(Radio Iowa) – Historic buildings that used to be part of Maytag’s campus in Newton will be renovated into a hotel and an apartment building. The former Maytag campus was donated to Des Moines Area Community College in 2016 — nine years after Maytag closed. The college has sold nearly four acres to a Des Moines developer who plans to repurpose four buildings and open the hotel and apartments next year.

Kim Didier , the executive director of business resources for DMACC, says the two buildings that will become a boutique hotel have “The Maytag Company” written in large letters along the rooftops.  “Very iconic for the community and for Maytag over the years,” she says. The two buildings were built in the early 1900s. Another building nearby, completed in 1914, will be converted into 70 apartments.

“A brick building, exposed rafters, wooden floors — just very historic,” Didier says. “Kind of a warehouse, factory feel to it.” A smaller building next door will have some amenities for the apartment dwellers. According to a DMACC news release, the hotel and apartment building project will cost about 35 million dollars. DMACC will continue to have an academic center nearby.

“DMACC on the Newton campus has a baking program,” Didier says, “and we’re very hopeful we’ll be able to have that kind of collaboration and synergy where the baked goods that would be offered in the hotel restaurant or just as a cafe would be coming from our culinary program, our baking program.” Didier, who used to work at Maytag, has lived in Newton for 24 years. She says there’s been a lot of collaboration in the community to get this latest project going.

“It’s monumental and transformational,” Didier says, “and we think will continue to propel the redevelopment of the rest of the buildings that were part of the Maytag headquarters.”A couple of other former Maytag buildings already have been turned into commercial space. A brewery and a pub are among the 18 tenants. “We’ve had this vision of really creating this mixed use neighborhood that would have the residential component,” Didier says, “that would have the retail.”

Maytag was founded in 1893 and by the 1920s one of every five washing machines in America was made in Newton. The company was sold to Whirlpool in 2006 and a year later operations in Newton were shut down. There were three previous owners of the emptied out Maytag campus until DMACC took over. The State of Iowa is providing a 14 million dollar “reinvestment district award” that will support the development of the apartments and hotel as well as several other related projects in Newton.

(Corydon, Iowa) – Two people were injured during a head-on crash Monday afternoon, east of Corydon, in Wayne County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2014 Dodge van driven by 72-year-old Norman George, of Allerton, was traveling west on Highway 2, and was attempting to pass a 1967 John Deere 40-20 farm tractor pulling a hay trailer, when the van hit the rear of the tractor/hay trailer, causing the van to be pushed into coming traffic. The tractor was operated by 68-year-old George H. Harders, of Corydon.

The van then struck a 2014 Chevy Sonic head-on before rolling over. The impact resulted in the car entering the north ditch. The tractor/hay trailer stopped on the right shoulder of the road. The crash happened at around 2:35-p.m.

Norman George, and the driver of the Chevy Sonic, 34-year-old Robert W. Schuler, of Seymour, suffered severe injuries and were flown by Mercy One helicopter to Mercy Hospital, in Des Moines.

The Patrol says George was not wearing a seat belt.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision Monday afternoon (May 22) in Creston, resulted in one person being transported to the hospital for treatment of unknown/possible injuries. Creston Police report the accident happened at around 12:49-p.m. on Highway 34, near Sumner Avenue.

A 2000 Saturn LS1 driven by 27-year-old Jerrie Michelle Boothe, of Creston, was traveling westbound on Hwy 34 and approaching the intersection with Sumner. Boothe thought she was clear to make a left turn into the Creston Wal-Mart parking lot, but her car was struck on the front right side by an eastbound 2008 Chevy Silverado pickup, driven by 27-year-old Jose Luis Carreon, of Creston.

Boothe complained of neck pain. She was transported by ambulance to the hospital. Carreon was not injured. He was unable to provide proof of financial liability, and was cited. Damage from the collision amounted to $3,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says he expects D-C negotiators will strike a deal to raise the federal government’s debt ceiling. “To paraphrase Winston Churchill, when you try every other thing that doesn’t work, you somehow stumble upon what does work,” Goss says, “and I think there will be a solution.” But Goss says investors should expect volatility as the stalemate between Republicans in congress and President Biden remains unresolved.

“There will be some real deviations, some real swings here in the next week or so as they try to find that solution,” Goss says. “That would be swings in the stock market, swings in the bond market and also in terms of gold prices, for example.” If the impasse isn’t resolved before the U.S. government runs out of cash to pay its bills, Goss says things like Social Security checks could be delayed. The main impact of default, according to Goss, would be damage to the U.S. dollar, since central banks in other countries hold U.S. currency in reserve.

“The dollar will remain the reserve currency, but it will undermine it,” Goss says. Goss says it would aid China’s push to make the Yuan the reserve currency of the globe. Having the U.S. dollar be the dominant currency around the world aids U.S. trade and creates stability for the goods and services Americans buy.