Partnership Virtual Investor Briefing: April 29, 2020

On Wednesday, April 29, Greater Des Moines Partnership CEO Jay Byers updated investors during an Investor and Member Briefing. Jay went into detail about the efforts being made in Greater Des Moines (DSM) to assist the community, emphasizing small business strategies, grocers and local health systems.

While COVID-19 efforts remain The Partnership’s main focus, Jay also highlighted the fact that The Partnership is keeping its eye on the big picture and economic development, citing DSM’s recent ranking by Improvenet.com as the number six city with the most millennial homeowners. The Partnership continues to create messaging to attract and retain young professionals and showcase talent development opportunities and resources.

Hy-Vee + Fareway COVID-19 Responses

Randy Edeker, CEO of Hy-Vee, and Reynolds Cramer, CEO of Fareway, joined Jay to provide updates on organizational responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Randy and Reynolds discussed changes made at Hy-Vee and Fareway to keep employees and customers safe, including social distancing efforts, delivery options, supplier/vendor communication and store hour changes.

UnityPoint + MercyOne Updates

Karl Keeler, president of MercyOne, and David Stark, president and CEO of UnityPoint, offer updates on COVID-19. David went over recent statistics, including reaching 1 million cases in the U.S., with the state of Iowa nearing 1,000 positive cases in Polk County and more than 6,000 throughout the state. Polk County has seen more cases with more testing. In Iowa, the discharge rate for hospitalized patients is high. Karl informs that the curve here is flatter than originally projected. He also reiterates that, along with Corteva, MercyOne is collecting test samples.

DSM Community Celebration

Kathryn Kunert, vice president of economic connections and integration of MidAmerican Energy, announced that on Wednesday, May 6 — also known as nurses day — the community will show continued support for and recognize the work of healthcare workers in DSM.

Education in DSM

Dr. Tom Ahart, superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, and Steve Purcell, regional vice president at Mediacom, are distributing computers and now have everyone virtually connected through the internet.

You can watch the entire webinar below:

 

You can count on The Partnership to continue to share accurate and fact-based updates as time goes on. See more on COVID-19 here, including employment resources for those impacted due to COVID-19.

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