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• JULY 10, 2020 • Midlands Business Journal
UPCOMING
SECTIONS
IN THE MIDLANDS BUSINESS JOURNAL
JULY 17
SENIOR LIVING
LINCOLN GROWTH REPORT JULY 24
COMMERCIAL OFFICE SPACE DIRECTORY
LIFE INSURANCE
To advertise your company’s products or services in one of our upcoming sections, contact one of our MBJ advertising representatives at (402) 330-1760 or at the email addresses below. Julie Whitehead - Julie@mbj.com • Karla Steele - karla@mbj.com Space and materials deadline is the Friday prior to the publication date. You may email us your insertion orders directly, or fax them to us at (402) 758-9315. We will acknowledge receiving your instructions.
REGIONAL LANDSCAPES
COVID-19 Business Updates…
HTI Plastics created face masks for its employees and their families to protect them from COVID-19. In the fight to stop the spread of the COVID-19, face masks became of top necessity to protect its employees and to continue operating during the pandemic. Like many other businesses deemed essential to stay open during the pandemic, HTI faced difficulty finding masks for all the employees that kept the operations running. That is when its team of engineers and tools makers jumped into action. They designed and made a tool for a reusable face mask with a replaceable filter. Inspire Brands — a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In, Rusty Taco, and Jimmy John’s — launched the Inspire Hometown Heroes program in cities across the country in partnership with its philanthropic arm, the Inspire Brands Foundation. Businesses and individuals can visit InspireHometownHeroes.com to donate meals for health care workers in their communities, where available. Donors have the option to contribute by hometown or brand and to include a special note to accompany their meal delivery. Restaurant teams will take it from there, coordinating with local medical centers to ensure each meal is safely prepared and delivered to its destination. Fashion Cleaners is helping people in our community who lost their jobs during the pandemic by offering free cleaning of interview outfits for anyone re-entering the job market. Fashion Cleaners realized many individuals were struggling during these challenging times, and Fashion Cleaners wanted to be part of the solution and help where could. Every Wednesday, throughout July and August, Fashion Cleaners will be running its “Back to Work Wednesdays” promotion, offering free cleaning of interview outfits for anyone trying to get back to work or change careers. Arbor Day Farm and Lied Lodge have reopened. New air cleaning technology that kills mold, bacteria, and viruses has been installed at Lied Lodge. An Advanced Oxidation Process filtration system designed to kill waterborne pathogens has been installed in the swimming pool. Additional non-contact processes such as RFID keyless room entry and online ticket sales have been implemented. Guests are asked to wear masks indoors, use the hand sanitizer stations placed throughout the property, and adhere to social distancing. Cleaning staff have been trained and certified by Ecolab. Lied Lodge’s 10-step cleaning process also ensures that every room and all high-touch surfaces have been sanitized properly with new electrostatic sprayers.
Briefs…
Sundberg America moved and expanded its distribution center in southwest Omaha. The new, much larger distribution center will provide repair technicians and consumers increased access to more repair and replacement part solutions for household appliances and HVAC (heating/air conditioning). The expanded distribution and office space will offer a more modern environment for customers and employees. The warehouse, which currently serves several thousand Sundberg America customers, is one of five main distribution centers for Sundberg America and Burke America Parts Group across North America. 1623 Farnam, a regional provider of in network-neutral, edge interconnection and data center services, released details of its $40 million edge data center expansion. The expansion includes significant upgrades to the facility’s
electrical power infrastructure and increases colocation capacity by converting floors sixthrough-nine into usable data center space. This expansion further supports the increase in demand for interconnected edge data centers and comes after 1623 Farnam’s initial $10 million expansion last year to build out the facility’s fifth-floor space. The new construction will upgrade the facility’s interconnection capabilities by adding additional cabling, vaults and new redundant electrical plans that will support up to 8MW of power to the facility. Woodhouse Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Blair has renewed its commitment to its area farm community by retaining its designation as an official RAM Agriculture Dealership. The Ram Agriculture Dealership designation enables Woodhouse CDJR to be able to offer a specialized AgPack package to farmers that provides a first ever return on their truck investment. To retain this elite dealer group desi gnation as a Ram Agriculture Dealership, Wood house CDJR is required to maintain a minimum of three team members who have successfully completed an agricultural training program, created by farmers and ranchers, that has been peer reviewed for agricultural and educational correctness, and carries several industry endorsements. Heartland Bike Share added two recreation focused stations to the Heartland B-cycle system. The Mahoney State Park Station was the first new station to go live. Located by the World-Herald Cabins, it’s the perfect way to explore the park. The second new station is located at Dodge Riverside Golf Club. Situated just past the Council Bluffs Levee Road trail and across the street from Harrah’s Stir Cove, this is Heartland B-cycle’s seventh station in Council Bluffs. Both stations are aimed at recreational riding to help users connect with nature, whether it be in a state park or along the riverfront. Werner Enterprises was named to the 2020 Top Green Providers list by Food Logistics for the eighth consecutive year. This annual award recognizes companies whose products, services or exemplary environmental stewardship promote sustainability within the food and beverage industry. The Food Logistics editorial staff evaluates candidates based on a company’s participation in recognized sustainability programs. Werner has also been named a 2020 Green Supply Chain. Facebook will invest $200 million to support Black-owned businesses and organizations. This includes $75 million in grants of cash and ad credits to support Black-owned businesses. It also includes a commitment to reach 2 million members of the Black and Latinx community for digital skills training over the next three years and 100,000 scholarships to Black students working toward digital skills certifications. It has also created the Lift Black Voices space to highlight stories from Black people, share educational resources, and inspire fundraising for racial justice causes. Facebook donated $5 million in honor of Juneteenth to over 250,000 Facebook fundraisers created for three racial justice organizations: Equal Justice Initiative, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Innocence Project.
Education notes…
Students at Benson High Magnet School and its Health Professions Career Academy can get a head start toward becoming a certified pharmacy technician through a cooperative course from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, beginning Continued on next page.