TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2018  |  IN THIS ISSUE
Para1Pate arming candidates, auditors with cybersecurity playbook 
 
Paul Pate 
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is distributing the "Cybersecurity Campaign Playbook" to more than 300 candidates who filed for federal, statewide and legislative races this year, the secretary's office announced this week.
 
The playbook was created by the Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P), a bipartisan initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School. Mr. Pate, in a statement, described the book as a "good introduction to cybersecurity" and a "starting point" for candidates looking to protect their own systems.
 
"There have been no unauthorized intrusions into Iowa's elections systems and we are working with all 99 county auditors to keep it that way. My staff is constantly vigilant in defending our elections systems from cyberattacks. We are committed to this effort," Mr. Pate added. "Campaigns and political organizations could be targets as well. That's why we're sharing this playbook with the political parties and every candidate. Cybersecurity must be a team effort."
 
Last month, staffers from the secretary's elections and information technology divisions participated in a two-day simulation exercise conducted by D3P. They joined officials from 38 states to receive training, tools and tips intended to fortify election systems against cyberattacks.
 
The Campaign Security Campaign playbook is available for download here.
NIH renews $21 million translational research grant for UI 

Dr. Patricia Winokur
University of Iowa leaders have announced the renewal of a $21 million grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as part of an ongoing effort to translate lab discoveries into real-world care solutions.
 
Faculty and staff in the UI Carver College of Medicine, the UI colleges of Public Health, Nursing, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Tippie College of Business will use the funding to expand the university's research efforts beyond its borders to collect health data from people in their home communities across the state, such as blood sugar readings from pregnant mothers, according to an interview with Dr. Patricia Winokur, executive dean of the Carver College of Medicine and co-director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS).
 
"We want rural Iowans represented in the national mix of citizens participating in research because rural populations have been underrepresented in the past," Dr. Winokur said in announcing the grant renewal.
 
Dr. Winokur and ICTS co-director Dr. Jeff Murray, a professor of pediatrics, said the research approach could be very important for those in rural settings, although they added the strategies will be useful for patients and research volunteers throughout the country. At the same time, the grant provides infrastructure for researchers to use data from electronic medical records and develop better strategies for enhancing clinical and translational research.
 
"This is a critical opportunity to not only collaborate with all types of health providers, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists and physicians in bringing research findings to Iowa and elsewhere, but to also involve those providers and their community members in doing those studies and making those research advances," Dr. Winokur said.
 
The announcement marks the third renewal of the UI's original CTSA grant in 2007. Funding for the grant will be provided through 2023.
Para3Created in the Corridor: Inteconnex
 
For every parent, student and educator, school security is a top concern right now. And while many safety proposals are being floated, the latest technology already is at work in several states, and engineered by a growing company headquartered in Cedar Rapids. CBS2/FOX 28 Anchor Scott Sanborn talks with Inteconnex President Marc Meyer and explores the company's high-tech products in the latest edition of Created in the Corridor.
Para4This week's CBJ: Frontier invests in a sunnier future
 
Robert Dix (left) and Dan Hager of SiteGen Solar finish up the installation of a solar array at Frontier Natural Products Co-op in Urbana. PHOTO SITEGEN SOLAR
Frontier Natural Products Co-op has replaced much of the grid power it uses with renewable solar energy, thanks to an $800,000 investment in solar power systems at three of the company's Corridor facilities.

Through a partnership with SiteGen Solar, power systems were installed that will provide 92 percent of the power consumed at Frontier's Belle Plaine distribution facility, 64 percent of the power at its Norway headquarters and 31 percent of the power  at its Urbana facilities.

The combined systems will generate 435 kilowatts of renewable energy when operating at full capacity - enough to power more than 70 average homes. The largest single project, at Belle Plaine, includes 648 solar panels totaling 13,532 square feet of area and six inverters to convert the power from direct current to alternating current.

Frontier, owned by its 2,300-plus members, is a leading wholesale supplier of natural and organic products including spices, essential oils and food mixes. CEO Tony Bedard, in a press release, said the transition to solar energy "is just one way for us to effectively reduce our footprint and make our impact more positive."

The projects will pay for themselves through energy cost savings in seven years. According to SiteGen Solar President Tyler Olson, similar projects have provided a strong return on investment for other businesses, while allowing them to "lock in" electricity prices for the 25-year estimated life of the equipment.

Frontier was already offsetting 100 percent of its purchases of grid power with Green-e renewable energy credits purchased from Iowa wind farms. Since 2010, the co-op has been committed to offsetting 100 percent of Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, and part of its Scope 3 emissions.
 
Read the full, members first story in this week's print or digital editions of the CBJ.
Para5ImOn expanding service to Bowman Woods in CR, Marion
           
ImOn Communications is expanding its fiber optic-enabled internet, cable TV and phone service to the Bowman Woods neighborhood of Cedar Rapids and Marion.
 
ImOn's provides a direct fiber connection to homes and businesses, allowing for more robust bandwidth speeds, clearer picture quality and enhanced voice service. Fiber also ensures customers will be less likely to experience any down time or connection issues compared to a traditional cable modem connection.
 
ImOn's expansion into the Bowman Woods area will occur in phases. The initial phase is in the southeast portion of Bowman Woods, where the company is currently building the network and preparing to install their first customers between May and June.

"Once we have completed this first area, we will continue to build and install in phases until we are up and running throughout all of Bowman Woods," said Adrian Kesler, vice president and general manager of Cedar Rapids' residential market.
 
During the build phase, residents will have the opportunity to take advantage of special pre-sale offers to lock in discounted pricing when they commit to ImOn's service.

ImOn was recognized for the seventh time in 2017 as the Best Local Internet Service Provider by the readers of the Corridor Business Journal. Since 2014, ImOn has provided free community Wi-Fi service in downtown Cedar Rapids, at the McGrath Amphitheatre, NewBo City Market, various parks in Hiawatha, the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and the Iowa City Ped Mall.
aroundthewebFrom around the web: 
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stock Corridor Stocks

NAME SYM PRICE CHG %CHG
AEGON AEG 7.02 0.19 2.78%
Alliant Energy LNT 40.75 -0.30 -0.73%
Deere & Company DE 148.01 5.05 3.53%
Dow Jones ^DJI 24,408.00 428.90 1.79%
General Mills GIS 44.51 -0.44 -0.98%
GoDaddy Inc. GDDY 61.19 0.56 0.92%
Great Western Bank GWB 39.44 1.09 2.84%
Heartland Express HTLD 17.93 0.35 1.99%
KemPharm KMPH 6.55 0.75 12.93%
Marsh & McLennan MMC 81.71 1.09 1.35%
MidWestOne MOFG 32.93 0.48 1.48%
Pearson PSO 10.82 0.30 2.85%
Pepsico PEP 109.4 0.02 0.02%
Principal Financial PFG 61.07 1.44 2.41%
QCR Holdings QCRH 45.50 0.90 2.02%
Rockwell Collins COL 133.85 -0.02 -0.01%
S&P 500 ^GSPC 2,656.87 43.71 1.67%
Tanger Factory SKT 23.00 0.38 1.68%
Procter & Gamble PG 78.37 0.21 0.27%
United Fire Group UFCS 48.44 0.53 1.11%
U.S. Bank USB 51.08 0.49 0.97%
Wells Fargo WFC 52.62 0.37 0.71%
West Bank WTBA 25.95 0.30 1.17%
Whirlpool WHR 149.82 3.03 2.06%
Short-Term Event Planner
       
April 11
Veterans Breakfast, by ISU CIRAS, 7:30-8:45 a.m., The Kirkwood Hotel, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. Hear from Dennis Clark about his experiences providing prosthetic care to wounded soldiers. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/2G62S8h.
 
Go Big and Come Home, by Corridor Area Leadership Live, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m., The Early Bird, 333 First St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Join other community-minded leaders and hear from an accomplished lineup of speakers with "boomerang" success stories. Cost: $16 for lunch. For more information, visit bit.ly/2uyu1jb.
 
Corridor Business Development Expo, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 8:15 a.m.-1 p.m., The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. Expand your network by making connections with local businesses, contractors and government agencies while learning from local and national experts in government contracting. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/2IfKCLi.
Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28 
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
Linn-Mar High School nurse Angela Beik has been fired after being put on paid administrative leave after an investigation into claims she had sex with a student. The investigation began when the Department of Human Services was made aware of those allegations March 18. According to a search warrant affidavit, Ms. Beik told nurses at St. Luke's Hospital that she had sex with a 16-year-old student. The victim denied having sex with Ms. Beik. Linn-Mar Superintendent Quintin Shepard issued the following statement: "As soon as the district was made aware of the situation - and to allow for an investigation - Beik was placed on paid administrative leave March 20, 2018. Beik's employment with the school district was terminated on April 9, 2018. Beik was a full-time nurse at Linn-Mar High School since August 2016. Student safety is our first and foremost concern. The district takes all allegations related to abuse or harassment very seriously." No charges have been filed as of yet.

Everyone who comes into Diane Peterson's coffee shop today will get a sip of reality. The napkins and coffee sleeves at Karma Coffee Cafe show statistics of how much women make compared to every dollar a man makes. It shows how the average woman makes 80 cents to a man's dollar, all the way down to 54 cents for Latinas. It strikes an emotional chord with Ms. Peterson. "I feel sadness because it hasn't changed at all," she said. "I know this is something that my mother and I talked about when she was in the workplace." The coffee cup initiative, headed up by Main Street Alliance and Moms Rising, is something Ms. Peterson brought to her cafe partly because of her own experiences with pay disparity working as a researcher years ago. "I realized I was not paid the same amount as my male counterparts," she recalled. "When I brought this to my human resources and to my direct manager, it was very resolutely pushed aside." Now, as the owner of her own business, she hopes to brew change one cup of Joe at a time. "Anytime you raise awareness and you provide transparency, it makes providing a solution easier," Ms. Peterson said.
  
T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
 
It is going to be a wild week of weather in Eastern Iowa, but it includes warmth. After a near-record cold start to the day, the sunshine and bare ground (across most of the area) will propel temperatures into the mid to upper 40s. Snow in our northern counties will continue to melt away today. Then spring finally arrives! A warm front will lift north across the area Wednesday and send temperatures into the low 60s. It will be the warmest day since Feb. 27 in Eastern Iowa. An isolated shower will be possible in the evening, otherwise it will be partly cloudy. It gets even warmer Thursday with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s. A strong storm will be moving into the Midwest Friday. Temperatures will shoot into the upper 60s and low 70s - likely marking the first 70 degree day of the year for many in the area. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will break out throughout the day. There is the potential for some strong thunderstorms as well, something that will become more clear as we head toward the end of the week. Behind this strong storm, temperatures will begin to drop... We'll be back in the 50s Saturday with rain showers, then snow showers may mix in Sunday as temperatures drop into the 30s and 40s.