(Radio Iowa) – The federal Small Business Deduction will expire at the end of next year, and unless Congress acts, small businesses in Iowa and elsewhere will no longer be able to deduct up to 20-percent of what’s considered qualified income. Jeff Brabant, with the National Federation of Independent Businesses, says that deduction is a big deal, benefitting more than nine in every ten small businesses across the country. “This is almost every new business starts as a pass-through business,” Brabant says, “and if you’re going to increase taxes on them, while their larger competitors have their tax rate remain the same, you’re really making Main Street less competitive and that’s a real problem for them.”

Brabant says coffee shops, barber shops and all sorts of small mom-and-pop businesses could have to pay more in taxes if the 2017 law is allowed to expire. “That’s one thing we’re really trying to hammer home to people,” he says. “Is it a good idea for Congress to selectively increase taxes on small businesses while their larger competitors keep the same tax rate?”

An estimate from the U-S Small Business Administration finds more than 95-percent of the businesses in Iowa are -small- businesses. Brabant says many small businesses in Iowa and nationwide have been struggling since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “They were only allowing — in many states — just essential businesses to be open. Who was the essential business? It was Walmart. It wasn’t your local small retailer. They were shut down. So, they had no income coming in for a long time,” Brabant says. “That was the first challenge they had. Once the pandemic began to abate and the restrictions were lifted, they then had to deal with inflation.”

Inflation, Brabant says, remains the top issue small business owners face post-pandemic. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would make that deduction permanent for small and family-owned businesses, which Brabant says owners use to invest in their employees and growth for the future.

(Des Moines, Iowa)- Iowa’s Auditor of State Rob Sand today (Wednesday) released a report on a special investigation of the City of Hamburg for the period of March 1, 2019 through August 31, 2023. The special investigation was requested by Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department (HSEMD) as a result of concerns communicated to the Department’s regarding certain grant funds and a forgivable loan received by the City following the March 2019 flood. Concerns were also received regarding City officials, City employees, and their family members and friends receiving direct benefit from the funds awarded to the City.

Sand reported the special investigation identified the following, with regard to the Nuisance Property and Abandoned Building Remediation Loan Program:

• The City did not enter into an agreement with Hamburg Economic Development Council (HEDC) to administer the Nuisance Property and Abandoned Building Remediation Loan Program.
• City officials were unable to provide supporting documents showing the properties acquired under the program were nuisance properties as defined by the Code of Iowa or under the terms of the program. HEDC officials stated that properties were identified by physically driving through the community and selecting lots that would have been favorable for potential buyers.
• Under the program, 6 properties were purchased by HEDC and not the City. However, HEDC was not a party to the grant between the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the City of Hamburg.
• The City provided funding under the program to build two new homes. One home was owned by a City Council member who transferred ownership to a family member. The second home was privately owned. The owner was not related to a member of City government. City officials were unable to provide any support why NPAB funds were used on lots that were not cleared or owned by the City.
• The program allows funds to be used for construction for City owned homes. If the funds are used for projects owned by private citizens, the homeowners are to repay the funds to the City. Under the program the city paid 60% of the construction costs for two privately owned homes. Sand’s office could not determine why the homeowners did not repay the funds to the City as required by the program. For the two homes the construction costs paid by the grant were $86,730.00 and $104,576.50.
• For the two homes constructed there is no evidence the owners repaid any portion of the funds provided under the program.

Sand reported the special investigation identified the following with the Community Catalyst Building Remediation Grant Program:
• The City did not enter into an agreement with Hamburg Economic Development Council (HEDC) to administer the Community Catalyst Building Remediation Grant Program awarded to the City.
• Under the terms of the program, if the building is owned by an entity other than the city, the respective city must provide information regarding ownership and the relationship with the City. The City did not disclose a City Council member was negotiating ownership of 2 buildings which received funding.
• The city was unable to provide support showing two applicants provided the required match in the form of financial or in-kind assistance.
• The city violated Iowa Code 234.7, by quit claiming a deed to a property owned by the City to an applicant who received funding under the program. Under the Code of Iowa, the City should have published a notice on the date a public hearing was to be held regarding the sale. The Code also prohibits the disposal of real property by gift, except to a governmental body for public purpose.

Other issues
• The City made a duplicate payment to HEDC totaling $50,000.00 that was not authorized or explained.
o The duplicate payment was issued on April 29, 2020 for $50,000.00 for the Catalyst Grant. The $50,000.00 was previously paid on February 13, 2020.
• HEDC cashed and deposited donation checks expressly written out to the City totaling $23,690.17.

Sand also reported several familial relationships were identified between recipients of Nuisance/Abandoned Property Remediation Fund (NPAB) funds and City Council member, Kent Benefiel, and the City’s public works director, Alan Dovel. Sand reported that the Community Catalyst Building Remediation Grant Program (Catalyst grant) was facilitated by HEDC, even though there was a prohibition on the transfer or reassignment of the grant funds in the agreement between the City and IEDA. Mr. Benefiel applied for catalyst grant funds related to two properties on Main Street and received the largest share of the catalyst grant funds.

Copies of the report have been filed with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Fremont County Attorney’s Office, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office. A copy of the report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s website at Special Interest Reports.

(Marshall, MN) – Officials with Yelloh, this week, announced the company will cease all operations in November 2024, closing out a storied 72-year history as a Minnesota pioneer in the food home-delivery market. Founded as Schwan’s in Marshall, Minnesota, in 1952, the company expanded to serve people nationwide, delivering frozen meals, food, treats and ice cream to homes. The company has about 1,100 employees and according to Iowa WARN, 53 employees in Iowa are being laid off.

Yelloh CEO Bernardo Santana said in a news release, “It’s with heavy hearts that we made the difficult decision to cease operations of Yelloh. We are thankful to our many loyal customers and hard-working employees for everything they have done to support us. I am deeply grateful for our employees’ tireless and bold efforts, and our customers’ dedication. It has been our utmost pleasure and honor to serve our customers their favorite meals and frozen treats.”

The company cited multiple insurmountable business challenges for the decision, including economic and market forces, as well as changing consumer lifestyles. Yelloh will wind down operations over the next two months, taking care of employees with notice and pay in accordance with the WARN Act. The last day products may be purchased via Yelloh trucks will be Friday, November 8.

(Radio Iowa) – A seventh generation Iowan who’s an agricultural and anti-trust research fellow at Yale University is back in Iowa this week talking about his book that’s focused on monopolies and tycoons in the food industry. Austin Frerick zeroes in on seven corporate giants which he says are “cartoonishly criminal,” raking in billions of dollars disguised as farm fresh, hometown neighbors, while manipulating lax laws for their own tremendous financial benefit. “That Whole Foods consumer wants to think they’re getting a different product than the Dollar General consumer, but it’s really kind of the same product,” Frerick says. “You might see what looks like a competitive marketplace on the peanut butter shelf. It’s actually just one company that has like a 78% market share because they have the different brand points for different incomes, and usually the market share is higher because they do the store brand, too.”

In his book, “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry,” Frerick blames a “lack of courage” by our public servants to stand up the these monoliths, with their armies of lawyers. He says he can back up every claim. “That’s why I have almost 1,000 citations,” Frerick says. “You’re going to write book like this, you’ve got to cross your t’s and dot your i’s. My book’s only 200 pages, but I have like 70 pages of footnotes, because I want people to see every little thing. Even though these things might sound outlandish or crazy, I have a piece of evidence for everything I lay out in my book.”

Frerick singles out a former Iowa governor, U-S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, for giving U-S-D-A contracts to meat processing “baron” J-B-S, a multinational corporation Frerick says was convicted of criminal behavior. Frerick names a lot of names, and was asked by Radio Iowa if he was ever concerned about his personal welfare in writing a book so critical of massive corporations and powerful individuals. “To be honest with you, I wasn’t, and I think that’s the beauty of America, that I can write a book like this and not worry about my safety,” Frerick says. “That’s the beauty of democracy, but on the flip side, part of this book is me grappling with what happened to Iowa in my lifetime, which should be the Tuscany of North America. How does it now have a water crisis, obesity crisis and a cancer crisis?”

Frerick grew up in Cedar Rapids and says he’s saddened by how his home state has been polluted, but he notes, you can complain or do something about it, and the book is his way of doing something about it. He’s very concerned about Iowa’s future, as he says we may be witnessing the last days for corn-based ethanol, an industry worth five-billion dollars a year to the state’s economy. “Ethanol is going to phase out. Cars are moving to hybrids and electric vehicles. What are we going to do with that corn land that will no longer be needed for ethanol? That’s what I want to focus on, is how do we bring back the middle class farmer? How do we stabilize these systems?” Frerick says. “Everyone is just seeing the current system is not working in America, the food doesn’t taste good, and you’re being gouged for it. We’re paying more for junk, essentially.”

What’s a consumer to do? While he advocates buying local, Frerick says personal consumption won’t change these structures, but congressional legislation can. He’s appearing tonight (Wednesday) at 7 PM at the Des Moines Public Library’s central library, as well as at the Harkin Institute at Drake University, and the Des Moines Lyceum (ly-SEE-um) Movement on Thursday night.

(Radio Iowa) – The union representing state corrections officers says two prison workers were assaulted by an inmate Monday at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. AFSCME Council 61 president Todd Copley issued a statement that says correctional officers across the state are being asked to work under dangerous, understaffed, and under-resourced conditions, and says they’re not seeing the leadership needed from the Governor’s office to address these issues.

The Iowa Department of Corrections issued a statement saying it is aware of the AFSCME statement in regards to an assault at the Iowa State Penitentiary. The statement says the Department doesn’t comment on open investigations and goes on to say “The safety of our correctional officers and inmates is of top importance. We are committed to implementing best practices in security, training, and compliance to create an environment where all individuals can feel safe.”