Today
is: April 10, 2009
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The
Principal Financial Well-Being Index - First
Quarter Summary
This
Principal Financial Well-Being
IndexSM
survey was conducted online within the
United
States by Harris
Interactive on behalf of the Principal Financial
Group® between January 26th and February 9, 2009
among 1,155 employees and 540 retirees. This is
one in a series of quarterly studies to identify
and track changes in the workplace of small and
mid-sized (growing)
businesses.
To
continue reading and view the results of this
survey click
here>>> |
Testimonials from
Convention
2008
"Convention
2008 was a great event. It was a great opportunity
to network with peers and learn about successful
strategies of other great Iowa
companies."
Dale Bentlage
- Flying Hippo Web
Technologies
"As a
'born-again Iowan' and ABI newcomer, I was very
pleased and impressed with the professionalism
provided by the ABI committee, and the members
involved. What a great opportunity to meet the
'who's who' of Iowa business. I
look forward to next year's convention
already."
Jeff Sexton -
Avaya
"People
do business with people they know and like.
ABI's Convention gives me a forum for fostering
new business
relationships."
Andi
Coziahr - Plan B
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7:30
- 9:45 a.m. | Mason
City
No
Charge | Breakfast included
by
Jane Applegate
12
- 3 p.m. | Cedar
Rapids
No
Charge | Lunch included
9
a.m. - Noon (lunch
included)
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This
small item, designed to hold things together, was
invented in 1858, and millions of millions of them
have been sold ever since.
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To
foster a favorable business, economic,
governmental and social climate within the State
of Iowa so that our
citizens have the opportunity to enjoy the highest
possible quality of
life. |
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Legislative
News
Final
Funnel and Adjourn Goals for Next Week-Many
Threats Remain
Friday,
April 10 marks the final legislative funnel date
of the 2009 session - all policy bills must be
passed by one chamber and approved by a
committee in the other chamber by today.
By rule, this eliminates many bad for business
bills. Continue
reading>>>
Senate
Ways and Means Committee Debates Fate of
Research Activities
Credits
Thursday
afternoon the Senate Ways
and Means Committee approved a measure that will
cap the total incentive credits for Iowa
Economic Development at $175 million dollars per
year. This bill does not, however,
eliminate the supplemental Research Activities
Credit as originally
proposed. Continue
reading>>>
House
Appropriations Committee Passes Collective
Bargaining
Bill
The
House Appropriations Committee late Thursday
night debated several bills. One of the
proposals was HF
794,
which passed out of House Labor Committee
earlier in the session. The bill served as
a vehicle for the controversial Open Scope
Collective Bargaining bill for public unions
last year. Continue
reading>>>
Fate of
Federal Deductibility Repeal
Uncertain
It's
now been more than two weeks since the
controversial HF
807
proposal to eliminate federal deductibility from
personal income tax was introduced. Floor
debate has now been put off to possibly Tuesday
of next week. The latest version adds a
college student tax credit, and adjusts rates to
provide modest tax reductions to more Iowans
than the initial proposal, but leaves 25% of
Iowans with an immediate tax increase and ALL
Iowans with an increase in two years after
federal tax cuts expire. Continue
reading>>>
Governor's
Bonding Proposal In
Works
In
addition to a major proposed change in
Iowa's tax
system; legislative leaders are also trying to
reach agreement with the Governor's office on a
bonding proposal. The Senate
Appropriations Committee passed the "shell" bill
out of committee on Thursday afternoon.
The final details of the proposal are yet to be
seen, but can be expected to be on a fast track
once an agreement has been
reached.
Final
Hours-Now is Not the Time to Let
Up
The
House and Senate are working hard to adjourn for
the year. However, during the final hours
are when legislators get creative and some of
the biggest threats are found. ABI will be
sure to stay visible and vigilant.
Continue
reading>>> |
Top
10 General Shop Guidelines That Should Be
Addressed:
1.
Minimizing falls on walking surfaces
2.
Efficient shop
layout
3.
Preventing
fires
4.
Storing hazardous/nonhazardous
materials
5.
Marking
exits
6. Safety
signage
7.
Electrical
concerns
8.
Adequate
lighting
9.
Eyewash and shower
stations
10. Machine
guarding |
  From
the Desk of...Jim
Masterson
 How
can I protect my critical business data?
Backup
and recovery of mission-critical data has become
a hot topic for many companies across all
industries because of the exponential growth of
data and the increasing costs to retain it all.
Many companies still rely upon the
time-consuming and archaic IT process of
backing-up to tape; putting those tapes on a
truck; and shipping their company's critical
data to some off-site vaulting facility.
Continue
reading>>>
LightEdge
Solutions, a hosted service provider
headquartered in Des Moines, has
solved the challenges associated with
traditional backup technologies through its
Managed Backup and Recovery service. LightEdge
Solutions has partnered with EMC Corporation,
the world leader in information infrastructure
solutions, to provide a next generation
disk-based backup and recovery solution which
can fit into the budget of any small or
medium-sized business. Continue
reading>>>
Did
you miss the Monday memo from ABI President,
Mike Ralston? Click
here for this week's
memo. |
ABI
Foundation: Nominations for Leadership
Iowa Due May
1st
Do
you know of individuals in your organization or
community who are passionate about providing a
better future for Iowa? Nominate emerging and
established leaders now to apply for the
2009-2010 Leadership Iowa
class.
Nominations are due May 1,
2009 and the applications will be open during
the month of June.
Leadership Iowa is a premier
issues-awareness program promoting leadership
within the state. We educate, challenge and
inspire our participants to bring out their
inherent quality to "point the way." The
ultimate goal is to instill passion in our
current and emerging leaders while fostering a
high level of civic
engagement.
Since
its inception in 1982, Leadership Iowa has
graduated hundreds of men and women from both
the private and public sector. This diverse
group of alumni represents every geographical
region of the state and virtually all walks of
life.
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