The Gazette’s Business Notes is a compendium of the week’s promotions, new hires, certifications, added business lines and business events, among other items, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the rest of the Corridor. Information and photos can be submitted at https://www.thegazette.com/business-notes/submit/

New hires

GreatAmerica Financial Services in Cedar Rapids has announced the following new team members: Garrett Bormann, client reporting analyst; and Julia Mindy, sales support specialist.

Promotions

At the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, Carrie Walker has been promoted to vice president of learning, and Emmy Ball has been promoted to senior systems analyst.

Appointments

CSPS has announced the following new members to its board: David Tominsky, Novy; Chad Cooper, de Novo Marketing; and Karla Scriven, Kirkwood Community College.

Brad Mertens has joined the board of directors at His Hands Free Clinic.

Other news

Mercy maternity care cited: U.S. News & World Report has once again recognized Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids as a High-Performing Hospital for Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy) in its 2025 rankings. The rankings included a survey of 817 hospitals. Among the factors considered were the rates of severe unexpected newborn complications and of C-sections in low-risk pregnancies.

Appliance Plus has ribbon-cutting in Marion: Appliance Plus held a ribbon-cutting Thursday at its new location, 600 44th St. in Marion, the space formerly occupied by Star Appliance. The Marion location specializes in new and scratch-and-dent appliances.

Harold Fox started an electrical business in 1946 and expanded into appliances. His son and daughter-in-law, Duane and Faith, ran the business after Fox’s death in 1965, opening an Appliance Plus in Oelwein in 1996.

Today, the business is led by Gary and Brenda Fox, who added locations in Independence, West Union and Webster City and oversaw expansions in Dyersville, Waukon and Algona. The phone number for the Marion location is (319) 373-2911, and the website is applianceplusonline.com.

Iowa State Fair brings home honors: The Iowa State Fair earned awards and honors at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions annual convention held earlier this month in Phoenix, Ariz. The fair’s 21 awards included ones in communications, competitive exhibits, agriculture education and sponsorships. The fair also won the Division 5 award — for fairs with attendance of more than 1 million — for the best marketing campaign for the state fair’s 2024 theme, “Fair Fever.”

Relion Insurance acquired: Alkeme Insurance Services last week announced it has acquired Relion Insurance Solutions of Iowa City, according to the Business Insurance newsletter. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Relion, with about 70 staff, provides commercial and personal lines coverage from seven offices in Iowa. It was formed in 2020 through the merger of Iowa City-based agencies AW Welt Ambrisco and Insurance Associates.

Alkeme, based in Ladera Ranch, Calif., and backed by New York-based private-equity investment firm GCP Capital Partners, is the 49th largest brokerage of U.S. business, with $114 million in 2023 revenue, according to the most recent ranking by Business Insurance. Alkeme, formed in 2020, has more than 40 offices in 22 states and has completed over 50 acquisitions.

Navy buys Collins/BAE radio system: The U.S. Navy has awarded Data Link Solutions, a joint venture between BAE Systems and Collins Aerospace, a contract for up to $1 billion for the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System.

MIDS JTRS is a four-channel software-defined radio designed to run the complex Link 16 waveform system used by NATO, the U.S. and its allies to share real-time tactical data.

The Department of Defense is fielding the system on the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, and F-22 aircraft, as well as ship and command and control assets, according to a BAE news release.

Using computer science in classes: Four virtual training modules in computer science will be offered for fifth- through ninth-grade teachers in 2025 by NewBoCo Education and Code.org, with ideas on how to incorporate technology into math, science and social studies classes.

The programs, all offered 6 to 8 p.m., will be interactive animations and games, Jan. 7; AI and machine learning, Feb. 4; Code.org + science, March 4; and focus on data, April 1. For more information and to register, go to https://newbo.co/education/educators/cs-modules/.

Teachers also can find information at that site about four virtual training modules on incorporating computer science into classes. The training is offered to teachers nationwide.

Small business of the week: U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, last week named The Bakery Unlimited of Madison County as her small business of the week.

In 1984, Jim and Marcia Sparks opened The Bakery Unlimited in a historic building on Main Street in Winterset in south-central Iowa. Marcia Sparks, a food nutrition research graduate of Iowa State University, developed the signature apple fritters featuring Red Delicious apples grown in the Sparks’ family orchard, a tribute to Madison County, the birthplace of the iconic apple.

In November 2020, Marcia Sparks died, and her husband and their daughter now manage the bakery and its eight employees. USA Today named the bakery as one of the top 10 doughnut shops in the U.S. in June 2024.

Ernst, the ranking member on the Senate’s Small Business Committee, is naming one exceptional small business of the week in each of Iowa’s counties during this congressional session.

Business Notes for Dec. 15, 2024

Emmy Ball, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation

Garrett Bormann, GreatAmerica

Chad Cooper, CSPS

Brad Mertens, His Hands Free Clinic

Julia Mindy, GreatAmerica

Karla Scriven, CSPS

David Tominsky, CSPS

Carrie Walker, Greater C.R. Community Foundation