Sue Pitts, regional director of the Iowa Western Community College Small Business Development Center in Council Bluffs, was named the 2011 Iowa “State Star” by the national Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC).

The Iowa Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) have a new International Trade Center, co-located at 2829 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines with the Mid Iowa Small Business Development Center and the West Des Moines Business Incubator.

As Cedar Rapids approaches the third anniversary of the 2008 flood, the business community is beating the natural disaster statistics initially projected.

Marion area businesses learned the importance of business transition planning in a Business Succession workshop held April 27.

Small business owners with eligible commercial real estate mortgages maturing after Dec. 31, 2012, will be able to secure more stable, long-term financing through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s temporary 504 refinancing program.