THURSDAY, OCT. 19, 2017  |  IN THIS ISSUE  

Industrial parts distributor Motion Industries today announced a deal to acquire Cedar Rapids-based industrial belting and hose supplier Apache Inc.

Motion Industries is a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Co., a publicly-traded parts supplier based in Atlanta, with annual revenues of $15.3 billion in fiscal 2016. Terms of the sale, expected to close on Nov. 1, were not immediately disclosed. Genuine Parts also announced plans to buy New York-based Monroe Motor Products, a regional auto parts distributor.  
 
Founded in 1963, Apache is 100 percent employee-owned. It is one of the largest belting companies in North America, offering custom fabrications, on-site belting services and consumer products. The company received state and city support in 2014 for a project to double its production in Cedar Rapids and add about 90,000 square feet of production space. Apache had 139 employees in Cedar Rapids and a total of 315 employees at that time, but expected to add 15 more with the expansion.

Apache president and CEO Tom Pientok said in a press release that the companies are an excellent cultural fit, and becoming part of Motion will ensure that Apache's employees will be well cared-for in the future.

"We have had a great relationship with the Motion team for many years and this step is really a continuation of our growth strategy," Mr. Pientok said. "We will preserve and build on the long-standing reputation of the Apache name and we'll now have access to greater capabilities for accelerated growth."
 
Tony Cefalu, senior vice president of shops and services for Motion, called Apache a well-established company with an outstanding reputation.

"The addition of Apache further enhances our value-added offering in our belting and hose business," Mr. Cefalu stated in a press release. "We have known Tom and his team for a long time and we couldn't ask for a better or more talented group to partner with."
 
With annual sales of $4.6 billion, Motion Industries is a leading industrial parts distributor of bearings, mechanical power transmission, electrical and industrial automation, hydraulic and industrial hose, hydraulic and pneumatic components, industrial products, safety products and material handling.

J. Brooks Jackson
After an extensive national search, the University of Iowa has named J. Brooks Jackson as vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine. 
 
An internationally recognized AIDS researcher, Dr. Jackson, 64, will lead UI Health Care, which is comprised of the Carver College of Medicine, UI Hospitals and Clinics and UI Physicians.
 
Dr. Jackson has served as the vice president for health sciences and dean of the medical school at the University of Minnesota since 2014. In his role, he serves as the executive leader for the university's academic health center, which coordinates care and learning across six schools and colleges. He also serves as chair of the University of Minnesota Health board of directors and the University of Minnesota Physicians board.
 
"Dr. Jackson is an experienced and innovative leader who can lead University of Iowa Health Care in continued success," UI President Bruce Harreld said in a statement. "He has a proven track record of building research, education and clinical programs, and he will bring his great passion and talent here to Iowa."
 
Sue Curry, interim executive vice president and provost at the UI and a member of the search committee, said Dr. Jackson's depth of knowledge about the unique challenges of academic medicine set him apart.
 
Mr. Jackson succeeds Jean Robillard, who served as dean of the Carver College of Medicine from 2003-2008 and from 2016 to the present, as well as vice president for medical affairs beginning in 2007. Dr. Robillard announced in September 2016 that he would step down once a new leader was named. Dr.  Jackson, whose appointment is pending approval from Board of Regents, will receive an annual salary of $825,000.


A Dwight Hughes Nursery & Landscaping crew plants crabapple trees on Wright Brothers Boulevard.
A $33,500 planting project on the Wright Brothers Boulevard east of Eastern Iowa Airport was completed Wednesday, providing a visual boost to one of the city's key gateways and an assortment of flowering plants for the area's much-needed pollinator population.

A group of five Americorps workers and three Tree Keeper volunteers from Trees Forever joined workers from Dwight Hughes Nursery, the contractor for the project, to plant crabapple trees on the Wright Brothers Boulevard median on Wednesday. Airport Director Marty Lenss says the work is an extension of the improvements under way in the airport terminal's four-phase modernization project.

The airport received a $7,000 grant through Branching Out, a partnership of Trees Forever and Alliant Energy, to assist with the project. The project also furthered the city's 1,000-acre Pollinator Initiative, which aims to sustain and grow the population of butterflies and other plant pollinators.

"When you plant a tree, you're starting to leave behind a legacy," Doug Kopp, president of Alliant Energy's Iowa utility, stated in a press release. "Fifteen years from now you can come back and see what you've done and it is impressive." 

The airport will provide maintenance support for the trees and pollinator plants, which include butterfly milkweed, yellow Stella daylilies, cat mint walkers, black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, ruby daylilies, autumn joy sedum and Karl Foerster grass.

Studies have shown that tree-lined streets boost retail sales and promote visits to landscaped areas by making them more appealing, Trees Forever CEO Shannon Ramsay said.

Iowa has one of the least competitive state tax codes in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation's 2018 State Business Tax Climate Index. Iowa ranks 40th among the states, as measured by the index.

CBJ coverage partner Des Moines Business Record took a look at the recent report, which examines how well each state's tax code is structured, analyzing over 100 tax variables in five different tax categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance. The index ranks states based on their tax structure, not their tax burden. 

States with complex tax codes that distort business decisions do poorly, while states with transparent, neutral, fair tax codes score well. The goal of the index "is to start a conversation between taxpayers and legislators about how their tax system compares with other states, and provide a road map for improvement," said lead report author Jared Walczak, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation. To view an interactive map with rankings, click here
 
CREDIT: SMARTASSET
Property taxes in Linn County rank eighth-highest among the state's 99 counties, but taxpayers are getting some good bang for their property tax buck, according to findings of a new SmartAsset study.

The study ranked Linn County second among the counties in Iowa on property tax value, analyzing crime rates and school ratings as two key measures indicating how well the property tax money is being used.

Polk County fared best in the rankings. Its property tax rate of 1.82 percent is the state's highest, the report said, and residents with a home value of $200,000 can expect to pay more than $3,400 in annual property taxes. Linn County had a lower property tax rate of 1.68 percent, but had a lightly lower school rating and more crimes per $100,000 population. A typical homeowner in Linn County pays $2,265 annually in property taxes, about $500 more than the state average.

Johnson County had the highest median property tax payment in the state of $2,897 per year, but the report noted that is partly due to the county's highest-in-the-state property values. Its average effective property tax rate is 10th highest in the state, at 1.56 percent. It did not make the list of the top 10 counties.

To see the full report, click here.

EventHeadlinesShort-Term Event Planner

Oct. 19
Ribbon Cutting: Athletico North Liberty, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 4 p.m., Athletico North Liberty, 3286 Crosspark Road, Ste. 101, Coralville. This event will mark the grand opening of Athletico's North Liberty branch. Free. Call (319) 337-9637 for more information.  
 
BizMix: Freedom Foundation, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Marion Chamber of Commerce, 4-6 p.m., Freedom Foundation, 609 Center Point Road NE, Cedar Rapids. BizMix brings together area professionals for casual networking over complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, and is hosted by a different member business each month. Free for members, registration not required. For more information, call (319) 398-5317.  
 
Pumpkin Patch Social, by EPIC, 5-7 p.m., Colony Pumpkin Patch, 2780 Front St. NE, North Liberty. Join the Empowered Professionals of the Iowa City Area for a fall social event. Network with other area young professionals and test your navigation skills in Colony Pumpkin Patch's annual corn maze. State Representative Amy Nielsen will deliver brief remarks at 5:45 p.m. Bring a flashlight and wear comfortable shoes. Cost: $3/adults, children are free. To register, visit   http://bit.ly/PumpkinPatchSocial.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28  
 
Millions of Americans are keeping a closer eye on their personal information since the Equifax data breach was released in September.  But Iowa is the state where people are the least vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.  A survey done by the personal finance site  WalletHub  compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia under eight key metrics that range from identity-theft complaints per capita to average loss amount amount due to fraud. Findings ranked Iowa 45th in identity theft complaints per capita, 46th in average loss amount due to online identity theft, 49th for fraud and other complaints per capita, 23rd for state security-freeze laws for minors' credit reports, and 37th for persons arrested for fraud per capita.  For a full look at the survey, click  here .
 
T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails'  Weather First Forecast

The nice weather will keep on going as we head into the end of the week and start of the weekend. There will be plenty of sunshine today and tomorrow with high temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s.  The next cold front arrives Saturday - it will still be warm in the afternoon ahead of clouds moving in and rain chances going up. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will become likely late in the day on Saturday and into the night. Showers will come to an end early Sunday and cooler air will move in. About a half an inch to an inch of rain is expected area-wide.