January 20, 2023 (DES MOINES, IA) – Today (Friday), the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved awards for three companies, which will assist in the creation of 579 jobs and result in nearly $156 million in new capital investment for the state. These projects are located in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Lime Springs. The board also approved innovation funding in support of three startups located in Carroll, Cedar Rapids and Clive.

A school-based telehealth company in Carroll, Classroom Clinic provides school districts with timely and convenient access to children’s mental health services. The “team-based care” model allows service providers and school staff to connect, communicate and collaborate using technology. The company was awarded a $100,000 Demonstration Fund loan for market planning and entry activities and key personnel, as part of Innovation funding.

Read more about the IEDA awards, HERE.

(Elk Horn, Iowa) – The Exira-EHK School District Board of Directors met in a regular session Monday evening. According to the meeting minutes, courtesy Business Manager & Board Secretary/Treasurer Mallory Meyer, the Board discussed the Superintendent, SBO (School Business Official), and HR (Human Resources) sharing agreements for 2023-2024. The consensus was to continue those sharing agreements currently in-place with the IKM-Manning School District.

The Exira-EHK Board acted to set Feb. 21, 2023 at 6-p.m., as the date and time for a Public Hearing on the 2023-24 District Calendar. The meeting will take place in the Elk Horn Conference Room. They also appointed representatives to the Audubon and Shelby County Conference Boards, and approved the following:

• A request for the Band/Choir Trip to Branson, MO.
• A 2022-23 Therapist Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Family Connections.
• An Elementary School Counselor Sharing Agreement with the Coon Rapids-Bayard CSD.
• The 2nd/final reading of certain policy reviews, and
• the hiring of Randy Kelly as Head Baseball Coach.

(Radio Iowa) – Nearly 120 unionized workers at the Ingredion grain processing plant in Cedar Rapids have reached a tentative agreement with the company. The workers have been on strike since August first. Mike Moore, president of Local 100-G of the Baking, Confectionery, Tobacco, and Grain Milling Union, wouldn’t discuss specifics of the deal, but says it’s a good contract.  “Nobody wins in the strike,” Moore says. “Obviously, the union doesn’t win, the company doesn’t win. Everybody suffers losses, and everybody suffers disappointment but hopefully, come Sunday, they have time to look at and we go through it with them, and then we’ll take a vote and see what happens.”

Moore says it’s been a long road for workers on strike. “I’m very, very proud of my members. Every member stood tall and stood strong,” he says. “I said back on August 1st, when we voted this contract down, that we went out as one and we go back in that plant as one. We’re not 116, 117 people, separate. We’re all one.”

Moore says if all goes well, he can present the tentative agreement to the workers sometime today (Friday) and they will likely hold a vote on Sunday.
(Catherine Wheeler, Iowa Public Radio)

(Harlan, Iowa) – The Shelby County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, passed a Resolution imposing restrictions on the weight of vehicles (load limits) crossing certain bridges on designated highways or highway structures under the County’s jurisdiction.(See the list below)

In Auditor Mark Maxwell’s minutes of the meeting, he noted the Board agreed the County Engineer may enact a 10-ton load limit, on his discretion, on all granular surfaced roadways within Shelby County, until further notice.

In other business, the Shelby County Supervisors passed a resolution with regard to new livestock construction facilities evaluation, utilizing the Master Matrix. And, the Board approved a 28E Agreement between Shelby County, The City of Harlan, and Shelby County Myrtue Memorial Hospital, with regard to the governing and the creation of the Shelby County Ambulance Commission, of Harlan, Iowa.

(West Des Moines, Iowa) – Officials with Hy-Vee have announced the recall of some pot roast meals. Hy-Vee said a wheat allergen was not listed on the ingredients label. The recall covers two Mealtime Beef Pot Roast Dinners produced between Dec. 26 and Jan. 17.

The dinners were sold in grocery stores, Fast and Fresh locations, and Fresh Markets. No one has been reported sick, but Hy-Vee says it proactively issued the recall.