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THURSDAY, FEB. 14, 2019 | IN THIS ISSUE
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Patricia Kampling |
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John Larsen |
Alliant Energy Chairman and CEO Patricia Kampling has announced her plans to retire from the company, effective July 1. She will be succeeded by President and COO John Larsen.
Ms. Kampling has been with Alliant Energy since 2005, and has served as chairman and CEO since 2012.
Mr. Larsen, who was also appointed as a member of the board of directors this month, will become CEO, president and chairman on July 1.
"Pat Kampling has done an outstanding job of transforming the company and setting a new vision to move us into the future," said Dean Oestreich, lead independent director of Alliant Energy's board, in a release. "John Larsen's leadership in developing and executing our strategy will continue to position the company for long-term success."
Mr. Larsen joined Alliant in 1988 as an electrical engineer after receiving his degree at the University of North Dakota. Over his career with the company, he held leadership roles in engineering, energy delivery and generation operations of the company. In 2004, he was promoted to vice president. In 2010, he was named senior vice president - generation. At that time, he also became president of Wisconsin Power and Light Company.
In 2015, Mr. Larsen stepped into a new, more expansive role, leading efforts related to technology, development, generation construction, economic development, customer service and account management. He was named president of Alliant Energy in 2017, and was named COO of Alliant and CEO of its two utility companies in 2018.
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New Kathy's Pies owner Amy Jordan and former owners Kathy McCauley and Terri Henecke
. PHOTO DAN MIKA
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Kathy's Pies, a longtime bakery near downtown Cedar Rapids, has a new family at the helm.
New owner Amy Jordan told the CBJ she closed on a deal to purchase the business, located at 616 Fifth Ave. SE, from former owners Terri Henecke and Kathy McCauley on Feb. 1.
The building itself was not part of the deal, as Mercy Medical Center owns the property and is leasing it to the bakery.
The bakery's owners put the store up for sale early last year, 33 years after Ms. McCauley and Ms. Henecke's father opened it. The listing didn't receive much interest until a series of news stories in late November caught fire on social media and caught the attention of prospective buyers.
Ms. McCauley said she met with 13 groups about making a sale since November, while her real estate agent received 30 offers.
Ms. Jordan spent most of her professional life in human resources, but acquired an in-home bakery license last May with the goal of opening a storefront in North Liberty or Coralville with the next two years.
When she heard about the store coming up for sale, she immediately began to put together a bid. Ms. Jordan won because she was the fastest to make an acceptable offer, Ms. McCauley said.
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According to
a new study
by the University of Notre Dame and Northwestern University, women who have a solid support group of other women are more likely to attain high-ranking leadership positions, the Des Moines Business Record reports.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at the link between students' graduate school social networks and placement into leadership positions. Researchers followed 700 former graduate students from a top-ranked U.S. business school as they were accepted into leadership-level positions. They then looked at the size of each person's social network, the proportion of same-sex contacts and how strong their network ties were.
The study found that more than 75 percent of high-ranking women had strong ties to a female-dominated inner circle, or at least strong ties to two or three women whom they communicated with frequently. As a result, those high-ranking women had an expected job placement level 2.5 times greater than women with small networks and male-dominated inner circles.
However, the study also found that if men had a large network, regardless of gender, they were more likely to earn a high-ranking position.
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Dr. Isabel Perry |
Kirkwood Community College will hold its eighth-annual East Central Iowa Safety and Health Conference on Feb. 21 at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids.
Keynote speaker Dr. Isabel Perry is slated to talk about the knowledge she has gained throughout her career as a corporate executive, entrepreneur, author and public speaker, as it relates to workplace safety.
This one-day event is dedicated to meeting the safety and health training needs of business and industry throughout East Central Iowa. The conference will include sessions with speakers from federal and state offices, as well as the insurance, legal, health care and construction industries. The latest products and services will also be on display during a vendor expo available to conference attendees.
In her keynote address, "Safety is 24/7," Dr. Perry will explain how employees must be motivated to develop a personal safety culture to reduce accidents. Attendees will learn to promote and embrace workplace safety as a personal value to enhance their lives.
The Safety and Health Conference will fulfill professional continuing education requirements (CEUs), although participants must request CEU credit upon enrollment. Conference fees include lunch and access to the safety and health vendor expo. For more information, visit
www.kirkwood.edu/safetyconference
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The League of Women Voters of Johnson County Legislative Forum will be held from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 23 at the Coralville Public Library, focusing on environmental topics.
The forums provide opportunities for dialogue between the legislators and their constituents in Johnson County. The legislators will present summaries of critical issues before their respective houses, particularly those of interest to them. Senators Joe Bolkcom, Kevin Kinney and Zach Wahls, and Representatives David Jacoby, Bob Kaufmann, Vicki Lensing, Mary Mascher and Amy Nielsen have been invited.
Co-sponsors of the forum include Sierra Club, 100 Grannies, Clean Air for Everyone (CAFE) and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America (MOMS). The forum will be moderated by LWVJC Board member Elinor Levin.
A March 23 legislative forum will be held in the North Liberty City Hall and will focus on labor, housing and community issues.
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Feb. 18
Coralville Roundtable,
by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., Backpocket Brewery, 903 Quarry Road, Coralville.
Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network, keep up-to-date with chamber and community events and frequent a member restaurant or business. Free. Contact Emily at (319) 337-9637 or
info@iowacityarea.com with questions.
Feb. 19
Iowa City Roundtable,
by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., North Dodge Hy-Vee, 1125 N. Dodge St., Iowa City.
Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network, keep up-to-date with chamber and community events and frequent a member restaurant or business. Free. Contact Emily at (319) 337-9637 or
info@iowacityarea.com with questions.
Business Startup Basics
, by SCORE of East Central Iowa and Kirkwood Community College, 6-8 p.m.,
Kirkwood Linn County Regional Center,
1770 Boyson Road,
Hiawatha. This three-night series will explore the basic steps in starting a business. This night will cover marketing and securing business loans. Cost: $59, covers all three nights. To register, visit scorecr.org.
Sustainable Business in Iowa
, by Mount Mercy University, 6:30-7:45 p.m., MMU Basile Hall, Room 204, 1330 Elmhurst Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids. Author and lecturer Adam Hammes will discuss what it means to be sustainable in business and how leading companies profit from environmental and social responsibility. Free.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
With drifts as high as 12 feet on some Iowa roads, this winter has caused lots of work for Iowa Department of Transportation workers. From salt trucks to V-plows, their arsenal was completely deployed this past week to make sure everyone can get safely home. But when there is this much snow and the roads are impassable, another tool is needed, the SnowGo truck. "It's like a snowblower on steroids," said Mitch Wood, a bridge engineer for the Iowa DOT. "This can just tackle the big drifts that out other equipment can't get to." Mr. Wood has only been driving the truck for about three days but quickly fell in love it. Several of them are stationed throughout the state to make sure DOT shops have access to them in case they are needed. Highway 218, completely impassable just a couple of days ago, was completely cleared because of the equipment. "We just go out to our worst drifted areas to get two lanes of traffic through," Mr. Wood said. "When we are out there it means things have gotten really bad. Some of the drifts I am not sure how we would have gotten them open without equipment like this."
Firefighters battled a fire in northwest Cedar Rapids early this morning. The fire was coming out of both sides of the residence. Crews say the fire was difficult to contain because there was so much material throughout the home. The Cedar Rapids Police Department also tweeted video showing flames coming from the top of the house. The account says the house at 1221 A Ave. NW is believed to be vacant. Police said there were no injuries.
T
hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
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CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
Temperatures have been warming through the night and will hold steady in the low to mid-30s this afternoon. A cold front will move through the area and increase the winds this afternoon and bring cold air back. There may be a brief rain/snow shower, especially in the east. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy with wind gusts up to 30 mph at times. Some blowing and drifting snow will be possible in open and rural areas as the winds pick up today.
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