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Monday AM Daily | August 21, 2017 
The week ahead: August 21-27

Aug. 18-27: Restaurant Week
Host: dsm Magazine and the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau
About: Now, this calls for a nice meal: Des Moines' 10th annual Restaurant Week. Once again, each participating restaurant will offer specialties created for this event with Restaurant Week pricing: two lunches or one three-course dinner for just $28.
When: Lunch and dinner
Where: Various restaurants
Learn more

Aug. 22: Is Franchising a Good Fit for You?
Host: Iowa Center for Economic Success
About: This event will see if franchising is the right fit for you. Franchise expert Blake Martin will speak on franchising and small-business ownership experience.
When: 7:30-8:30 a.m.
Where: Iowa Center for Economic Success
Learn more

Aug. 23: 2017 Hashie Awards
Host: Social Media Club Des Moines
About: Join Social Media Club Des Moines in recognizing Iowa businesses, organizations and agencies that have demonstrated excellence in social media marketing at the fourth annual Hashie Awards.
When: 6-9 p.m.
Where: Jasper Winery
Learn more

Aug. 26: Ingersoll LIVE 2017
Host: The Avenues
About: This family-friendly, free street festival offers live music, rides and activities for kids, art for browsing and buying, food and beverage vendors, street performances, and much more.
When: 4-11 p.m.
Where: Ingersoll & Grand District
Learn more

MORE INSIDER CONTENT: See all Business Record Insider content and become an Insider.
NEWS BRIEFS

Cloudy or not, eclipse will cost us $700M
It's solar eclipse day, and you and your 87 million closest friends are likely to take 20 minutes off around the peak of the darkness at 1:08 p.m. Central time. The rare celestial event will end up costing U.S. businesses $700 million in lost productivity. We're figuring part of that will be made up by the high prices at hotels in the path of the total eclipse. Because it's cloudy in Des Moines, here's a list of websites where you can watch.

Department of Revenue warns of phishing scam
As tax professionals are working to meet the Oct. 15 filing deadline, the Iowa Department of Revenue is warning about the latest scam targeting tax software login credentials. The scam email comes with "Software Support Update" as its subject line and claims that due to a recent software upgrade, the preparer must re-validate their login credentials. The email links to a fake website that mirrors the software provider's actual login page. Recipients of these emails should not open any links or attachments, and should alert their real software provider so that the company can spread the word about the scam.

Luxury theater planned for North Grand Mall in Ames
A million-dollar luxury movie theater will be the first major addition to the North Grand Mall in Ames following its purchase by three Central Iowa developers last year, the Ames Tribune reported. North Grand Cinema will move into the site formerly occupied by North Grand 5 in the rear of the mall. Theater co-owners Lee and Diane Akin said they plan to invest just over $1 million in the project before reopening in November. The new theater will include reclining seats and top-of-the-line laser projectors. Theatergoers will also be able to reserve their chair in advance. The mall's owners, Brian Martin, Brent Haverkamp and Todd Millang, also plan an extensive face-lift to the front of the mall, as well as parking lot and lighting changes, and a large digital monument sign. The 300,000-square-foot shopping center has more than 50 stores.
THE INSIDER NOTEBOOK
Just to get off the ground, farming is a multimillion-dollar effort

BY KENT DARR: This summer ought to be proof enough that farming is a risky, take-it-when-you-can type of business. Your timing can seem to be perfect  and then it all goes up in dust when the weather isn't your perfect partner, as in this parched-earth summer. Successful Farming points out in a recent article that the risks are even greater when you consider the startup costs of a farming operation, more than $5 million by its estimation. The article compares the costs of launching a corn-and-soybean operation in Iowa with a dairy farm in Nebraska and a wheat farm in Kansas. It's a real eye-opener. Read more

MORE NOTEBOOK ITEMS: Read more Insider bits and bites of the finer side of Iowa business online.
MEMBERSHIP EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Understanding Generation Z
As the next emerging generation of workers — known as Generation Z — begins entering the workforce, what can we expect from them? And what are the expectations and aspirations of a generation that has grown up with Google, Facebook and Twitter, and how will that generation interact with those of us who can remember black-and-white TV and the first Apollo moon landing? For a Business Record micro-event, "Inside the Mind of Generation Z," We invited a panel that was a mix of professionals representing Gen Z as well as millennials and Gen X, and the result was an insightful conversation about how we view Generation Z, and — maybe more interesting — how Generation Z views the rest of us. Read more

MORE INSIDER CONTENT:
 See all Business Record Insider content and become an Insider.
NEWS BRIEFS

Historic Okoboji resort up for auction, eBay-style
Des Moines Register: A historic shorefront resort and convention center in the northwest Iowa resort town of Okoboji is going on the auction block next month, with a twist. The agency auctioning off the Inn at Okoboji will list the current high bid (but not the bidder) online, for all to see. After a two-week period, the online auction will close, and the bidders will be called by phone, round-robin-style, until only one remains.

Waterloo traffic camera revenue proposed for tax relief
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier: Waterloo officials will consider a proposal to earmark any revenue generated by automated traffic enforcement cameras for property tax relief. Waterloo City Council members are scheduled today to consider a resolution designating profits from red light and speed camera citations to be held in an account to be used in future years to reduce the police department's tax asking.

China's Great Wall Motors says it's interested in buying Fiat Chrysler
CNN Money: A Chinese automaker says it's interested in buying Fiat Chrysler. Great Wall Motors said today that it was exploring a bid for the parent company of Jeep, Maserati, Dodge, Ram and Alfa Romeo.
ONE GOOD READ
What if helping actually hurts?

BY CHRIS CONETZKEY: Ten hours of driving to ultimately watch the Chicago Cubs lose -- meant I had plenty of time to catch up on my favorite podcast: "Freakonomics." I learned about the torture we do to our feet and why you should free your toes at work (that's for another time), and the stupidest thing people do with their money (also for another time). But the most intriguing podcast for me was based on the following premise: What if the social programs we've designed with good intentions are actually causing more harm than good? The podcast follows a long, robust study on groups of at-risk youths who were either part of a mentoring program or not (the control group). What researchers found was that despite participants' positive feedback and their claiming that the mentoring helped them dramatically improve their lives in comparison with the control group, the mentored group actually recorded lower scores on every measure of quality of life in the study. Seems counterintuitive, right? Unnerving as well. There is plenty of nuance here, and the podcast requires a thoughtful listen as it journeys through some of the hypotheses for the counterintuitive outcome. So before you come to the conclusion that all social programs actually cause more bad than good, know that that wasn't the point of the podcast. In fact, one of the main conclusions was that the study proved we can have an effect on people's behavior, but that despite excessive confidence in our ability to help people, much more needs to be done to explore what makes the difference between a good or bad social intervention. If you're in the business of helping people, this podcast's for you. Click here to listen
BUSINESS RECORD CALENDAR
NEWLY ANNOUNCED EVENTS

Sept. 14: Conversations with Mo
Host: NAWBO Iowa
About: Join Mo Collins, our 2017 NAWBO Iowa Advocate of the Year, on Sept. 21 for a short presentation, coffee and dialogue about the need for women in the new economy and the opportunities technology innovation offers to women-owned business startups and growth in Iowa.
When: 9-10:30 a.m.
Where: BrownWinick Law Firm
Learn more

View our full calendar to see the latest curated business and community events, or suggest an event.

KCCI TOP STORIES

515 Alive music festival draws 27,000 people to Des Moines
More than 27,000 people came to 515 Alive at Water Works Park this past weekend, up nearly 12,000 from last year. The music festival is in its 15th year, and it's the first time it was held at Water Works Park. The festival grounds were open until 11 p.m. Saturday, and a silent disco continued into early Sunday. Read more
KCCI WEATHER
Today:
Heavy thunderstorms during the morning will give way to mostly cloudy skies this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 88. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent.

Tonight:
Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then the chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 67. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80 percent.

Get the latest KCCI weather.

BUSINESS RECORD IOWA INDEX

The Iowa Index is an unweighted average of all 23 Iowa-based public companies. Below is a live look at those 23, plus 14 additional companies with large operations in Iowa.
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