CRMEA July/August 2018

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Celebrate Your Holiday's With Us! DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex The holiday season is a wonderful time to celebrate your organization and the accomplishments of another year. It is also a time to remember those in our community that have needs greater than themselves. DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex will give you the opportunity to enjoy the spirit of the season while giving back to the community around us. Book your holiday party at the Doubletree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex in December <strong>2018</strong> or January 2019, using our Holiday Package and 4% of the revenue from your event will be donated in your name to one of the 4 local charities. It is our way of making Happy Holidays 4 Everyone. We've got an excellent space with the flexibility to accommodate 5 to 5,000. To Book your Holiday Party Please call the Sales & Catering Office at (319) 731-4512 DoubleTree By Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Complex 350 First Avenue NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 4 JULY/AUGUST <strong>2018</strong>
WORRYING ABOUT TARIFFS, TRADE & OUR ECONOMY Doug Neumann, Executive Director This isn’t just idle fretting about trade policy. For our regional economy, this is real. I’ve talked to local businesses using large quantities of imported steel or aluminum that have seen material prices jump 25 to 40 percent this summer. For some, it’s already affecting business. And for exporters, the impact might be even worse. One Iowa State University estimate puts Iowa farmers’ losses for pork alone at $560 million related to new Chinese tariffs. Any impacts to corn and soybeans would add to that number. Melissa McCarville COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Ellen Bardsley COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST Clarissa Koch GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Judith Cobb CBJ ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Corridor Business Journal PRINTING & CIRCULATION WWW.CEDARRAPIDS.ORG ON THE COVER The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and The Technology Association of Iowa host bi-monthly TechBrew AM networking events in Cedar Rapids where TAI President, Brian Waller conducts casual interviews with CIOs who share their favorite music for TAI’s “Vinyl Tuesday,” discuss their career path and share what’s most important for the Iowa technology community moving forward. June’s featured technology expert was Cammie Greif, Co-Founder of TaxAct. TechBrew AM is an informal networking event for entrepreneurs, technologists, business people and funders. We’ve also heard from companies that haven’t yet seen cost or price fluctuations but whose worries about commodity market volatility have caused slowdowns in production or delays to planning for future growth. Companies in the Cedar Rapids area alone export just shy of $1 billion of product annually. For all of Iowa, the number is $13.2 billion. Whether its cereal, animal food, machinery or feed grain, our local and state economies are inextricably linked to international trade. For even more information about this issue, don’t miss our Public Policy update on Page 12 of this Report. The Economic Alliance is paying attention and doing what it can. As we’ve been out on our regular business calls, we’ve asked what you’re seeing in your industry. The data is important to quantifying impact and forecasting what’s to come. More important than data are the stories. Your stories matter as we pass them along to lawmakers and others who might be able to influence trade policy. We’ve upped our communication and advocacy efforts via a series of letters and meetings with our delegation. While I doubt President Trump receives our Economic Alliance Report in the Oval Office, I know the field officers and policy officials from our Congressional delegation are reading this. Like many pro-growth policies we advocate for, free and fair trade generally has strong bipartisan support, particularly from Iowa lawmakers. Economic Alliance members and the lawmakers who represent us should be able to forge a unified voice on this. Our latest move is joining the U.S. Trade Council, a new organization working to unify and amplify voices like those businesses in this region that need free and fair trade policy to sustain their business. The Council seeks what it calls “forward-thinking” trade policy, which acknowledges that trade policy is dynamic and complex but that trade is critical for the growth of the economy. Most organizations with names like U.S. Trade Council are based in Washington, D.C. This one is based in Iowa, and focuses largely on trade issues that impact the Midwestern agriculture and advanced manufacturing sectors. We have strong working alliances with leaders of the Council, and I trust this can make an impact. I’d like to get more Economic Alliance members involved with the U.S. Trade Council. If you want additional details, check out their website at www.USTradeCouncil.com. I’d also invite companies that have a major stake in trade, to call or email me at dneumann@cedarrapids.org to learn more about our efforts and how we can work together. This Economic Alliance Report is chock full of positive business news, so please read on. But all that progress is certainly threatened if the worst scenarios in tariff and trade issues create heavy headwinds for our many international businesses. Regards, Doug Neumann Executive Director ECONOMIC ALLIANCE REPORT 5
Page 1 and 2: MEDQUARTER MOVES FORWARD ON MASTER
Page 3: Jacq, Corporate Marketing Seth, Inf
Page 7 and 8: MEDQUARTER MOVES FORWARD ON MASTER
Page 9 and 10: LARGE INVESTOR NEWS MIDAMERICAN ENE
Page 11 and 12: AMBASSADORS WELCOME NEW BUSINESSES
Page 13 and 14: IMPACTS OF THE EASTERN IOWA AIRPORT
Page 15 and 16: MEMBER SPOTLIGHT How a Passion for

CRMEA July/August 2018

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?