Daily update - AM



Today's Headlines
Lee County to receive $1.4 billion project
Iowa Leading Indicators up
CBS 2/FOX 28 Headlines
Hancher June 8
Join Our Mailing List
Click above to submit your e-mail to receive our daily news  updates.

Please feel free to distribute this
to others who may be interested
in its content.


KTOS

Upcoming Events

 

 

Sept. 7

First Financial Fridays, by Tryon Investments, 7:30 a.m., Blue Bird Caf�, 650 W. Cherry St., North Liberty. This is an informal gathering where financial and investment topics that impact everyone will be discussed. Michael Tryon, founder of Tryon Investments will be facilitating the discussion on various topics, followed by a question-and-answer session. To reserve a seat, call (319) 665-5050. 

 

St. Ambrose

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE:
Reach the Corridor's business leaders by e-mail with a sponsorship of the Daily News Update. For more information, contact Andrea Rhoades at
or (319) 887-2251, ext. 304.

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012
The day's headlines in your inbox by 11 a.m. daily
 

Lee County to receive $1.4 billion project

 

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds yesterday announced the single largest capital investment project in the history of the state and called on lawmakers to turn their focus to income tax reform during the next legislative session.

 

They joined representatives of the Iowa Fertilizer Co. to announce its final selection of a Lee County site for its $1.4 billion project that will create 165 permanent jobs and more than 2,000 construction-related jobs.

 

To successfully compete for this project, Iowa had to offer incentives to overcome its current corporate income tax structure. The governor used this project as an example of why tax reform is necessary.

 

"If our income tax structure was more competitive, we would be better able to compete for job and capital investment creation projects like this one. It also will level the playing field for our existing Iowa companies, allowing them to grow and create even more jobs," Mr. Branstad stated in a press release.

 

Iowa Fertilizer Co. is a subsidiary of Orascom Construction Industries, one of the world's largest fertilizer producers. The new plant would supply needed ammonia and other nitrogen fertilizers to farmers in Iowa and the Midwest. 

 

In February, the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board awarded Iowa Fertilizer Co. incentives to locate in Lee County. Due to some unforeseen challenges with the original site, the company resumed its search for a suitable location and was pursued by other states to locate outside of Iowa. 

 

On Wednesday, the IEDA board met to amend its original award to ensure Iowa would win the project. The amendment that was passed includes an increase to the investment tax credit portion of the High Quality Jobs award, increasing the total tax credits to $57.5 million. The IEDA board will also be asked to consider future amendments in fiscal year 2014 and fiscal year 2015 to increase the ITC portion of the award by $25 million in each of those years. If the board passes those amendments, the final award to Iowa Fertilizer Co. would amount to $100 million of tax credits. The direct financial assistance award remains unchanged at $1.6 million (half loan, half forgivable loan).  

 

Willis Auto
UI enrollment reaches record high

 

Total enrollment at the University of Iowa has reached a record high this fall, with 31,498 students attending the university, including 21,999 undergraduates, 4,470 of which are first-year freshmen.

 

"This is what we expected," Michael Barron, UI assistant provost for enrollment management and executive director of admissions, stated in a press release. "We're very pleased with our overall enrollment and particularly the makeup of the incoming first-year cohort."

 

The incoming class is Iowa's most diverse ever, with 16.2 percent, or 725 students, identifying as minorities, continuing a trend that has seen that mark grow from 12.6 percent in 2010 and 14.2 percent last year.

 

Iowa residents make up 47.2 percent of the class, a 2 percent increase from last year. Domestic nonresidents account for 43.9 percent, and international students fell from a record 484 in 2011 to 398 this fall, representing 8.9 percent of the class.

 

 

UNI MBA program seeks clients for Capstone Experience

 

The MBA program at the University of Northern Iowa is seeking potential clients for its annual Capstone Experience. The Capstone Experience is a comprehensive, end-of-program application of the UNICollege of Business Administration graduate curriculum, during which MBA candidates undertake strategic management projects for client organizations across northeast Iowa. 


Potential clients are drawn from both the business and non-profit sectors. Projects are developed to meet the specific needs of the client, but typically they address strategic planning, marketing analysis, and process analysis or feasibility questions. The work is completed in the spring of each year.

MBA candidates work in small consulting teams formed with sufficient diversity to successfully analyze a business problem from a strategic perspective. Each team includes members with expertise across a range of business functions, business cultures and analytical methods. Teams work with a mentor from the business graduate faculty who has expertise in the topic of the project.

Projects are selected each fall. Organizations that would like to propose a Capstone Experience project for the upcoming year are encouraged to contact Capstone Coordinator Dale Cyphert at (319) 273-6150 or dale.cyphert@uni.edu.

Hawkeye Title

Iowa Leading Indicators up

 

The Iowa Leading Indicators Index recorded a positive change of 0.2 percent in July, rising to 105.4, from a revised 105.1 in June, with the revisions resulting from the annual update of the index.

 

The most positive contributor was the number of building permits issued in July with the 12-month moving average for building permits increasing to 702 from 679 in June, the highest level in four years. The Iowa housing market appears to be in recovery, despite permits still being 30.8 percent below the historical July average of 1,209 (1998-2008).

 

The second most positive contributor in July was the Iowa stock market index. Of the 34 stocks included in the index, 26 had positive gains in the month of July, including 10 of the 11 financial-sector companies. Those gains were enough to push the index back into positive territory for the month after two months of declines.

 

Unemployment insurance claims, the agricultural futures profits index, and the new orders index were also positive contributors in July. Unemployment insurance claims fell for the 33rd consecutive month. Claims were 15.2 percent below the number of claims made in July 2011, and below the historical average for the first time since 2008. The new orders index was at 65, which was above the value of 60.8 from one year ago, but the lowest level in 2012. Ernest Goss, who compiles the new orders index, expects the high commodity prices caused by the drought to negatively impact the quarter of Iowa's manufacturing involved in food processing.

 

Average weekly manufacturing hours and diesel fuel consumption both contributed negatively to the index in July. The 12-month moving average of manufacturing hours remained at 40.9 due to rounding, but July 2012 hours were 40.2 versus 40.3 in July 2011, one hour below the monthly historical average. In July, diesel fuel consumption decreased 0.2 percent from where it was last July. 

 

To read the full report for July 2012, visit www.iowa.gov/tax/taxlaw/econindicators.html. 

QC Airport Ad
CBS 2/FOX 28 HEADLINES   
CBS2
News items provided by CBS 2/FOX 28

 

A construction company based in Cairo, Egypt, says it is buying Iowa's largest building contractor. Orascom Construction Industries says it will acquire Des Moines-based The Weitz Co. Weitz, which generated $681.5 million in revenue in 2011, has commercial, federal government, and industrial construction segments. Orascom also plans to build a $1.4 billion fertilizer plant in southeast Iowa. It says the acquisition of Weitz will establish a strong strategic foothold in the United States construction market. Orascom posted a profit in excess of $4 billion for 2011.

An Iowa man raised by a lesbian couple says arguments against gay marriage ignore the realities of families like his. Zach Wahls is campaigning against Minnesota's constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. On Thursday, he heads to Charlotte, N.C., where he'll speak to the Democratic National Convention. The 21-year-old gained fame in the gay marriage movement in 2011 when he testified against a constitutional amendment to overturn legal gay marriage in Iowa. That amendment never made it on the ballot. 

A new study suggests that preparations for a nuclear disaster at a nearby power plant actually paid off for Cedar Rapids during the 2008 flooding.

The study cites reports from emergency personnel that the preparations "played a large role" in avoiding deaths during the flooding. The Duane Arnold nuclear plant sits near Palo, north-northwest of Cedar Rapids in Linn County. The study report is titled "Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative" and is being published by the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy. Duane Arnold spokeswoman Renee Nelson says plant personnel have trained with city, county and state officials and that they conducted "the same drills that prepared our community to respond successfully to the floods in 2008."    

 

 

CBS 2/FOX 28 WEATHER

 

From the CBS 2 News First Warning Weather team: Thursday will start out with sunny skies and very comfortable conditions with highs near 80 degrees. Another storm system will move through the Midwest late Thursday night into Friday. More showers and thunderstorms are expected, but the risk for severe weather is low. Dry weather will return just in time for the weekend with sunny skies on Saturday. It will feel more like fall though with highs only around 70 degrees for the Cy-Hawk football game in Iowa City.

UI MBA program