We’re pleased to tell you all that we’re going to hold our Annual Holiday Mixer on Tuesday, December 8^th from 4:30-7:00PM. We’re going to hold this at one of our owns’ location, the T12 Distillery at 111 S 11^th Street, Suite 100 in West Des Moines. Please make sure you AND YOUR PEOPLE know about this and attend. Let’s make this a great party!

If you can join us, please RSVP HERE!

Driving around Cedar Rapids, construction projects from data centers to a new YMCA are hard to miss - an indicator of a building boom in the area.

“We’ve worked more hours in the last seven months than we did the whole year last year,” Mike Sadler II with the Cedar Rapids Iowa City Building Trades and Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 125 unions, said.

Sadler says major projects like the two hyperscale data centers and the new casino are keeping hundreds of his members busy.

The annual Labor Day picnic at Hawkeye Downs welcomed 2,000 people - celebrating what’s been a very busy year for Iowa union workers.

“Regardless of where you sit politically on any of the building issues within the county, it still brings a lot of work to the building and trade members and that’s a good thing,” organizer Rick Moyle, said.

These major projects have employed hundreds of local union labor - and brought in more workers from outside the region.

“You can’t do that with local labor,” Moyle said. “Because there’s just not the numbers. So you have to bring in travelers, outside contractors, to get the job done and get it done right.“

A challenge Sadler says his workers have faced is getting the right supplies. That’s because many of these projects use the same building materials.

Sadler notes workers are putting in significant overtime to turn these projects.

“The timeline on those data centers is so tight, people are looking for a day off more than anything,” Sadler said. “People are working a lot of overtime. They’re working six-seven days a week, 10-12 hours a day.“

President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new steel plant in southeast Iowa that he says will be the largest in the United States. The president hosted steel executives and several Iowa leaders Monday afternoon for the announcement at the White House.

The mill is being built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota company owned by India-based Essar Group. It's expected to create roughly 6,000 construction jobs and 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa, with its first steel production in 2030.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' office said the permanent jobs are expected to pay more than $49 an hour.

The White House says it "will be fully vertically integrated in the U.S. (from iron mining through steel production)." It says it will also be able to support "important defense sector requirements for high-grade steel."

The White House is framing it as part of Trump’s push to revitalize American steel. It comes as Trump is trying to energize Republican voters as his party faces challenging midterm elections. Iowa has found itself with competitive races for the Senate and the governor’s mansion this year.

Guests from Iowa at the announcement include Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Joni Ernst, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Ashley Hinson, and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.

Reynolds called the project "transformational" and said it would bring high-paying jobs, opportunities for local businesses and community development to southeast Iowa.

“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to bringing steel manufacturing back to America, and Mesabi Metallics for choosing Iowa as its partner and future home,” Reynolds said in a statement. “This is a transformational opportunity for our country, our state, and American families—one that strengthens national security, creates thousands of high-paying jobs, and provides a reliable supply of high-quality, American-made steel for strategic goods and everyday products.”

Reynolds also said during the White House event that "tough negotiations" took place to secure the project.

However, significant details about the deal have not yet been made public. KCCI is working to learn whether Iowa offered Mesabi Metallics any state funding, tax breaks or other incentives, as well as when construction and hiring are expected to begin.

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Miller-Meeks, whose district includes Lee County, said the project would bring more than 1,700 permanent jobs to the area.

“For too long, Iowa families have watched their jobs shipped overseas and their communities hollowed out. Not anymore,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement. “The largest steel plant in America is coming to Lee County with more than 1,700 permanent, good-paying jobs. I'm proud to have helped make this historic investment a reality. There's no better place than Iowa to make things IN America, BY Americans.”

Miller-Meeks' office also said the project is expected to generate more than $95 billion in economic activity.

The announcement comes days after reports that Iowa lawmakers could be called back to the Statehouse for a special legislative session to consider an incentive package for a large steel plant in southeast Iowa.

The Des Moines Register reported that, according to an email sent to Iowa House Democrats last week, a lobbying firm representing an unnamed steel company had been in discussions about an incentive package that the company said it needed quickly before deciding whether to locate a large plant in southeast Iowa near the Mississippi River.

Monday's announcement identified Mesabi Metallics as the company planning a $15 billion steel plant in Lee County. However, state leaders have not publicly detailed what incentives, if any, Iowa has offered the company or whether lawmakers will be called back for a special session.

Reynolds said during Monday's White House announcement that "tough negotiations" took place to secure the project.

Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner said Monday that lawmakers still do not have details about a potential incentive package.

“We have no details regarding any potential incentive package that may be offered to this foreign company – nor any guarantees for Iowa workers,” Weiner said. “We don’t know whether transparency and accountability measures will be included to safeguard Iowans and the local communities, whether Iowa’s skilled union laborers will be prioritized, how any potential deal will impact landowners, or why haste is necessary. Until we know what kind of deal is on the table, we won’t be able to determine whether this project is indeed in taxpayers’ best interests.”

The White House is framing the project as part of Trump's push to increase steel production and manufacturing in the United States.

“President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a news release. "Today’s announcement underscores the President’s historic efforts to revitalize the U.S. steel industry—supporting local communities, strengthening supply chains, and protecting our national security. After decades of decline, this President is restoring America’s industrial competitiveness and securing trillions of dollars in new investment."