MONDAY, JAN. 21, 2019  |  IN THIS ISSUE  

Davenport-based Per Mar Security Services  has acquired All Channel Electronics based in Madison, Wisconsin, the company announced Friday. 

Rich and Pat Gmeinder, owners of All Channel Electronics, are retiring, and All Channel Electronics employees will be joining Per Mar.

"Rich Gmeinder has spent his career working in and building All Channel, and we are grateful that he and his wife, Pat, trust Per Mar to serve the customers they have earned over the past 50 years," Brian Duffy, COO of Per Mar Security Services, said in a release.

Established in 1953, Per Mar Security Services is the largest, family-owned, full-service security company in the Midwest with more than 2,400 team members, operating in 22 branch locations and 17 satellite locations. The company provides full-service security solutions for homes and businesses including security officer services, smart home automation, burglar and fire alarms, access control, security cameras, alarm monitoring, investigative services and background checks. 

"It is rare to find a company that is personal enough to truly care about our employees and customers, but has the resources to complete a transaction like this," Mr. Gmeinder stated in a release. "We are very pleased that we met Per Mar and the Duffy family, and I'm sure that our customers will be, too."

CHOMP LLC, Iowa City's  locally-owned and operated restaurant delivery service, has unveiled its new  Explore the Corridor brand.

The digital coupon platform, which officially launched today, allows Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area residents to find deals on food and drink, activities, spa and beauty, shopping local, health and fitness, places to stay, home and auto and professional services.

The service is currently free, according to Adam Weeks, co-founder and managing member of CHOMP, who is encouraging local businesses  to upload as many coupons as they'd like, as often as they'd like. In late spring, he added, Explore the Corridor will begin its business subscription service of $99 a year prorated to the calendar year, allowing for unlimited coupon uploads for less than 30 cents per day.

"Though the platform has a Groupon-esque feel to it, there is actually no money changing hands between CHOMP and the end user," Mr. Weeks said in a release. "Customers are simply adding 'free' coupons to their digital wallet to be redeemed at your business by way of the redemption app we'll provide you with."

Mr. Weeks stressed that the coupons would not be CHOMP-specific, although the delivery service would feature coupons from participating restaurants for dine in purposes. 
 
Growth is likely to slow in 2019 compared to last year's blockbuster pace, and while a recession is coming - eventually - it almost certainly won't be this year.
 
That's the word from Nationwide Senior Vice President and Chief Economist David Berson, who lays the odds of a recession occurring in 2019 at less than 10 percent, rising to between 20-25 percent in 2020 and 40 percent in 2021.

"We are getting closer to the end of the cycle," Mr. Berson said at the CBJ's Economic Forecast Luncheon on Jan. 16. "If the expansion continues through June, this will be the longest economic expansion in U.S. history. Our baseline forecast does not have a recession occurring - certainly not in 2019 or even in 2020, but the risks go up each year after that. Inflation's moving up, the Fed is tightening and interest rates are trending upward as well."
 
Though he discussed possible impacts of the government shutdown and the state of Iowa's economy, Mr. Berson spent the bulk of his time addressing the main question on the minds of investors and businesses shaken by recent stock market declines, trade tension and slowing economies in China and the EU, noting that "from the time a recession ends, the next recession watch begins."
 
Looking at the yield curve for U.S. Treasury bonds, he noted that the spread between the 10-year and one-year Treasury note has narrowed considerably recently, but has not inverted - a signal that has presaged nearly every recession since the Federal Reserve was founded in 1913. Although it has given TV pundits plenty to talk about, flattened yield curves have also happened before without a recession following - notably in the mid-90s, when that scenario was followed by five more years of growth.
 
Mr. Berson said it was important to understand that a "fully inverted yield curve" is one that remains inverted for a sustained period of time, "probably two, three or four months," and even then, full-on recession is historically another 12-18 months away.
 
"If the yield curve magically inverted tomorrow, we're talking about not 2019 as [the start of] a recession, but sometime early to perhaps mid-2020 before the downturn would occur," he said. "And it certainly doesn't look as if the yield curve's going to magically invert tomorrow."
 
That could change, Mr. Berson cautioned, if for instance Brexit causes the EU to go into recession or China falls into recession.

Read the full members-first story in this week's print and digital editions of the CBJ.

Iowa's unemployment rate held steady at 2.4 percent for the third straight month, Iowa Workforce Development announced late last week - down from 2.9 percent a year ago and well below the national rate, which rose to 3.9 percent for December.

"In 2018, four out of every five jobs created in Iowa were in the construction and manufacturing sectors," said Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) of the year-end report. "Because more Iowans are employed in manufacturing than in any other industry and construction is a leading economic indicator of  growth across industries, this month's jobs report indicates we are moving in the right direction, our manufacturing core is getting stronger and our businesses are focused on development."

The number of unemployed Iowans remained at 40,600 while the  total number of working Iowans increased to 1,651,300 in December, up 2,300 from November.

IWD said most segments of Iowa's economy showed promise to end the year, although construction contracted due to a later-than-usual building season. Construction and manufacturing fueled most of the state's growth in 2018.

The education and health services super sector added the most jobs (1,500) in December, thanks to expansion in the health care and social assistance sector. Leisure and hospitality also grew in December with 1,300 jobs added. 

By contrast, the construction sector shed 1,900 jobs this month while retail was down 200 jobs, its fourth consecutive month of declines.

Creighton University's  Rural Mainstreet Index  for Iowa rose to 54.2 in January from December's 53.7, bucking a fall in the index for the index's 10-state region.


The survey of bank CEOs in a 10-state region found the area's index fell to 51.5 this month from 54.2, with the confidence index up slightly at 45.7 but still "anemic," according to Creighton economist Ernie Goss. More than four of every 10 bankers said they predict farm loan defaults will be the biggest challenge.

"Our surveys over the last several months indicate the Rural Mainstreet economy is expanding outside of agriculture," Mr. Goss said in a release. "However, the negative impacts of tariffs and low agriculture commodity prices continue to weaken the farm sector."

In addition to trade tension and weak commodity prices, Mr. Goss also cited the partial government shutdown for bankers' "pessimistic economic outlook."

The monthly survey represents an early snapshot of the economy of rural agriculturally and energy-dependent portions of the nation via a survey of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.
 
Jan. 23
1 Million Cups, by 1 Million Cups Cedar Rapids, 8:15-9:15 a.m., Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Join for community connections, free coffee, and presentations by entrepreneurs, established companies, experts and more. Jen Neumann, of de Novo Marketing, and Frank Camp, of NewBoCo, will present on how to name your business. Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MCICR.

1 Million Cups, by 1 Million Cups Iowa City, 9-10 a.m., MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. Join for community connections, free coffee, and presentations by entrepreneurs, established companies, experts and more. Free. For more information, visit 1millioncups.com/iowacity.

Jan. 24
Monthly Breakfast Roundtable, by SCORE of East Central Iowa, 7:30-9 a.m., Scott's Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids. A business topic will be discussed, along with networking among participants. Entrepreneurs and those thinking of starting a business are invited. Free. For more information or to pre-register, visit scorecr.org.

Economic Alliance Annual Meeting, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids. The annual meeting is the Economic Alliance's signature event where member businesses and regional champions come together to celebrate achievements and learn about the organization's goals for the year ahead. Tickets: $50 individual or $450 for a table of 10. For more information, visit bit.ly/2S6vsfE.

January General Meeting, by Professional Women's Network, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Hear from Fusion Studio owner Marsha Nieland about practical ways to live calm, conscious and connected lives. Cost: $15 for members. For more information visit bit.ly/2SpTkLa.

Business Law Bootcamp, by SCORE of East Central Iowa, 6:30-8 p.m., Linn Area Credit Union, 3375 Seventh Ave., Marion. Learn about basic principles and receive guidance on business law. The program will cover topics including new legal entity formation, lease issues, trademarks, service agreements and more. Free. To register, visit scorecr.org.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28  
 
A few hundred women and men joined elected officials at the Iowa City Pedestrian Mall to march for equality on Saturday.  For Beth Mentzer, of Iowa City, this wasn't a new experience.  "This is my second march in Iowa City," she said. "I did the first one in D.C. in 2017. I think it's really important. I think I'll be marching the rest of my life." Ms.  Mentzer said she was there for many reasons, and it was hard to pinpoint one.  "I would say, let's start with equality. Whether it's in the workplace, and then from there, we can branch into other areas that are concerns for people."  Nicholas Schnerre, a political activist originally from St. Louis, says he's marching for all of the strong women in his life. Mr. Schnerre says he often speaks to schools about progressivism.  "Feminism is really important within education, so that's why I'm here," he said.  Royceann Porter, who became the first black woman to become elected to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors in November 2018, spoke to the crowd on a megaphone, hoping to inspire future leaders.  "Don't let other people's limited beliefs about what's possible diminish your potential," said Ms. Porter, a Democrat. "I have decided to stick with love."

The population of Williamsburg is around 3,100 people. Seemingly all of them showed up on Saturday night - all for an 11-year-old member of their small community.  Tate Schaefer was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor a week before Christmas. Since then,  the town of Williamsburg and surrounding communities have rallied around Tate and his family  - with  several youth, high school and college teams wearing "TaterTough" shirts .  On Saturday, the  "TaterTough" Benefit  brought that support under one roof at the Williamsburg Recreation Center - where money was raised for the Schaefers with auction items ranging from gift cards to grills to vacations to signed NFL jerseys, courtesy of Williamsburg native and current Los Angeles Ram Austin Blythe.  "The outpouring of support in the four short weeks that this committee planned this...we're amazed," Brad Schaefer said of the night planned for his son. "We're overwhelmed, but in a huge positive way."

T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast

Temperatures will be in the teens but wind chills will remain near and below zero through the day.  A strong winter storm is going to move through Eastern Iowa on Tuesday. This storm is going to take a more northern track, closer to the state, which will pull in warmer air. That means we're going to be dealing with a mixed bag of precipitation - rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. Snow will move into the area tomorrow morning, mainly after 9 a.m. As some warmer air noses in, there will be a changeover to a wintry mix/rain near and south of Highway 30. To the north, wet snow will continue to fall. However, any changes in the track will change where that rain/snow line is. Near and north of Highway 30 there will be around three to six inches of sloppy snowfall accumulation. Down to the south, icing will be a concern along with minor snowfall accumulations.