been a really good experience,” Iliff said.

“There’s a reason so many people stick around. There’s a culture of learning here that leads to people sticking around.”

Serving Our Community

High-Demand Training

Training for Veterans

Job Retraining

EMS and Public Safety Training

Making a Difference . . .

• Serving 18,000 people annually • A “Military Friendly School” for six consecutive years • Thousands of individuals receive adult basic education, complete high school, and learn the English language • 94% of our graduates stay in Iowa • Families saved $1.7 million in college tuition through college-level classes in the high school • Regional economic impact equals $106 million and 1,350 jobs • Providing hundreds of businesses with training

319-296-HAWK www.hawkeyecollege.edu

PAGE I6

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

•

The Courier

COURIER FILE PHOTO

A new University of Iowa Community Credit Union branch is under construction along San Marnan Drive near Ansborough Avenue in Waterloo.

Changing of the guard at local financial institutions PAT KINNEY pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — This past year was one of change, and a changing of the guard, among local financial institutions.

Five heads of local banks and credit unions announced their retirements and several new institutions entered the market.

Among those individuals who announced their retirement were: Jean Trainor of Veridian Credit Union, who says she plans to retire in May. The credit union, Iowa’s largest, is conducting a search for her successor.

Steve Tcherter at Lincoln Savings Bank in Reinbeck, succeeded by longtime LSB executive Erik Skovard.

Joe Vich at Community Bank & Trust, formerly Community National Bank, which he founded in the late 1990s, completing a phased retirement that saw longtime Community executive Stacey Bentley become president and chief executive officer.

Dave Deaver retired as market president of First National Bank in Cedar Falls, succeeded by longtime colleague Dan Lynch.

Mark Heth, president of Iowa Community Credit Union, who retired after its merger with Dupaco Credit Union of Dubuque was completed in the first half of 2014.

Dupaco is one of several new institutions in the local market, along with University of Iowa Credit Union and NXT Bank of Central City and Marion. NXT has some of the same Waterloo-Cedar Falls locations as Liberty Bank, which preceded it, as well as branches in downtown Cedar Rapids and Coralville.

It may be the biggest transition since the 1990s, when a number of longtime local financial institution changed names multiple times following a series of regional and national acquisitions. Also, a number of new community banks entered the market.

But this past year’s chang-

es don’t necessarily mirror the 1990s acquisition chain and are largely an orderly, generational succession.

But more changes are ahead, at least one of the retiring executives notes.

“It is interesting the five of us are moving on at the same time,” Trainor said.

“I think we’re going to see more changes, not on the CEO level. Nontraditional players are going to challenge the traditional banks and credit unions. With the Internet, everyone’s in competition.

“The real challenge for us as a financial institution is to pay attention, to keep up with technological changes and mobile banking our members demand and their customers demand,” she said. “They’re expecting an increase in service delivery so people are constantly connected to the information they need.”

Veridian, like other institutions, has to maintain its members and “differentiate ourselves from other competitors,” Trainor said. One way to do that and to expand its base is to continue to welcome the growing base of diverse ethnic groups in the community.

Those different group are an asset to the community and offer potential for future growth, she said.

Vich, commenting on the large turnover of bank and credit union heads, joked, “Buy gold.” He agreed the movement on the financial landscape is something that hasn’t been seen for a while, and said it’s a good thing.

“If you think back, shortly after we started the bank (Community) in ’97 there was a big movement in some of the banks moving branches around, and I think within a couple of years we had five or six new entrants into the market. Then it seemed to stabilize for a while, and of course we’ve had another bunch of new entrants into the market.

“In a community that has grown, but not grown exponentially, I’d say banking has grown faster than the population,” Vich said.

“It’s interesting because

the community has always been served well financially. It’s had a number of the larger nation- Jean Trainor al brands; it’s had Veridian, the largest credit union in the state of Iowa and one of the largest in the country for a matter of fact. It’s been a wellserved community, and we continue to add more to the mix.

“The competition is good for everybody,” Vich said, providing a wider selection for customers. And it keeps banks and credit unions on their toes.

“We’re fighting for the same customer,” he said.

“Rates (interest rates) haven’t moved substantially for six or seven years, so you aren’t going to get a substantial benefit, one over the other, on rates. It becomes a game of providing better service, and higherquality service, and meeting your customers where they are and showing people you can do it better.”

But for one of the new players in the market, continuity also is the key, said Dupaco marketing director David Klavitter — no stranger to Waterloo-Cedar Falls as a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa.

“Right now we’re making sure we take care of the former Iowa Community Credit Union members,” Klavitter said, while expanding that member base.

“Our mission is to improve the financial position.

We believe what differentiates us from a lot of people is we take a more holistic approach in personal financial matters,” Klavitter said. “I understand it sounds hokey, but it’s taken a lot of ingraining, and it’s a real long-term approach to our member relationships.”

Dupaco had similar roots to ICCU, having been founded more than 60 years ago in Dubuque, a working-class community close to and similar to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area.

W h i l e Un ive rs i ty of Iowa Community Credit Union is not a completely new player to WaterJoe Vich loo-Cedar Falls, having established a presence here in 2011, it only completed its first branch in 2013 in Cedar Falls. It anticipates completing construction of a Waterloo location at 930 Tower Park Drive, just off San Marnan Drive, in late summer of 2015.

“UICCU has seen tremendous growth in members, total deposits and total loans,” said Jim Kelly, the credit union’s senior vice president of marketing. Part of that is due to a 12-member advisory board in Black Hawk County.

“The advisory board is a great connection to the community,” he said.

“They are a diverse group of community leaders that provide feedback, give us suggestions and tell us where we can have the most

impact in terms of giving back to the community.”

The U of I Community Credit Union was founded in 1938. One does not have to be affiliated with the University of Iowa to be a member. Its membership is open to anyone living or working in 42 Iowa counties, including Black Hawk and contiguous counties.

NXT Bank, founded in Central City in Linn County in 1946 and previously with two locations in Central City and Marion, made its big moves in 2013 when it acquired five Liberty Bank offices in eastern Iowa, including Waterloo-Cedar Falls.

NXT chairman and CEO Bruce Anderson, formerly with Liberty, announced in June Nathan Koch had been promoted to president. As was the case within the four other institutions based in the Cedar Valley, the change was part of a succession plan — and another generational change.

While customers want their accounts to be accessible with a computer mouse click or the touch

of a mobile device, personal banking — the human element — is still important, Vich said, especially involving major life decisions.

“You can do a lot of things online, but there’s still something about the person you know at the bank when you need to get a loan or need to get advice on investing,” Vich said.

Another new entrant to the local market is Collins Community Credit Union of Cedar Rapids, which set up a mortgage operation on Brandilynn Boulevard along East Viking Road in Cedar Falls in 2014.

Collins Community also is looking for a location in that area to build a fullservice facility, probably in late 2015 or early 2016, said Tim Meier, the credit union’s vice president of marketing.

With Collins’ entry into the market, the top four credit union in the state by assets have a presence in the Cedar Valley: Veridian, University of Iowa, Dupaco and Collins Community, in that order, Meier said.

Established in 1969, HyPro is a value leader in the machining, manufacturing, and assembly of components and complex assemblies. Count on Team HyPro as your turnkey business partner.

711 Enterprise Dr. • Cedar Falls • 319-277-7200 • www.hypro.com

elliott - hartman agency

DEAD

OR

ALIVE

THE OLDEST Auto Insurance

Home Insurance

furnace in the Cedar Valley Wanted for being inefficient, unreliable and dangerous!

REWARD FREE furnace Truck Insurance

Business Insur Insurance

Trusted insurance advice since 1959 611 Ansborough Ave., Waterloo, IA

319-233-8459 www.elliotthartman.com

6th 7th 8th at the See us at the Feb. 5 Sullivan BrotHerS

Home SHow 319-287-5858

convention center

2213 La Porte Rd.,Waterloo

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

•

PAGE I7

High speed milling of a 13.5-liter cylinder head at the John Deere engine works in Waterloo.

JOHN DEERE John Deere Tractor Museum opens in downtown Waterloo From page I1 Waterloo to Washington, D.C., on May 6. Deere Waterloo volunteers packed more than 118,000 meals for the needy in November for World Hunger month.

And Deere workers contributed $1.3 million to the Cedar Valley United Way. Additionally the John Deere Foundation donated $1.55 million locally, including $300,000 to Northeast Iowa Food Bank; $200,000 to Greater Cedar Valley Alliance; and $145,000 to Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa.

“As a corporation and locally we are increasing our focus and support for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and outreach,” DeVault added. That includes the Cedar Valley STEM Festival

last November, Engineers Week and Introduce a Girl to Engineering in February and a STEM Day at the Engine Works in March.

“We want to help grow the next generation of students pursuing STEM education and career paths,” DeVault said. “Forty percent of the (Deere) salaried work force works in STEM functional areas, primarily engineering and information technology. STEM literacy is increasingly important for all students, regardless of career choice. Eighty percent of jobs in the next decade will require technical skills.”

Deere also added a com- Orbital pin grinding of a 9.0-liter engine crankshaft. munity attraction, the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum, which opened in December.

“There has been a very good response” to the museum, DeVault said.

“We’ve seen many local visitors, as well as people from throughout the United States and several other countries.”

High speed machining on a 13.5-liter cylinder head.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Flexible machining cell for 13.5-liter cylinder heads.

As PDCM grows to meet more of the Cedar Valley’s insurance needs, we’re pleased to welcome Kent McCausland to our partnership team.

Call us today to find smarter solutions for you and your business.

PDCM partners. Back row, from left: John Monaghan, Steve Clabby, Bart Harms, Kent McCausland.

Front row, from left: Chris Fereday, Mac McCausland, Frank Dowie

Waterloo

|

Waverly

The Nation’s Premier 100% Owner Operator Motor Carrier Warren Transport is proud to be the nation’s premier 100% owner/ operator motor carrier operating in 48 states, Canada and Mexico.

We operate hundreds of power units and own over 2,000 trailers criss-crossing North America every day. We’re the top carrier of farm machinery and deliver contractor and construction equipment, iron and steel building materials and general commodities. Founded in the 1920s, Warren Transport has been in the forefront of new ideas and innovations, including the custom-combine trailer, now the industry standard. Flatbed or expandable flatbed step deck, van, detachable double drop or multiple axle haul, Warren is the specialist for you.

|

PDCM.com

|

800-373-2821

The World Leader in Application of Advanced Coating Technologies

"The proof is in the pudding.”

As one of North America’s leading packaged food companies, ConAgra Foods nourishes the lives of its consumers, customers and employees by providing trusted, brand-name food and quality ingredients. Through popular consumer brands such as Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hunt’s, PAM and many others, we work every day to find a better way — to make meal time convenient, to help schools provide nutritious meals for students, to improve the communities in which we operate and more.

2701 Midport Blvd.

Waterloo, IA 50703 (319) 291-3000 www.conagrafoods.com

800-526-3053 | 319-233-6113 warrentransport.com 210 Beck Avenue, Waterloo IA 50704

Since 1998, ConAgra Foods has been a proud member of the Waterloo community — home to its Hunt’s Snack Pack pudding operations which make cupped dessert snacks that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Each of its 160 employees play a key role in the overall success of the plant and ConAgra Foods.

MetoKote Corporation is an Ohio-based company operating globally. Operations in the Cedar Valley have been in place for 19 years in Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

MetoKote’s core business is the application of coatings.

Our customer base in the Cedar Valley ranges from suppliers to agricultural equipment.

Here is a brief description of the primary types of coatings we supply: Electrocoating Electrocoating readily conforms to complex configurations and maintains engineered tolerances on parts intended for operating functions.

Wet Spray Wet spray painting is an excellent technology option for finishing assembled components and products where powder coating and electrocoating may not be suitable.

Workforce The Cedar Falls plant is a three-shift operation with up to 160 full-time employees.

MetoKote Corporation - Cedar Falls 312 Savannah Park Road, Cedar Falls, IA 50613 • (319) 277-8022

PAGE I8

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

•

The Courier

HELPING ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE CEDAR VALLEY MAKE PROGRESS From startup through growth, the University of Northern Iowa’s Business and Community Service programs have been assisting local entrepreneurs and small business owners for more than 20 years with business incubation, market research, networking opportunities and one-on-one technical assistance.

TO LEARN MORE, VISIT WWW.BCS.UNI.EDU

Every year, thousands of students, faculty, staff and visitors from the Cedar Valley positively impact and are positively impacted by the University of Northern Iowa. UNI is proud to call the Cedar Valley home and its people our family.

UNI’S IMPACT ON CEDAR VALLEY COUNTIES:

• 2,301 current UNI students from the Cedar Valley • UNI employs nearly 2,200 faculty and staff and 3,900 students, most of whom live in the Cedar Valley • 18,356 UNI alumni in the Cedar Valley • 2,450 UNI alumni educators in the Cedar Valley

Student Teaching Placements

Current UNI Students from the Cedar Valley

Alumni Educators

UNI Alumni

• 90% of UNI graduates are from Iowa and stay in Iowa after graduation • UNI graduates have the lowest indebtedness of any four-year public institution in Iowa • UNI’s College of Education placed more than 1,250 students in field experience and student teaching positions across the Cedar Valley this year • UNI’s Kaleidoscope program enabled 21,990 Cedar Valley youth to experience live theater performances at a minimal cost through the “A Buck a Kid” program last year

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE J1

J1

SUNDAY FebrUArY 1, 2015

easy living living easy

Cedar Valley Valley area area is is Cedar becoming a a retirement retirement becoming destination. page J2 J2 destination. page

Old Old school school

Waterloo and Cedar Falls Waterloo and Cedar Falls school districts face changes, school districts face changes, challenges. page J4 challenges. page J4

COURTNEY COLLINS / Courier Staff Photographer

Natalie Mormann, owner of The Finery (formerly the Bride’s Corner), shares the plans for the upstairs during Tour de Loo in Waterloo.

Main attractions

Waterloo, C.F. downtowns look to remain centers of progress JOHN MOLSEED john.molseed@wcfcourier.com‌

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

The exterior view of River Place apartments in Cedar Falls.

WATERLOO — People seeking urban living are finding — and filling — more opportunities in the center of Cedar Falls and Waterloo.

Downtown residents are helping drive success, downtown development leaders said.

“We’re still seeing a lot of residential development, and the interest is still strong in that,” said Jeff Kurtz, executive director of Main Street Waterloo.

More people living downtown means more customers for businesses and more participants in events downtown, Kurtz said.

“I think we’ve established ourselves as a good entertainment district where you go to get food and drink and have some fun,” he said.

Downtown events including long-time My Waterloo Days and newer events such as Iowa Irish Fest and Cedar Valley Pridefest continue to attract large crowds.

“The activity level is going on all thrusters,” Kurtz said. “And I think that’s helping fuel the residential side of things.”

New residential development was a big step forward in 2014 for downtown Cedar Falls, too. River Place development on State Street provides new opportunities for people to call downtown

Cedar Falls home.

Carol Lilly, executive director of Cedar Falls Community Main Street, pointed to a Main Street Iowa study showing upper-floor residents in an Iowa downtown add about $19,500 to $38,900 economic impact to downtown.

The completed buildings along State Street are only one phase of a development Jeff Kurtz plan. Although they’re new construction, Lilly said they fit the aesthetics of downtown.

“It complements with what’s already here,” Lilly said. “It’s a nod to the past.”

The development also is an example of progress being made Carol Lilly off the main drag, she said. The former Medical Associates building on Clay Street is under renovations to house office and meeting space businesses can share.

The project is called the Clay Street Business Park. Apartments are being developed on East Fifth and Bluff streets, and Bike Tech is moving to the former post

Train for gain Train for gain Short-term training

Short-term training programs gaining programs gaining popularity at HCC. page J5 popularity at HCC. page J5

office/City Hall annex building on Washington Street.

“It’s nice to see so much economic development off Main Street,” Lilly said.

On Main Street, new restaurant Whiskey Road opened at the site of the former Hub music venue.

“It didn’t just sit empty,” Lilly said.

Bike Tech moving to the post office gives new life to an older, historic building downtown that did sit empty, Lilly said. It also leaves a prime location on the 100 block of Main Street available for another tenant.

“We still have a lot of people seeking space downtown,” Lilly said.

Bike Tech is expected to move in March, she added. That project received a $75,000 Main Street Challenge Grant.

In Waterloo, a Visual Logic office expansion plan also was a recipient of a $75,000 Main Street Challenge Grant in 2014.

Kurtz said that project represents progress in an area where “our work is cut out for us.”

Creating and filling more office space and recruiting retailers are areas on which Main Street backers will continue to work.

“That’s been the No. 1 question, comment or concern about

See DOWNTOWN, page J6

Steady as we grow: Cedar Valley home builders stay busy Housing market remains robust in Waterloo. C.F. TIM JAMISON tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — “Sold” marks the spot in the new Prairie Winds subdivision.

Make that all 42 spots.

“We took our first purchase agreement in fall 2013 and sold out of that first phase in a year,” said Brian Wingert, developer of the 42-lot housing development along Hudson Road north of The Meadows.

Seven more lots have been sold already in the development’s pending second phase.

Unlike several similar developments in the Cedar Falls market, Wingert said, Prarie Winds allows buyers to pick a lot and choose their own builder.

“We’ve seen a lot of mover-uppers,” he said. “Some are people who already live in town but are

just building their own house.”

Prairie Winds’ experience is not unique across the Cedar Valley.

Building officials, city planners and home builders continue to see a robust market for new housing, ranging from the tracts of new single-family houses in southwestern Cedar Falls to condominiums, homes and apartments gobbling up vacant parcels across Waterloo.

“We just came off a really good year,” said Bill Kugler, owner of Kugler Construction in Waterloo and president of the Home Builders Association of Northeast Iowa. “I’ve talked to bankers and my subs recently, and everybody’s pretty optimistic going into this year too.”

Kugler believes continued low interest rates and the fact existing homes are holding their value are helping drive demand for new homes. If a used home with an older furnace isn’t much cheaper than a new home, people are opting to build.

Waterloo is coming off a 2014

TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

Mark Hoskinson, left, Justin Bolger and Wes Bruns put together scaffolding to install speakers in a home on Wild Horse Drive in Cedar Falls. fiscal year that saw 216 new housing units built.

“That was at least a 10-year high for us,” said Community Planning and Development Director Noel

Anderson. “We’re up from last array of housing options in many year for single-family, and last locations and across a range of year was a great year for us.” prices.

Ongoing residential construction in Waterloo includes a wide See BUILDERS, page J6

PAGE J2

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

•

The Courier

Cedar Valley becoming a retirement destination NANCY JUSTIS For The Courier‌

CEDAR FALLS — The Cedar Valley has become a senior living destination. For a community of around 130,000, today’s 55-and-over population has a wealth of choices in which to spend its retirement years.

“The cool thing for the Cedar Valley is we’ve kind of created a Mecca here, and it’s not just the Western Home,” said Western Home Communities CEO Kris Hansen. “A lot of folks from even outside the community are wanting to retire here. We’ve become a retirement destination. Kudos to the whole community. Live, work, play.”

NewAldaya Lifescapes Executive Director Millisa Tierney agrees.

“We’re an aging state so we’ve got people who definitely are looking for opportunities,” she said. “You have (at least) three very strong not-for-profit providers that are well established. That’s pretty dense in itself in our population. ... We’re investing in the future, and we’re investing in our missions.

“I think that makes a very rich (environment) in the Cedar Valley.”

The state’s population is aging and the Cedar Valley’s along with it. But what makes retiring locally, or returning to the area after exploring other options in more favorable climates, so attractive? Amenities.

“We (seniors) want more amenities now,” said Lisa Gates, Friendship Village executive director. “We want more options, larger units. We’re less accepting of the way things are. We question. We’re more independent, and we have more money. We aren’t as frugal.

People of previous generations lived through the Depression. But we want value for our money.

“We have really needed to provide options for the whole individual because we are very active now,” Gates continued. “Our residents want the activities provided right here in the (Friendship Village) community.”

Hansen said more seniors are choosing the Cedar Valley “because we are finally offering the amenities that people like. This is a transformational time in senior care. I don’t even like the label. It’s active aging.”

NewAldaya is investing dollars to find out how people want to live — “what’s going to make your life better. We believe people should have opportunities no matter what their lifescape is right now. You could be healthy, you could have a chronic condition, you could be very ill, but

Photos by TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

NewAldaya hosts a night of musical performances for residents and the community in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Kristin Teig Torres, left center, and Gary Kroeger, right center, perform alongside Les Hale, left, as Lynn Nielson plays piano at NewAldaya in Cedar Falls. whatever your personal situation is, we can enhance that particular lifescape.”

Barb Bridges, director of marketing at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community, said previous generations had the mindset that a retirement facility was meant as a place to die.

“We want to project that there’s life here, there’s active life here,” she said.

“Sometimes their life even improves because of regular meals, regular exercise.”

Facilities today are far removed from the typical nursing home. Gates said there is a belief nursing homes will no longer be needed in the future. She disagrees.

“People move here because they want that nursing home capability,” she said. “If you stay in your own home, you’ll have to find that person to come help or your spouse will have to do it. Here, it’s my responsibility to make sure there is staffing, not yours.”

Many of the facilities in the Cedar Valley offer continuum care in various formats stretching all the way to acute and memory care, but they also have been innovative in the development

of their independent living choices. All have particular amenities that allow seniors to opt for the facility that best fits their lifestyle.

For example, Friendship Village is “trying to expand our healthy activity program here to meet the entire (life experience), not just the physical,” Gates said.

“We have a spiritual and social wellness component.

We are a Blue Zone community, both on the employee and resident sides.”

Friendship Village is a “life care” facility, meaning the fee you pay up front for independent living remains the same as you may need to transition into further care as you age.

“You are not paying for a piece of property, you are paying for the promise that we’ll take care of you at whichever stage of life at no additional cost,” Gates explained. “It’s an asset preservation.”

The theme of providing for “active aging” permeates throughout senior living choices.

“One of the things we’re really trying to focus on is people want to have a reason to get up out of bed in

“One of the things I thought about as I kept walking around campus (my) first year was this was really quite like a big cruise ship.”

Barb Bridges

director of marketing at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community

the morning,” Hansen said.

“I think we’re up to 870 residents here in Cedar Falls ... how to engage them into the community. We’ve got a lot of retired engineers, farmers, retired academia. How can we plug them into more intergenerational things? The Robotics Club, for example; Tinker Space, and a lifelong learning program with the University (of Northern Iowa). How do we plug in the talent we’ve got sitting out here with these high school and college kids?

“What are you doing today? What made your best day, and how can they get cross-pollinated into each other’s lives? How can some of our seniors re-career?

It’s all about having that brain engaged, learning new things.”

Schroeder said Bartels is part of the Waverly community, and the two keep integrating.

“There’s a lot of intergenerational programming,” she said.

Fourth-graders, tagged Little Friends, visit Bartels once monthly. Programming is shared with Wartburg College — Adopt a Grandparent, male students provide pedicures for Bartels residents and Bartels participates in a panel in Wartburg’s Death and Dying class.

“Those relationships extend long past graduation,” Bridges said.

The reason behind NewAldaya’s “Main Street” construction was the intergenerational and intercommunity blending. The building is not just for the NewAldaya residents but for the Cedar Valley community as a whole. It includes a salon and spa, the River Rock Cafe, Elm’s Pub, a performing arts center, a dining room, general store, wellness center and a room “offering peace and prosperity ... to catch up with old friends, settle in with a good book or review the book of the month with your book club.

“We are investing quite a bit in innovation to determine what it is we need to be, not just building brick and mortar. That’s easy, but it’s really the program development,” Tierney explained.

“People look at (Main Street) as a real ‘wow’ thing,” she said. “We look at it as a tool. ... I really don’t understand why people think just because you reach a certain age, you stop doing the things you love or participating in things that make you who you are.”

Main Street is multifunctional. Not only is it used for private groups, but its Friday Night Live

program from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. is booked two years out. It has a private club liquor license. The courtyard becomes a beer garden.

“You have all this community engagement and part of our goal — we need to have community engaging with community in a normal setting. ‘Normalizing’. We want normal settings where we are engaging with friends that are living (at NewAldaya) but also so the (outside) community engages with us.”

Continuing to talk about brick and mortar, there is exciting construction taking place at all of the facilities. NewAldaya has Main Street. Friendship Village has Landmark Commons on a second “campus.” The condominium development includes a pool and wellness center, a lake stocked with fish and a bike trail that hopefully in the future will be connected to the trail coming south from Waterloo. Plans call for another lake. One cottage has been built with space for 100 more, all to be situated in little neighborhoods.

“This neighborhood will look different from another neighborhood so you don’t drive by and ask, ‘Is this my house?’” Gates said.

Western Home has the largest resident population at all levels of care. It has the apartment-style living with units under one roof, as do the other facilities; it has villa-style (duplex) living, and cottage living for its memory-challenged residents. It’s in the process of constructing a three-story building with about 72 apartments on one end and a 60-suite rehab “hotel” at the other end.

Hooked onto the building will be a wellness and recreation development for both WHC residents and community residents. Care will cover both in-patient and outpatient therapy. The aquatic center will offer water aerobics, lap swimming capability, a way to walk against a vortex and a hot tub.

Also included will be a restaurant and pub, a store with grab-and-go items for sale, event space, a chapel and a performing arts stage.

“All this will be open to the public, with a senior focus,” Hansen said.

A recent development in all facilities is out-patient rehabilitation services. Debra Schroeder, Bartels president and CEO, said patients used to come to stay.

Not anymore.

“Today, it’s nine out of 10 times they come from the hospital for our skilled short stay unit where they are going to rehab, and the majority of them are going to go home.”

As the Western Home and

See RETIRE, page J3

Expansion. in. sight.

Family Rec

om

Memory Care house

Amenities will include: • A home-like environment • 16 private bedrooms with private bathroom • 4 semi-private rooms • 3 Outdoor patio gardens • Open kitchen and living room • Chapel and programming rooms

See the virtual tour here:

www.LiveBetterLiveWell.org 319.268.0401 • www.NewAldaya.org • 7511 University Avenue • Cedar Falls, Iowa

d ed !

You have a CHOICE for outpatient therapy! Choose the Outpatient Therapy Clinic at NewAldaya! We offer: • Cutting-edge & exceptional service • A team of experienced therapists Convenient location • Direct 1 on 1 treatment to help you meet your rehab goals • Con • Service for all ages (youth – geriatric)

en

94 %

nt & tie

m

outpatient therapy

Pa

Coming in 2015 to NewAldaya Lifescapes

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

•

PAGE J3

Area hospitals continue work to improve outcomes CHRISTINIA CRIPPES christinia.crippes@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — It’s business as usual at area hospitals and clinics, which is to say things are constantly changing and always improving.

Their focus during the past year, the year ahead and since their creation has been on better coordinated care, offered closer to home and emphasizing wellness.

“We’ve really challenged ourselves the past few years — and we’ll continue to try — to let’s just not talk a good game, but let’s try to have some tangible, factual stories we can tell where we’re really touching people in a different way,” said Jack Dusenbery, chief executive officer at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-Iowa.

“We have to do things differently.”

That sentiment of challenging themselves to do better was echoed by leaders at other area hospitals and clinics.

“The point of Unity is it’s all about care coordination, and I’m going tell you, we’re not getting it right yet. There are still gaps in care from hospitals to the physician’s office to home health,” said Pam Delagardelle, chief executive of Unity PointAllen Hospital.

“We are going to put our energy into getting that figured out in a way that really supports the patient and their family in

RETIRE

Customer preferences, technology spur changes From page J2 Bartels are amping up rehabilitation services, so are Friendship Village and NewAldaya.

“Most of our physical plant has to undergo change just because of age,” Tierney said. “We do a significant amount of short-term stay in our clinical area. Those people are either going to go home here or are outbound.

That environment has had to change, not only to meet the clinical needs but the

Pam Delagardelle

Jack Dusenbery

Jim Atty

staying healthy and recovering when they are sick,” Delagardelle said. “I think it’s going to be a journey … but we’ve got to get it right.”

Dusenbery and other health care chief executives said doing things differently entails providing better care to patients with chronic conditions who have had limited access to health care.

Where those people previously slipped through the cracks, they have gotten more attention recently. The hospitals aim to proactively take care of patients with chronic conditions by staying in touch with them rather than waiting for them to walk through the doors with a problem.

This focus is aimed at bringing down the overall cost of care and providing better care.

“We’ve known for years that not only is it better for our patients to keep them

consumer needs — private rooms, private baths. We can provide the same clinical care as a hospital for fewer dollars and expense.

“We will be opening an outpatient therapy clinic. We had a tremendous amount of requests for outpatient therapy here. That’s great because of the business in our rehab gym.”

The changing philosophy in senior care and customer-driven needs and wants has forced changes in health care. Technology also is playing a huge role. “(We’re in the middle of) the move to population health management,” Hansen said. “In the past

it’s been, ‘How do we fix something after it’s broke?’

We’ve been reactive instead of proactive.

“The way care has been delivered was like an assembly line. Kind of like having people go through a conveyor belt. That’s not family, that’s not home.

We’re really turning (doctors) and nurses back into consultants.

“The other thing that is changing is instead of all these disciplines — housekeeping, CNAs (certified nursing assistants), dietary, activities, social services — we’re trying to embrace and replace that with what we’ll call a universal worker.”

Look to us for your next new building or renovation project!

Steph Weiand Owner Architect

Jim Christensen Owner

Commercial Buildings Single Source Professional & Medical Offices Services: Churches & Retail Centers Architecture Construction Interior Design Security Signage Master Planning Site & Space Planning Feasibility Studies Jim@Single-Source.net 112 West Park Lane Waterloo

Steph@Single-Source.net Ph. 319-232-6554

healthy, but it’s also more cost effective for the country,” said Waverly Health Center CEO Jim Atty. “We like to see the movement in that direction.”

Dusenbery said the Wheaton system has joined the University of Iowa Health Alliance that includes a majority of the health systems in the state, in part to better coordinate care and work together across the state.

Area health care officials said there also is better coordination among their respective health systems to work as a region to provide care.

But Delagardelle said the description by former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of a sickcare system is still apt, even as Allen and other area hospitals work toward a system that focuses on health care.

She said the systems are moving away from fee-for-service payments to valuebased services. Hospitals are also working to establish medical homes so people can regularly stay in touch with the medical system rather than waiting until they have an emergency.

“We’re trying to be really intentional about getting people into a primary care office, so we can really get ahead of that,” Delagardelle said, while adding there are still high levels of traffic in emergency rooms.

While there is more work to be done,

Bartels administrator Teresa Krueger calls their “jack of all trades” staff “resident assistants.”

“They’re not certified as far as a state certification. We do our own in-house training of our staff on how to do medication management, how to assist with the shower.

It’s not doing everything for them, the resident is an active participant in a lot of their care. It’s assisting them in an apartment setting. It’s the best of both worlds.”

“I see over the next 10 years that we will once again be re-inventing ourselves to be what consumers want in terms of household models for some of

the region has seen successes in providing care closer to home.

Cedar Valley Medical Specialists began operating locally 20 years ago with the mission of providing quality care closer to home and has continued to expand its list of specialists.

Gil Irey, chief executive of CVMS, said the company has added retina services in the past couple years and a urology specialist began offering care in the community in July for a total of 22 specialties. The latter department will add two additional providers this summer.

Irey said adding the urology specialty gives the Cedar Valley the opportunity to keep 3,000 patients a year here rather than sending patients — and the revenue — to Iowa City and Rochester, Minn., specialists.

Atty similarly said having the health center in Waverly keeps services and patients closer to home, providing a level of care that isn’t necessarily seen in other communities of its same size.

Closer to home also means offering services in areas where they haven’t been before. Delagardelle said Allen recently added a clinic on the east side of Waterloo, where none had existed, and launched an affiliation with Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health Center to better provide behavioral health services in the region.

the licensed nursing and assisted living models of care,” Shroeder explained.

“I see continued growth with the (independent living) Eisenach Village. We’ll have further focus on wellness.”

“We’re clinicians, but we’re also in the hospitality business, we’re in the housing business, we’re in all these sectors,” Tierney said. “How do you blend all this? We had to reverse our thinking from a clinical mentality. Even when you are really, really sick, how can you improve that experience?”

Bridges might have said it best.

“One of the things I thought about as I kept walking around campus (my) first year was this was really quite like a big cruise ship. You get the bulletin boards with the day’s activities, you’ve got the beauty shops, you’ve got exercise going on and you’ve got different meal venues. You’ve got family space where you can gather. People have a lot of choices on this campus.

Everyone wants the room with the window.

“We want people to age gracefully, and it doesn’t matter what age they are, they just want to have fun and enjoy living each and every day.”

Buying a home doesn’t have to be difficult!

All you need is the “Home Team” at Collins Community Credit Union

Our Real Estate Department Offers: • A variety of loan options including construction and first time buyer financing • Competitive rates and flexible terms • Low down payment options • Free pre-approval • Local decision making

Call today, or apply online at www.collinscu.org Sandy Goldsberry 319-230-9381

Don Putz 319-640-0051

Shelley Ingersoll 319-939-2300

Visit our Home Loan Center located at 226 Brandilynn Blvd. Suite C in Cedar Falls (Across from Blain’s Farm & Fleet )

www.collinscu.org 319-266-6001

Introducing Our New Heidelberg Speedmaster 6-color Press.

We are are now able able to to serve serve your your printing printing needs needs even even better better in in 2015!

3 16 We s t 5 t h S t re et • Wa t e rlo o I owa 5070 1 • 3 19 - 234 - 8 9 69 • w w w. t he pio ne e rg ro u p. c o m

PAGE J4

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

•

The Courier

Waterloo, C.F. schools make changes, face challenges Both systems must address pressing facilities needs.

are workable but certainly not suitable,” said Wedgbury. “We’re making situations work.”

“Something that was designed in 1950 doesn’t necessarily fit for the learning challenges today,” said Pattee. “In this day and age we cannot have spaces that fit one style of learning. You need those spaces that are adaptable and flexible.”

ANDREW WIND andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com‌

WATERLOO — The Cedar Valley’s two largest school systems are looking at big changes and continuing improvements in facilities and programs.

The next year will be critical as those plans are developed in the Cedar Falls and Waterloo community school districts. Officials in both districts are seeking input and buy-in from residents, who will eventually vote on whether to provide additional funding to make the proposals a reality.

Aging facilities and booming enrollments add up to major concerns at Cedar Falls Community Schools.

Superintendent Andy Pattee noted the district saw enrollment increase by more than 70 students this year, and projections are for that to grow by 900 more in the next decade.

“We are a growing community,” he said. “We don’t have capacity in our buildings to handle future community growth.”

Space is at a premium, especially at the elementary schools, where multiple portable classrooms have been installed. Most improvements, largely paid for with 1 percent sales tax revenues, have occurred at four elementary schools and the two junior highs. Planning is focused on the other two elementaries — Orchard Hill and North Cedar — as well as eventually building another elementary school.

At the high school level, “We have a building that needs renovations or we need to look at a new one,” said Pattee. A new high school would be located on a much larger property than the current building. If renovation is eventually chosen, officials must solve space issues, as well — both for educational and parking purposes.

Waterloo Community Schools also is considering facility improvements at the secondary level, largely focused on the high schools.

But the plans will be very closely linked to major program changes integrating upgraded career and technical education into the district’s curriculum.

Three proposals are currently on the table: Add unduplicated programs in CTE and other academic areas at East and West high schools, which would require major renovations.

Create a single district high school at the current Central Middle School, which would result in some shifting of middle school students to a new or different building.

The next step

Photos by BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

Marlon Moore holds the bowl as Kee-Lee Stocks scoops out sugar cookie dough during a class at West High in Waterloo.

Emina Toromanovic and Gabe Pepin measure out portions of sugar cookie dough.

Establish a career center somewhere in Waterloo where students from the high schools would come for CTE courses. This would mean new construction or, again, shifting some school locations to accommodate the program in an existing building.

“We have a great system that is hitting the mark for most of our kids,” said Superintendent Jane Lindaman. “This is really targeting education for the next generation and trying to serve kids best for their interests and how they learn.”

She noted many students are “not fully engaged” and 150 to 200 students drop out of the district each year. “It’s not only about (dropouts), but if we can keep them it’s certainly good for everyone.”

The district held a series of meetings in November to gather community input on a longer list of high school reforms recommended by

a task force with price tags ranging from $72.5 million to $251.9 million. Since refining the list of proposed options, officials have been meeting with an architect. “We are trying to put together some more specific cost estimates based on what the plans are,” said Lindaman.

Another round of town hall meetings will be held, probably in late spring, after the estimates and initial schematic designs are complete.

After the Board of Education settles on a plan, Lindaman doesn’t expect a bond issue referendum to be set until at least February 2016.

Cedar Falls Schools’ officials anticipate a bond referendum in June or September as they gather input from residents at community meetings already underway. The next ones are planned at 6 p.m. Feb. 18 and 2 and 6 p.m. Feb. 19. They will be held at Area Education Agency 267, 3712 Cedar

Heights Drive, Cedar Falls, with more to be scheduled at a later date.

Challenges

The Cedar Falls district has already tried to pass a bond issue. The vote on the $118 million plan was held in early September but failed with 58 percent voting against it.

A 60 percent “supermarjority” was needed for approval.

“We know we have some challenges we need to address, and we need to engage our community on how we’re going to solve those challenges,” said Pattee.

“Regardless of what we do, it’s going to take a vote from our community,” he added, noting the district doesn’t have all the funding necessary to tackle the needs. “We hope to have a much greater level of attention and involvement as we move forward.”

Renovations of classrooms at North Cedar Elementary

School have started and more upgrades have been approved. Those improvements include new wiring, carpet and heating system plus the addition of air conditioning. Rooms were reconfigured to create more collaborative spaces and improve storage.

“We feel lucky at least by the end of this summer we’ll have the entire east wing of the building renovated,” said Principal Jen Hartman. “It’s very needed. It’s not asking for a lot of extra stuff.”

She noted an improved learning environment in classrooms that have been remodeled. “Because rooms could get up well over 90 degrees, cooling helped immensely,” said Hartman.

Additionally, thin walls in some classrooms have been upgraded so students are no longer being disturbed by outside noises.

High school Principal Jason Wedgbury outlined some of the same concerns in his building. There are climate control issues at the school and it can be difficult to retrofit classrooms for modern technology because of outdated wiring.

Space is often cramped as new programs or different approaches to learning require more, bigger or redesigned classrooms. In addition, some extracurricular activities are forced off of campus because of space limitations, including some sports and the school’s robotics team.

He noted the school has implemented Project Lead the Way, a curriculum that prepares students for college engineering courses, and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes. They often end up “in spaces that

Waterloo Community Schools also will have different classroom space requirements for its proposed career and technical education programs.

“This is definitely about programming, but at some level this is about making building improvements,” said Lindaman. “The current facilities, they’re just not fitting well with what we’re wanting to do.”

The larger spaces will allow for career field-specific equipment where students can receive handson training. In a number of cases, programs offered will be more in-depth versions of classes students can now take in district high schools.

“CTE is not new,” said Lindaman. “The difference between what we have been doing and what we want to do is the comprehensiveness of it all.”

Mark Van Cleave, executive director of technical education, said the district hopes to offer 15 pathways where students can earn certifications and college credits toward an associate’s degree in fields such as health care or manufacturing.

“This is a culmination,” said Charles McNulty, the district’s associate superintendent for educational services. “This is getting near the end of the hard work that’s been done. This really is that next step.”

Advisory committees have been formed and are beginning to meet. Standards and outcomes are being developed in conjunction with educational institutions including Hawkeye Community College, the University of Northern Iowa and Allen College. Van Cleave noted they’re also working on other “vibrant, robust partnerships” that involve everything from setting up internships to recruiting mentors and sponsors, who would donate materials.

He said they are already looking at ways to improve the district’s existing career and technical education programs within current budget constraints.

“This is a proven way to engage groups of kids,” said Lindaman. “We’ve seen it all across the country. This is a proven way to deliver instruction that fits their needs.”

Helping you realize your vision for the future Our experienced and knowledgeable team will develop a plan that can help you feel more confident about your retirement.

A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.

3404 Midway Drive, Waterloo, IA 50701 319.234.7000 | F: 319.234.1056

LarryKFoxAndAssociates.com Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results.

The Compass is a trademark of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. services and products arerights madereavailable andInvestment SIPC. © 20advisory 15 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All served. through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser.

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2015 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

PROGRESS 2015

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE J5

Short-term training grows at Hawkeye Community College ANDREW WIND andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com‌

CEDAR FALLS — Jordan Post realized he needed a more marketable set of skills after being laid off last fall from the tractor assembly line at John Deere.

The 26-year-old Waterloo man learned about Hawkeye Community College’s short-term training programs during meetings the company held for workers who were losing their jobs.

“We found out Deere would pay two-thirds of our schooling if we went to school,” said Post, who worked for the company 1-1/2 years. “I decided it would be in my best interest to go to school. I don’t want to be in this position again.”

At the end of October, he enrolled in the six-month industrial maintenance program at Hawkeye’s Cedar Falls Center along with a group of other Deere workers who had lost their jobs. The program teaches a wide range of skills needed to keep the machinery running on a factory floor.

Training Post received on Deere’s assembly line and in past jobs was very basic.

“This is a lot more complicated,” he said of the industrial maintenance program.

Post pointed to his former employer for the confidence that the training will open up job opportunities.

“They didn’t lay off any skilled trade or maintenance guys,” he noted. “There’s a reason for that.”

Short-term training programs have been on a growth spurt at Hawkeye recently, with 900 noncredit classes offered last year. Unique enrollment in the programs “has increased 12 percent this past

MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor

Instructor Robert Stwalley, right, helps Jordan Post with a three-way circuit in the industrial electricity class at Hawkeye Community College Cedar Falls Center. year to nearly 10,000 students, that’s for our service area,” said Hawkeye President Linda Allen. “That’s a very large increase.”

The programs have been a community college staple for some time, she noted.

“It’s just that recently we found that businesses have a greater interest in shortterm programs” — especially those that are struggling to find people with the right skills to fill positions.

“We do everything from how to bake a good pizza to being an industrial mechanic,” said Aaron Sauerbrei, Hawkeye’s executive director of business and community education.

“We do everything from how to bake a good pizza to being an industrial mechanic.”

Aaron Sauerbrei

executive director of business and community education

The programs, which also provide customized training so employers can boost their employees’ job skills, vary in length depending on what’s being taught.

Often, there are corresponding courses that earn college credit, but those typically have more requirements and may take longer to complete.

“We have great credit programs here on campus that serve our community, but

the demand was so much that we thought we better add some programs for those who can’t take the traditional route,” said Sauerbrei.

When he surveyed the needs of business and industry, Sauerbrei found short-term training deficiencies in industrial maintenance, computer numerical controlled machining and welding. “Those were the three starting points of

our training programs,” he said.

The industrial maintenance program was a good fit for Brandin Van Auken, another Deere assembler laid off this fall. The 33-year-old Shell Rock man worked at the company for a little more than two years before losing his job.

He has been learning about electricity, fluid power and mathematics – among other topics – during the training.

Instructors started with simple math and took it at a slow pace while working their way up to teaching the students geometry. That was helpful for Van Auken.

“I haven’t been in school for 16 years,” he said.

But he’s glad for the hands-on nature of much of the training. “I like that we get to work in the labs, it’s not just classroom time,” he said.

Industrial maintenance is an expanding career field locally, where it has a mean wage of $22 an hour.

In Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler and Grundy counties it’s growing at a rate of 2.5 percent annually and is anticipated to increase by 29 percent over 10 years.

“I think our annual openings currently are 30, projected to be up to 135 openings annually by 2022,” said Allen.

Along with providing training, Sauerbrei said Hawkeye will help its students find those job openings.

“The idea is to bring the employers to the students,” he said, so they can be interviewed on-site. “And hopefully, that leads to employment.”

Cory Olson of Janesville was once a Hawkeye student. He completed the first year of an associate’s degree after high school before deciding to leave college and get a full-time job. Now he’s back and going through the industrial maintenance program after being laid off from Deere, like the others.

“Going back to school was something I was going to do anyways,” said the 26-yearold. He’s “definitely learning a lot” in the program, which has stoked his interest in the industrial maintenance field.

“So far what we’ve done, it proved it’s something I want to pursue as a career,” said Olson.

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 2,400 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.

501 North Elk Run Road | 319-236-2636

w w w. t y s o n . c o m

PAGE J6

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

PROGRESS 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

•

The Courier

BUILDERS

Several apartment, condominium projects are pushing construction values higher From page J1

Photos by BRANDON POLLOCK / Courier Staff Photographer

David Deeds talks about the renovations taking place in JSA Development’s “Walden Block” during Tour de Loo on Oct. 3 in Waterloo.

DOWNTOWN

Downtown Waterloo saw significant growth in 2014 From page J1 downtown, is what can we do to bring more retail to downtown,” Kurtz said.

However, 2014 saw significant progress toward growing downtown retail. New stores include House of Eden, Dapper Designs and Waterloo Bicycle Works.

“I think because of the size of our district, it’s shotgunned out and not clustered,” he said.

At the end of the year, downtown hosted a “shoplocal event” that included pop-up shops in empty retail spaces. Kurtz said that is one way to create opportunities and visions for potential retail business owners.

Looking at 2015, he hopes more pop-up temporary stores come downtown and wants to work with entrepreneurs on the best way to get them started with the downtown incubator and development center.

“I want to make sure we’re providing the right kind of flexible, workable space for startups,” he said.

For 2015, Cedar Falls Main

Participants in October’s Tour de ‘loo got a behind-thescenes look at the redevelopment of a number of historic Waterloo buildings.

Street and the new downtown residents are looking to bring a market to an already healthy retail district.

A market to serve the needs of the people who live there

was identified as a crucial need as far back as 2008, Lilly said.

“With the increased residential we have, that’s a need that has grown,” she said.

Work has begun on the next residential phase of River Place in Cedar Falls.

LINCOLN SAVINGS BANK

Banking with people you know and trust, that’s Community Banking!

1810-4th St., SW Waverly, IA 50677 Phone: (319) 352-4098

Member FDIC

www.MyLSB.com

Several infill rental apartment and condominium projects are pushing construction values higher, including seven 12-plexes under development at the former Tunis Speedway on Greenhill Road; Paul Moore, of Solon, filling up Ravenwood Circle with a 12-plex and townhouses; and Joe Minard starting four 12-plexes at the former Starlite Drive-In site by the University Avenue Hy-Vee store.

John Rooff is nearly finished with six “brownstone” townhomes near downtown, with more on the way. Rooff and developer Jim Ellis continue to prepare for affordable homes in several former school sites: 24 lots at Baltimore Field; six at Williston Field; 14 lots at the old Lafayette School location; and five lots at the Van Eaton School property.

Anderson noted some long-sought, large-scale builders — Skogman Homes, Robson Homes and High Development — are now investing in Waterloo’s singlefamily market.

Robson is planning another 144 lots for townhomes east of Crossroads Estates, behind the Crossroads Hy-Vee and Best Buy stores. Skogman has platted the first 11 of 102 planned lots in the Audubon Heights Fourth Addition for more upscale houses.

“We checked the inventory last year and were below 100 lots,” Anderson said. “So it’s nice to see something platted.”

Cedar Falls has enjoyed a strong housing market for many years. While market-rate rental development is happening, new single-family homes pushing the $300,000 range continue to be its bread and butter.

Excluding multi-family development, Cedar Falls has written permits for 159, 155 and 154 new dwelling units in the last three fiscal years. About 60 units had been started through half of the current fiscal year.

“Basically we’re on the same trajectory that we have been since (fiscal year) ’12,” said Building Official Craig Witry. “That 150 units is a nice year for us. It’s steady, good growth.”

Add to that some 33 permits, including two assisted living units, all valued at $21 million in the past fiscal year which is part of the Western Home’s expanding campus along South Main Street. The senior housing is a huge force in the local construction industry.

TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer

Mark Hoskinson with Panther Builders wires a speaker for installation in a home on Wild Horse Drive Tuesday in Cedar Falls.

“The Western Home is really a big player in Cedar Falls,” Witry said.

Community Services Manager Bob Seymour said demand for the single-family lots isn’t dropping off.

“One of our biggest challenges in the last two years has been inventory,” Seymour said. “We kind of hit a lull there for 18 months where there were no platted lots coming in. Then all of the sudden that pent-up demand (exploded).”

City Planner David Sturch noted plans for Prairie Winds, Prairie West and The Arbors, all along the west side of Hudson Road between Viking and Greenhill roads, are set up to add more than 500 lots to the city’s inventory.

Developments along Union Road, such as Wild Horse Ridge, and the Autumn Ridge area also have future growth potential.

Seymour noted Cedar Falls is seeing “a reasonable number of multi-family” projects too.

The 21 condo units at 300 State St. downtown are sold, while an adjacent mixed-use building under construction will include third- and fourth-floor residential units; a condo project at Greenhill and Hudson roads is finally moving; and developer Brent Dahlstrom has built apartments near Cedar Heights and Greenhill roads with plans for more condos in that area.

The Courier

•

www.wcfcourier.com

Sunday, February 1, 2015

•

PAGE J7

painted ainted vision

of Kryton Engineered Metals Our journey has led KRYTON Engineered Metals where we are today…a leader in our industry and it’s all due to the dedication, expertise, and awesome character of our employees.

KEviN HaRbERTs President and CEO

Our future is nOw. PaintedVisiOn.

ACCOUNTABILITY At all levels we will live to our commitments and hold each other accountable.

KRYTON Engineered Metals makes things happen.

Employees and leadership are committed to open new doors, create new possibilities, and paint a picture of what is in store for our future. Our future success is derived from our employees living, breathing, and carrying out our company’s core values EVERY day.

On any given day, KRYTON is literally buzzing with every machine running at peak efficiency – operated by an amazing team of top professionals. Seventy percent of our production floor is automated. Every automatic CNC spinning lathe runs a minimum of two shifts per day, and all the lathes operate off the same unified software. Every machine is hooked up to our MRP system, which provides live data – real numbers. Our two lasers run 24 hours a day, five days a week. One is automated with lights-out capability and runs six hours overnight, dramatically increasing productivity.

INTEGRITY We believe in doing what is right for our customers and fellow team members.

IMPROVEMENT We continuously strive to take the initiative to find ways to do our work better, smarter, faster, and safer.

QUALITY The KRYTON team is passionate about continuing our tradition of delivering the best quality products for our customers.

TEAMWORK Through respect and trust people achieve more. A diversified

KRYTON team uses individual talents and skills to be better as a whole.

ENTHUSIASM We want our customers to see something different about a

KRYTON employee as we exceed customer satisfaction and show value for our customers.

CUt it

Form it

As an innovator in the industry,

We know metal spinning and can offer

Using the latest technology and

KRYTON Laser Cutting is always on the leading edge of technology.

creative solutions to spin your part to your specifications competitively.

equipment, our team of metalsmiths can handle all types of specialty fabrication.

FaB it

MISSION STATEMENT

KRYTON Engineered Metals Inc. is devoted to exceeding our customers’ expectations in quality, delivery, and service through continuous improvement and customer relationships.

7314 ChanCellor Drive, CeDar Falls, ia Krytonmetals.Com | 1-800-728-1771 iso 9001:2008 Certification

PAGE J8

•

Sunday, February 1, 2015

www.wcfcourier.com

•

The Courier

It’s more than beautiful new buildings.

It’s a radical change in how people live.

In 2015, you’ll forever change how you think of“nursing homes.”

After three years of planning, designing and training, Western Home Communities will open its first two nursing cottages in June. These first two households will be specially licensed for people with dementia.

Transforming the environment: from hospital-like to home per cottage •• 16All residents private bedrooms with bathrooms kitchen and living room •• Open Den and family dining room porch and front door with doorbell •• Front Landscaped yard and courtyard

Transforming daily life: from staff-driven to resident-directed Residents choose how daily life unfolds Residents can be spontaneous Residents decide what makes their best day Residents are engaged in the community Employees support resident choices and desires Employees feel like family

•• •• ••

Do you know someone with dementia who needs nursing care and would benefit from household living in a nursing cottage at Western Home Communities?

Call Karla Foust or Wendy Lamos at

(319) 277-2141

to find out more and inquire about the waiting list.

A non-profit service provider in Cedar Falls since 1912) www.WesternHomeCommunities.org