Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
A state loan program for disadvantaged small businesses, which had no money allocated to it for more than three years, now has a $4 million budget.
The Targeted Small Business Program will award $2.5 million in loans, loan guarantees and grants to small businesses owned by minorities, people with disabilities and women during the next two years. About $1.5 million will be used for technical training, outreach efforts and marketing the program, among other things.
A year ago, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack organized a task force to study the program after minority business leaders complained. The group pushed lawmakers to allocate money for the program and to track state agencies that had failed to meet established goals of awarding contracts to disadvantaged businesses.
Ted Williams, co-chairman of the task force and chairman of the African-American Business Association of Des Moines, said the program had suffered because of bureaucracy and a lack of funding, training and outreach efforts.
“We said, `This sucker is broke,’” Williams said. “This thing isn’t working.”
Williams said out-of-state companies are always being courted to Iowa with large financial incentives.
“What about us right here in Iowa? What are you doing for us? Particularly minority- and women-owned businesses?” he said.
A lot of political wrangling went on to get money for the program, he said, because Vilsack was leaving office and Gov. Chet Culver was newly elected. Even so, he said, Culver accepted the recommendations and “we pulled it off.”
State officials said interest has spiked in the program since Culver signed a bill on May 22 authorizing $4 million for the program, which was created in 1986.
Iowa has 550 small businesses certified in the program, according to Beverly Zylstra, deputy director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which handles certification.
To qualify as a Targeted Small Business, the for-profit business must be located in Iowa, be at least 51 percent owned and operated by a woman, minority or person with a disability, and have a gross income of less than $4 million during a three-year average. State officials didn’t have data available on the number of businesses that could be certified, but aren’t.
According to legislative reports, the task force found that state agencies had a goal of awarding 10 percent of their contracts to the targeted businesses, but only were awarding 2 percent to 4 percent. State agencies now will be required to increase the dollar amount spent from the previous year with the groups, document it and undergo state audits. State officials did not return phone calls seeking comment about why the agencies failed to meet the goals and which agencies did not meet the goals.
Williams, who co-owns The Williams Group, a human resources management consulting company, said many minorities, including Latinos and Asian-Americans, felt barriers existed to gaining state contracts.
They felt “that it was an ol’-boys network, and we were not included in that network,” he said.
He said many minorities are “highly qualified” to supply goods and services to state agencies.
“We’re not for getting rid of the ol’-boy network. Expand it and include in it those of us who are worthy,” Williams said. “There are those of us who have the ability, acumen and character to do it. We don’t want these barriers.”
Sherry Hopkins, program manager of the inspections and appeals department, and Donna Lowery, the Targeted Small Business financial manager from the Iowa Department of Economic Development, gave a presentation about the program during a meeting the black business association held last week at Keystone Electrical Manufacturing.
The state officials said most businesses use the program loans as leverage to obtain conventional loans. The money also can be used to purchase equipment and inventory. Start-up companies that gain certification can get $50,000 loans from the program.
Frances Colston, owner of Colston Small Business and Tax Service in Windsor Heights, was one of 16 meeting participants. The retiree said a loan from the program in 1996 helped launch her business. She prepares income taxes for individuals and small businesses.
“I’m very thankful they were there,” she said of the program. “I retired from the Internal Revenue Service and I wanted to start my own business. Sometimes your funds when you retire decrease tremendously from your weekly paycheck.”
Williams said small businesses create jobs, revenue and enhance the tax base of the state. He urged minorities and others to become certified and use the program to help grow their companies.
“We’ve got people with ideas in the millions. One of the biggest problems we’ve had as a people is that our vision hasn’t been supported by the resources we need,” he said.
Colston, who is serving on the state program’s loan board, said information in the past often traveled among business owners by “word of mouth.” But, the program’s cash infusion and outreach efforts could change that.
“I think the word is going to get out a little more,” Colston said.
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