DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – A hiring fair in Dubuque connected hundreds of people who recently lost their jobs with potential employers Thursday. KCRG-TV reports Access Dubuque Jobs, Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, and IowaWORKS pooled resources for the event after Deere & Company and Duluth Trading Company recently laid off more than 200 employees in the tri-state area. Ashley Hakanson, a part-time student at Northeast Iowa Community College, works full-time at Duluth Trading and will be without a job by the end of October. She attended the fair in hopes of finding the right role to continue her passion. Hakanson and the other job seekers in attendance grow hopeful after meeting with around 50 regional employers from varying industries. Job fair organizers also encourage people to visit accessdubuquejobs.com to check out more than 1,000 job openings.

Another company, meanwhile, announced the lay-off of workers in Iowa City, and the closing of its doors at the end of this year. Knutson Construction Services will lay off dozens of people in Iowa City, effective next month. A Knutson spokesperson told KCRG that the company decided to close its office in Iowa City by the end of 2024 because of a shift in the company’s strategic approach to providing construction services in Iowa.

Knutson’s offices in Minnesota will now work directly with clients and partners in Iowa. Knutson Construction is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota but has been involved in several projects in the Iowa City area.