Tag Archives: Cedar Falls

WESTERN HOME COMMUNITIES RECEIVE BLUE ZONES WORKSITE DESIGNATION

Cedar Falls – Instituting workplace exercise classes, stocking vending machines with healthier options and starting lunchtime walking groups helped Western Home Communities become a designated Blue Zones Worksite™ in May.

“We’re in the business of taking care of people, and we’ve always maintained that we must take care of ourselves so we can do that job well,” explains CEO Kris Hansen, who leads the non-profit organization of 500 employees. “The Blue Zones Project™ provided a terrific way to engage our employees toward that goal.”

More than 25% of employees completed a pledge action of their own choosing, designed to nudge them toward improved well-being. Those actions ranged from getting a bicycle or a dog, to attending a purpose workshop or regular church services.

The work toward becoming a certified Blue Zones worksite at Western Home Communities coincided with the hiring of a wellness coordinator, Amanda Lynch, who implemented a regular schedule of yoga and circuit exercise classes for employees, along with lunchtime walking groups and personal coaching.

Lynch and members of the dining services team also offer regular healthy cooking classes for employees of the continuing care retirement community that serves more than 800 residents.

Among the special events planned by the wellness team during the worksite certification process included an intuitive eating workshop and a meal featuring Blue Zones-approved foods. Efforts like that will continue.

“What I love about the Blue Zones Project is its focus on overall well-being, not just physical health,” Lynch explains. “It’s a perfect fit at Western Home Communities because we encourage our employees and our residents to strive for emotional, spiritual, social and intellectual wellness, too.”

Western Home Communities is the tenth of the designated Top 20 employers in Cedar Falls to become a designated Blue Zones Worksite. That fulfills the worksite requirement and puts the Blue Zones Project in Cedar Falls one step closer to its designation as a Blue Zones Community.

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The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Launches New Data Tool Resource

As part of its portfolio of business services, the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, in partnership with Far Reach of Cedar Falls, introduces the Cedar Valley Data Portal.

Through the Cedar Valley Data Portal website, statistics and data about the Cedar Valley, from a multitude of sources, is collected and routinely updated in one convenient location. Data available on the site includes general demographic, economic, social, and housing statistics along with a variety of additional information regarding Cedar Valley cities, seven county economic area and the state of Iowa. The site offers data comparisons through easy to create, customizable reports.

As an economic development organization, the Alliance & Chamber is the primary agent for the demographic information on the entire Cedar Valley region. It is a priority of the Alliance & Chamber to distribute this information and business intelligence in the most efficient and effective way possible. The information provided in the data portal presents the Cedar Valley as one economic region, positioning the region competitively for new jobs and investment. Site selectors from outside the region will especially appreciate the comprehensive economic and talent information available through the data portal.

“ Most companies and site selection influencers are conducting community data and property searches 24/7 and look to organizations like the Alliance & Chamber as a source. If this information isn’t readily available on our web site, we risk a lost opportunity,”notes Alliance & Chamber Economic Development Marketing Director, Lisa Rivera Skubal. “Companies and site selection influencers don’t call economic developers until they have already made a short list of potential sites. This interactive data portal complements our available property data base, further setting us apart.”

The data portal is also an avenue to support retail and service business with access to current information for planning.

Project History

A survey to Alliance & Chamber partner organizations such as utility partners, the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and the Cedar Valley Regional Partners showed need for such a system. From there, Far Reach developed the system for the Alliance & Chamber.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is responsible for updating the information provided on the data portal. Alliance & Chamber staff use national reporting sources, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census Bureau, Council for Community and Economic Research and Iowa Workforce Development to aggregate data. Far Reach Technologies will continue to providing reporting and analytics to guide the growth and enhancement of the site.

“The Alliance & Chamber works with these stats every day. The ability to collect, update, and distribute this kind of comprehensive business intelligence is bedrock to what our organization does. This is not only a value added benefit to our investors, the Cedar Valley Data Portal is a critical resource for attracting new business and talent to the Cedar Valley,” comments Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

The Cedar Valley Data Portal can be found by going to www.cedarvalleyalliance.com, http://data.cedarvalleyalliance.com/DataPortal.aspx. For more information on the Cedar Valley Data Portal and other information services provided by the Alliance & Chamber, contact Taylor King at tking@cedarvalleyalliance.com or 319-232-1156. Far Reach can be found on the web at www.farreachinc.com.

CEDAR FALLS IS IOWA’S FIRST GIGABIT CITY

“CFU now offers 1-Gig service to every home and every business in the city making Cedar Falls Iowa’s first ‘Gigabit City.’ There are fewer than 50, 1-Gig cities in the nation. Of those that claim 1-Gig service, most only deliver it to a small area of the city or a certain class of customer. CFU offers true, city wide, 1-Gig to everyone.

The Cedar Valley is well on its way to becoming Gigabit Valley! With CFU’s product in place, undoubtedly 1-Gig will soon be offered by providers in Waterloo and other Cedar Valley cities. The Cedar Valley is the place for tech led industry, business and services to grow bigger and stronger. We have the fiber to prove it!” – Steve Dust, CEO Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

More information can be found at www.CFU.net

The following is CFU’s May 28th announcement

CFU launches state’s fastest internet service

CEDAR FALLS IS IOWA’S FIRST GIGABIT CITY

CEDAR FALLS, IA Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU) launches internet service at 1 gigabit per second (GBPS) today, making Cedar Falls the first and only Iowa community on the nation’s short list of gigabit cities.

CFU’s gigabit service is available now at any Cedar Falls business or home. The service is delivered through CFU’s city-wide fiber optic network, completed earlier this year. About 400 rural Cedar Falls properties also have access to the service.

“We can turn up a customer’s gigabit service on the same day they ask for it, if not the same hour,” said CFU General Manager Jim Krieg. “The facilities are already in place, so we can activate the service remotely from our network operations center.”

Cedar Falls Community Services Manager Robert Seymour says the “gigabit city” label will put Cedar Falls on the map for a broader list of business prospects.

“This is a great tool for promoting Cedar Falls as a place to locate or expand a business,” says Seymour. “It’s an important part of the complete infrastructure package we bring to the table, and it means we can compete with the best broadband communities anywhere in the country.”

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CFU’s high-speed internet service dates back to 1996, years before similar service became available in most of Iowa. “Back then, a 10 megabit connection easily met the needs of a high-demand business user,” Krieg recalls. “The service we’re launching today is 100 times as fast.”

“One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is the transformation of broadband access from an innovation back in the ‘90s, to a convenience that people want, to an essential service for businesses and families,” Krieg said. “Today customers are looking for more than speed. They demand the highest reliability for their broadband connections, just as they do for electric or water or gas service.”

To meet that need, CFU designed its city-wide network and external internet connections with diverse fiber paths and back-up capacity. “Our network is set up to maintain service to customers even when something breaks,” says Network Manager Rob Houlihan. “Say there’s a fiber cut between here and Chicago that takes one of our upstream providers out of service. Our other transport paths and bandwidth sources handle the traffic, without disruption for the customers.”

Krieg notes that CFU serves more than 600 businesses and 11,000 home internet customers today, and most will not immediately upgrade to gigabit service. “With this launch, we’re upgrading our top business tier customers from 200 MBPS to gigabit service at the same price,” he said.

Bandwidth demand from CFU’s internet customers has grown rapidly, and more than doubled in 2012. “Experience shows that when we deliver more bandwidth, customers find innovative ways to use it,” Krieg says. “We expect demand for gigabit service to start small, but grow fast.”

CFU continues to offer a range of home and business internet plans, starting at $30/month. Speeds and pricing for all of CFU’s broadband services are online at www.cfu.net/internet.

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Cedar Falls Utilities provides broadband communications, electricity, water and natural gas services to homes and businesses in Cedar Falls, Iowa, population 39,000. The Utilities are owned by the City of Cedar Falls and operated for public benefit under the governance of a citizen Board of Trustees. The Municipal Communications Utility was formed in 1994 by a citizen referendum, and launched internet and television services in January, 1996.

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Media resources: Visit CFU’s online newsroom for video news release, broadcast quality video clips, still images, logos and sidebar copy.

About CFU

Cedar Falls Utilities provides internet, electricity, water, natural gas and cable television services to homes and businesses in Cedar Falls, Iowa, population 39,000. Electric and broadband services are also provided to an 85-square-mile area of rural Cedar Falls. The rural service area is located mostly in Black Hawk County, Iowa, with limited overlap to adjacent Grundy and Butler Counties.

Internet and video services are provided through the Municipal Communications Utility, founded by citizen referendum in 1994. In 1996 the Utility was among nation’s first providers of high speed internet service. In 2013, CFU completed a three-year network upgrade, bringing a fiber optic connection to every Cedar Falls home and business.

CFU’s combination of reliable and economical broadband, electricity, natural gas and water services gives growing and relocating companies a single source for essential services that are immediately available and ready for business.

CFU’s business units are the Cedar Falls Municipal Communications, Electric, Gas and Water Utilities. All four entities are owned by the City of Cedar Falls and operated for public benefit under the governance of a citizen Board of Trustees

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber Assists Black Hawk Engineering, Inc. in Acquiring Expansion Funding

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is proud of their role in the State of Iowa’s $137,000 incentive package award to Black Hawk Engineering, Inc. The incentive package, awarded by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, helps fund a 40,000 square foot expansion at the firm’s facility in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park. This project will create 16 new jobs and add capacity to support their work as a supplier of custom drive train components.

Alliance & Chamber staff assisted Black Hawk Engineering through the entire application process which resulted in the state approving 100% of the application request.

The Alliance & Chamber helps Cedar Valley businesses and the local economy grow through: workforce & talent initiatives, business growth services, advocacy, Cedar Valley regional marketing collaboration, and collecting and distributing business intelligence & economic performance data.

For more information on the Alliance & Chamber business services can be found at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com or by contacting, contact Britt Jungck, Director of Business Services at (319)232-1156 or email bjungck@cedarvalleyalliance.com.

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Dust Optimistic About Cedar Valley Economy – Part 2

View the three part video of Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber on KWWL’s Steele Report.

Click Here.

Dust Optimistic About Cedar Valley Economy – Part 1

View the three part video of Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, on KWWL’s Steele Report here.

Click Here.

Vermeer CEO to speak at UNI

Vermeer CEO to speak at UNI

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Mary Vermeer Andringa, president and CEO of Vermeer Corporation in Pella, Iowa will speak at the University of Northern Iowa at 2 p.m., Thursday, April 11, in the University Room, in Maucker Union. Andringa is part of UNI’s distinguished guest lecture series featuring top corporate leaders. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Andringa became president of Vermeer in 1989 and sole CEO in 2009. Andringa is the immediate past chair of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the nation’s largest manufacturing association. She was the first female to chair the NAM. Andringa is also one of 18 private sector members of President Obama’s Export Council, where she represents the manufacturing sector on important trade matters. She also serves on the Ex-Im Bank Advisory Committee and is a member of the US-Brazil CEO Forum.

“It’s a great honor to have Mary Vermeer Andringa on our campus to share her successes, innovation, and challenges working in a global society,” said UNI President Ben Allen. “Our campus and community will have an enriching opportunity to learn about the skills needed in today’s global world.”

Vermeer is an international, family-owned agricultural, construction, environmental and industrial equipment manufacturing company with more than 3,250 employees worldwide. Its products are used in more than 60 countries.

Governor to Visit Cedar Valley

“Our Opportunity. Our Iowa.” Govenor Branstad’s Condition of the State Tour/ Cedar Valley Stop
01.24.13, 8:15 am, Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center

All Alliance & Chamber investor/members are encouraged to demonstrate the strength and vitality of the Cedar Valley business community and hear about the issues that affect you and your business by attending this special event, Thursday, January 24th. The public is invited to attend.

Highlights:

Providing Property Tax Relief
Making our Schools the Best in the Nation
Improving Iowa’s Quality of Life

Registration is appreciated. Click here.

Read the Govenors 2013 Condition of the State Address

“Our Opportunity. Our Iowa.” here.

GCVAC SETS 2013 CEDAR VALLEY LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS

WATERLOO/CEDAR FALLS, IOWA (Jan., 2013) – The Board of Directors of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber recently adopted the 2013 Cedar Valley Agenda for Economic Progress. Assembled by its Government Relations Committee, local economic development partners, and its staff team of the Alliance & Chamber, the Agenda, assembled annually, reflects the priority issues requiring action by the Iowa Legislature to advance the business and civic interests of the Cedar Valley economic area.

The five areas of focus are: (1) economic development programs and incentives, (2) talent and workforce development and recruitment, (3) improving Iowa’s tax climate, (4) education transformation, and (5) critical physical infrastructure.

“Our Iowa agenda is focused on business climate, competitiveness, and critical workforce issues, said Steve Firman, Director of Government Relations of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. “It’s also about making Iowa and the Cedar Valley more competitive and attractive for starting and expanding businesses of all sizes, and building a career,” Firman concludes.

The agenda was formally announced during a December 5th Pre-session Legislative Reception event for the Cedar Valley delegation of the Iowa legislature. The annual reception is traditionally co-sponsored by the Alliance & Chamber, Cedar Valley Manufacturers Associations, and REC of Butler-Bremer-Buchanan-Grundy Counties- each of which unveil their respective agendas for the session – and hosted by the Isle Casino Hotel – Waterloo. The legislators attending the event this year included: Sen. Bill Dix and Sen. Bill Dotzler, Rep. Pat Grassley, Rep. Sandy Salmon, Rep. Walt Rogers, and Rep. Bob Kressig.

The Government Relations Committee is chaired by Mike McCrary of Lincoln Savings Bank. The Legislative Agenda can be accessed at the Alliance & Chamber Government Relations web page Iowa Prosperity Project-Cedar Valley.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber is a regional economic and community development organization focused on increasing economic vitality and improving the quality of life in the Cedar Valley economic region. Cedar Valley area business and community leaders created the Alliance to align economic development efforts and increase the region’s competitiveness in the global economy. Combined, the organization represents over 900 businesses with 50,000 employees.

Grow Cedar Valley