Potentially Yours store manager Brandi Mastain of Iowa City hangs clothes on racks at the thrift shop that will sell donated merchandise in Iowa City. The shop, which opens July 26 at 1701 S. First Ave., will be operated by two full-time employees and clients of Reach for Your Potential, a non-profit agency that provides residential services and an adult day care center for disabled residents. Brian Ray/SourceMedia Group News

IOWA CITY — Twenty years ago, Ron Schieffer took a leap of faith when he launched Reach for Your Potential, a non-profit organization that provides residential services and adult day care for people with disabilities.

On July 26, Schieffer will take another step into the unknown when Potentially Yours, a thrift store, opens its doors at 1705 S. First Ave.

“It’s an idea that I have been thinking about for several years,” said Schieffer, executive director of Reach for Your Potential, which provides services to about 125 consumers in its residential program and another 50 in its adult day care facility.

“I think it’s good to have another source of revenue and provide

Ron Schieffer, founder, executive director, Reach for Your Potential

vocational opportunities for the consumers in our residential program.”

Schieffer said Medicaid funding, which provides the majority of Reach for Your Potential’s revenue, will be cut by about 2.5 percent or $150,000 this fiscal year.

“We will need to clear about $175,000 this year to make up for the loss of Medicaid funds and pay the other costs associated with the store,” he said. “We were able to negotiate a lower rent for the store because it had been sitting vacant for a while.”

Potentially Yours is accepting donations of gently used merchandise from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Brian Ray/SourceMedia Group News

Schieffer said Potentially Yours will have a full-time manager and assistant manager supervising 10 to 15 consumers with disabilities working at the store.

“We will do supportive employment under the Medicaid waiver,” Schieffer said, “It will be an enclave where they will have a job coach working with three to five individuals. It may be a janitorial enclave where they will clean the store or possibly a sorting and pricing enclave.”

Potentially Yours accepts donations of “gently used” items from the community. Schieffer said large appliances and used box springs and mattresses will not be accepted and all donations must be made during store operating hours.

“We’re investigating what to do with clothing that is left over,” he said. “Our goal is to have items come in and move out fairly quickly. We don’t want to have to pay for landfilling items that we can’t use.”

Potentially Yours will be competing for donations and customers with Goodwill of the Heartland and Salvation Army. Schieffer believes the store can be successful if merchandise is priced competitively.

“I’ve researched the competition in terms of their pricing,” he said. “I think we can be competitive at the low end of the market.

“I’ve put a lot of time and effort into getting the store started. Our board and I feel it offers an excellent opportunity for our consumers to gain workplace experience and generate additional operating revenue.”

Schieffer said parents of consumers have offered to volunteer time in the store. Potentially Yours also is looking for community volunteers willing to work a few hours each week.

“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Schieffer said. “Our consumers are really looking forward to working there. We’re hoping it will provide them with skills they can use at other employers in the community.”

It was bound to happen.

Gender-specific bottled vitamin water will make its way to local stores on Monday, July 26.

Stone City Bottled Water of rural Anamosa plans to begin distributing the his-and-hers bottled waters, dubbed H 10 0, in 60 Iowa and Illinois counties, owner Libby Boge said.

The “ten” in the name stands for ten vitamins that are added to the water. The zero stands for zero calories, Boge explained.

The product line consists of six different drinks – three formulated for men, and three for women, company sales account manager Patrick Lage said.

For men, it’s “Orange Energy,” blue “Citrus Sport,” and brown “Lemon Iced Tea.”

For women, it’s red “Tropical Energy,” blue “Berry Sport,” and brown “Peach Mango Tea.”

H 10 0 vitamin water (image courtesy of Stone City Bottled Water Co.)

The drinks even have a gender line through their vitamin content. It’s not a huge difference, Lage said, mainly more B vitamins for the men.

The product was originally introduced in tanning salons. Founder Max Recone,  encouraged by the acceptance of the product, decided to branch out into retail stores.

Boge said 35 grocery and convenience stores have agreed to carry the product. It will initially retail at a promotional price of $1 per bottle, then switch to a range of $1.59 to $1.79 per bottle.

The gender of water that sells best is expected to depend on the retail outlet, Lage says. Grocery stores and tanning salons are expected to sell more of the female variety, while convenience stores are expected to sell more of the male variety.

Stone City Bottled Water’s main business is bottling private label water for fundraising and promotional uses. The company recently reached an agreement with Goodwill Industries to do all of its labeling.

In June, Stone City Bottled Water began distributing Hawkeye Bottled Water from Humboldt Springs Water Co. in Humboldt.

 Lage said the company plans to begin distribution of other health-oriented beverages soon.

So what to do if your wife brings home a dozen bottles of H 10 0, all of the women’s variety?

You can drink them anyway, Lage says. It won’t make your voice go higher.

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday gave antitrust approval for CenturyTel Inc. to buy Qwest Communications International, the dominant telephone company in I0wa.

The Federal Communications Commission must still give its approval for Denver-based Qwest to be acquired by CenturyTel in a $10.6 billion stock transaction.

Qwest is the third-largest telephone company in the nation and CenturyTel is No. 4. The company earlier this month announced plans for a special shareholder meeting on Aug. 22 to vote on the CenturyTel merger agreement.

The merger, which is expected to receive shareholder approval,  comes as more consumers unplug their home phones and go wireless, leaving CenturyTel and its rivals to turn to mergers to support their long-term viability.

Monroe, La.-based CenturyTel, which is changing its name to CenturyLink, became the fourth-largest U.S. telephone company last year when it bought Embarq.

CenturyTel and Qwest expect the merger to close in the first half of 2011.

From an Iowa Office of Energy Independence news release

A variety of innovative energy projects for public and private organizations received $1.39 million of funding Friday from the Iowa Office of Energy Independence.

Ovation Networks in Cedar Rapids will use $81,033 to install an energy management system in six Iowa hotels. The system uses Wi-Fi architecture and carbon dioxide sensors to manage the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system based on occupancy.

The University of Iowa Medical Research Facility in Iowa City will receive $205,000 to replace a standard air make-up ventilation air handling unit with a new system that incorporates energy recovery wheels to reduce energy consumption.

Eastern Iowa Community College in Davenport will use $185,000 to develop displays for the Iowa Sustainable Energy Center that focus on wind, solar and hydrogen energy. The planned displays include experiments and information on how wind turbines work; solar powered hydrogen fueling station for a fuel cell powered forklift; solar thermal water heating system with three types of collectors; and electric car and solar powered recharging station.

The Iowa State Fair Association in Des Moines will receive $250,000 to install renewable energy features at Expo Hill on the State Fairgrounds including solar cooling benches, photovoltaic array on the visitor center roof, solar lighting, and a solar powered portable tent.

The Iowa Utilities Board in Des Moines will use $25,427 to install an integrated energy management system in 74 work stations at the agency’s new building on the Capitol Complex. The system will control non-critical power usage when individual workstations are not occupied.

Kum & Go, the West Des Moines-based convenience store chain, will get $249,150 to retrofit 151 convenience stores in 95 communities with light emitting diode (LED) display cooler lighting.

Flex Fuel USA in Mason City will use $47,332 to install 25 flex fuel conversion kits on vehicles owned and operated by the Iowa Department of Transportation, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff and Police Department from Clear Lake, Charles City and Mason City. The grant also will pay for training North Iowa Area Community College students to install the fuel conversion equipment.

Sun Prairie Apartments in West Des Moines will get  $354,000 to install Energy Star metal shingles over existing asphalt shingles on buildings and garages and install induction light fixtures throughout the apartment complex.  The projects will reduce energy costs and be used to train contractors on product installation.

Six weeks after learning about it, Alliant Energy says it still hasn’t determined if it can use the city-owned Rescar site to replace its flood-decimated Cedar Substation in southeast Cedar Rapids.
The site was proposed June 3 by Cedar Rapids City Council member Don Karr as an alternative to a controversial site on city-owned land that once contained the Iowa Steel company.
Alliant spokesman Scott Drzycimski said the site is further from the customer base served by the substation, requiring more transmission lines. He said one challenge will be obtaining easements for the power lines to link up the site. Another will be to work out an agreement with the city to acquire the site.

Neighborhood groups that had opposed the Iowa Steel site have all written letters of support for the Rescar site, Drzycimski said.  Alliant had planned to meet with the Cedar Rapids City Council later this month to try to make progress on an agreement, but will push that timetable back until it has more information.
“We’re hoping we can make Rescar be the site,” Drzycimski said.
Once Alliant determines that the Rescar site is feasible, it hopes to begin construction within a month. Alliant Energy hopes to have the substation online in the beginning of 2012.

From a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

The Consumer Price Index was unchanged in the Midwest last month and dipped 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
 
Acting Regional Commissioner Greg Philipaitis noted that the index for food declined 0.3 percent, the index for energy increased 0.5 percent, and the index for all items less food and energy was little changed.

Within the last group, prices for apparel and recreation were among those that recorded declines while prices for other goods and services increased.

Over the last 12 months the Midwest CPI rose 1.2 percent. The energy index, which includes motor fuel and household fuels, was up 3.5 percent since last June while the index for food rose 0.6 percent. Excluding food and energy, the CPI increased 1.1 percent over the year.

Over the last 12 months, the CPI nationally increased 1.1 percent before seasonal adjustment.
 
Similar to April and May, a decline in the energy index caused the seasonally adjusted all items decrease in June. The index for energy decreased 2.9 percent in June, the same decline as in May, with a decline in the gasoline index accounting for most of the decrease.

The declines more than offset an increase in the index for all items less food and energy, while the food index was unchanged for the second month in a row.
 
The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in June after increasing 0.1 percent in May.

Rockwell Collins turned in solid third quarter financial results Friday, July 16, that nevertheless failed to dazzle Wall Street.

Net income for the quarter decreased $3 million, or about 2 percent, to $142 million from the third quarter of 2009, when net income came in at $145 million.

Earnings slipped to 89 cents per share from the 91 cents in the year-earlier quarter.

The company highlighted strong third-quarter sales growth of $130 million, or 12 percent, to $1.21 billion. Sales in the government systems division were up 16 percent, to $754 million, from a year ago. Commercial systems sales were up a more modest 6 percent to $460 million, but a key category, original equipment sales to airliner manufacturers, was up 14 percent.

The higher sales to the commercial airliner market were due to favorable comparisons with last year’s post-labor strike inventory adjustments at boeing, and higher equipment sales for Chinese turbo-prop aircraft.

“Both business segments posted year-over-year increases in revenue for the first time since the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 as the commercial markets show solid improvement and our defense business continues its steady progress,” Chairman and CEO Clay Jones said.

Full-year earnings for Rockwell Collins are now projected to reach $3.50 per share, near the high end of a previous forecast of $3.35 to $3.55.

Analysts had expected $3.57 a share for year.

ATLANTA, July 16 (Reuters) – Aircraft components supplier Rockwell Collins Inc (COL.N) reported a lower but better-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, citing higher compensation and pension costs, pushing down its shares nearly 2 percent.

Commercial aerospace sales rose for the first time in nearly two years and the maker of cockpit controls said it expected further improvement in the current quarter and into 2011.

Still, J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol said service sales for air transport reached a new low in the quarter and noted that the company’s updated full-year forecast was modestly below analysts’ consensus expectations.

“Overall, this does not shake our confidence in the coming recovery or its magnitude, but we now think it will take even more time than previously anticipated,” Nadol said in a client note.

Rockwell Collins now expects a full-year profit of about $3.50 per share. It had previously forecast $3.35 to $3.55.

Analysts had expected $3.57 a share for the current year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company said net income was $142 million, or 89 cents per share, in the third quarter ended June 30, down 2 percent from $145 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected 88 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

From a news released issued by Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office.

Nine Iowa airports, including four in Eastern Iowa, have received federal funding in the form of Federal Aviation Administration grants.

The Bloomfield Municipal Airport will receive $274,587 for runway rehabilitation and the Dubuque Regional Airport will get $28,500 for a pavement condition survey.

The Maquoketa Municipal Airport will receive $112,109 for an access road and parking lot rehabilitation and the Waterloo Municipal Airport will use its $830,000 grant to buy snow removal and aircraft deicing equipment.

Also receiving funding were the Pocahontas Municipal Airport, $156,750; Red Oak Municipal Airport, $50,000; Rockwell City Municipal Airport, $395,124; Sheldon Municipal Airport, $47,986, and Webster City Municipal Airport, $47,500.  

Each year, thousands of local Iowa organizations, colleges and universities, individuals and state agencies apply for competitive grants from the federal government.  The funding is then awarded based on each local organization or individual’s ability to meet criteria set by the federal entity.