THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2018  |  IN THIS ISSUE

Esport Iowa City, at 123 E. Washington St., officially opened to the public last weekend.
Billing itself as "Iowa City's first Internet cafe," Iowa City Esport opened late last week offering  online gamers and lovers of electronic sports a gathering place to hone their skills.

Located at 123 E. Washington St. in the space formerly occupied by The Den, the cafe features more than 50 high-end computers, two PlayStation consoles and two arcade game machines with more than 800 classic games.

The cafe was opened by Blake Nie, a 2017 University of Iowa graduate originally from China, who was eager to bring the Asian phenomenon to his adopted city.

"Esports business[es] are very popular in Asia, especially in China and Korea," Mr. Nie told Little Village magazine last month. "In my hometown Ningbo, there are hundreds of Internet gaming cafe...Chicago is much larger than Ningbo, but there are only two Internet gaming cafes in Chicago."

Competitive gaming, a fast growing sport in Asian markets, has burst onto the U.S. scene in recent years with Esports arenas opening in entertainment capitals like Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. A ccording to auditing firm  PwC , Esports represents one of the fastest growing segments of the entertainment industry with projected growth to $874 million by 2021, up from $42 million in 2012.

Iowa City Esport is open from 1 p.m.-3 a.m.
Para2Mount-Vernon coffee shop finalist for IEDA Open 4 Business grant
  
Fuel Art and Espresso of Mount Vernon, which was just awarded an $8,000 Iowa Economic Development Authority grant, is one of five finalists for an additional $20,000 Open 4 Business Main Street award.
Fuel Art and Espresso,  a Mount Vernon-based coffee house and retail shop, has been awarded an $8,000 grant through the  Iowa Economic Development Authority's (IEDA)  Open 4 Business  grant  competition.
 
A  destination coffee and retail shop in the heart of Mount Vernon's Main Street District, Fuel was one of five Iowa business development and expansion projects to receive  $40,000 in funding aimed at  developing the economic vitality of Iowa's Main Street districts. 
 
Thirteen businesses located in Main Street districts from across the state competed in first-round pitch-off events in front of a panel of judges to earn the chance to advance to the state contest. The state Open 4 Business contest will be held Aug. 28 in conjunction with the Iowa Downtown Conference in Waterloo with all five finalists competing for an additional $20,000. 

"We are thrilled that Main Street Iowa and the Iowa Economic Development Authority have chosen to invest in Fuel," said Tommie Ouverson, who owns and operated Fuel with her mother Pat Ouverson. "This entire project has forced us to think about who we are as a business and where we are going, and it is clear that we are turning a corner in our business and that we are prepared and ready to grow beyond our current capacity."

Fuel offers baked goods made from scratch daily, a full coffee menu, art, antiques, unusual gifts and handcrafted items made both in Iowa and internationally.

The Open 4 Business grant program is part of the Challenge Grant program that is funded through an appropriation from the Iowa Legislature. Since the first appropriation in 2002, approximately $6 million in state and federal funds have leveraged more than $37 million in private reinvestment. This represents 115 projects in 43 Main Street Iowa commercial districts across the state.
 
For more information about the Main Street Iowa Open 4 Business Grant program, contact Robin Bostrom, business specialist, Main Street Iowa, at (
515) 348-6176  or Robin.Bostrom@IowaEDA.com.
Para3 Dandy Lion brings southern-inspired menu to downtown IC
The menu at the newly-opened Dandy Lion in Iowa City features avocado toast "so good even non-millennials love it." PHOTO Dandy Lion Facebook page
Thomas Connolly  and  Lindsay Chastain  have opened the Dandy Lion in the Ped Mall in Iowa City.

The new cafe at  111 S. Dubuque St. offers a "down home southern-inspired menu" including a full breakfast menu, according to a Mr. Connolly and Ms. Chastain. In addition to food, the Dandy Lion offers an "eclectic" drink selection.

The Dandy Lion will be open from  6:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.Sundays through Thursdays, and from  6:30 a.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Breakfast and lunch will be served from  6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. daily.

The restaurant officially opened June 25.

The Dandy Lion occupies the former location of the Forbidden Planet and Tobacco bowl. Additional information is available at  thedandylionic.com.
pitchWalletHub ranks Iowa near the bottom for starting a business

The finance website WalletHub ranks Iowa 39th among the states in its 2018's Best & Worst States to Start a Business.

The study evaluated states in three categories: business environment, access to resources and business costs. Iowa's overall rating reflected pack-lagging rankings in each category. Iowa received its best overall ranking, 30th, in business costs, and its worst, 34th, in access to resources. It was ranked 33rd in the business environment category.

Iowa fared especially poorly when it came to availability of human capital - a perennial problem in the Corridor - ranking 47th out of 50 states.

Texas was rated the best state to start a business this year, as North Dakota, last year's leader, dropped to seventh place. Utah was rated second, and Georgia was rated third.

Scores ranked from a high of 64.4 for Texas to a low of 37.2 for last-ranked Hawaii.

Iowa stood out above all states in one category. It had the lowest annual average cost for office space, at $12.08 per square foot. To see the full report, click here.
Para5Consulting: Amid online wariness, can your website be trusted?

In this week's consulting spotlight, Sherry Bonelli of early bird digital marketing stresses the importance of keeping the faith with your customers by making your website secure. 
 
With all the  news  about Facebook 's security and privacy issues, fears of personal information being used for nefarious purposes and identity theft, people are more conscious than ever about website security.

Since we just recognized  National Safety Month, I thought we'd discuss the importance  of making your website secure  and  why you should check to see if a site is secure  before  you enter personal informat ion. 

Online security isn't just important to the people who visit your website; it's also one of Google's top priorities.  For several years  now, the tech company has been preaching the gospel of  "HTTPS everywhere " online.  In fact, G oogle' s popular internet browser, Chrome, recently began marking sites  that  aren't secure (those with an  http:// ) with a warning.

This means that when a person visits a site that doesn't   have the secure https:// in front of the URL, they will  see  a scary warning that essentially says the  web site isn't secure and therefore their information isn't safe. If your website isn't secure, many of your potential customers will likely see this "not secure" warning, get scared and quickly leave your site.

The bottom line: If your site's not secur e, you could be losing business.

I f you  haven't made the switch to a secure site yet,  protect your visitor s and your business   by getting  a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate and migrating your website to HTTP.

Read the rest of the column at corridorbusiness.com.
aroundtheweb From around the web: 
Start small

Forward the FREE, weekly CBJ on Small Business newsletter to your friends and colleagues, and share the feeling of being informed! Use our fast, one-minute subscription to the CBJ's newsletters here, or check out our other subscription options here.

See something we missed? Send tips, leads, corrections, etc. to news@corridorbusiness.com.
 
NAME SYM PRICE CHG %CHG
AEGON AEG 6.005 0.145 2.47%
Alliant Energy  LNT 43.42 0.43 1.00%
Deere & Company DE 139.71 -0.53 -0.38%
Dow Jones ^DJI 24,356.74 181.92 0.75%
General Mills GIS 44.83 1.30 2.99%
GoDaddy Inc. GDDY 72.85 1.14 1.59%
Great Western Bank GWB 42.11 -0.07 -0.17%
Heartland Express HTLD 19.15 0.18 0.95%
KemPharm KMPH 6.45 0.05 0.78%
Marsh & McLennan MMC 83.37 0.82 0.99%
MidWestOne  MOFG 34.73 0.40 1.17%
Pearson PSO 11.67 0.00 0.00%
Pepsico PEP 109.55 0.75 0.69%
Principal Financial  PFG 53.53 0.30 0.56%
QCR Holdings QCRH 48.65 0.00 0.00%
Rockwell Collins  COL 135.02 -0.07 -0.05%
S&P 500 ^GSPC 2,736.61 23.39 0.86%
Tanger Factory  SKT 24.12 0.40 1.69%
Procter & Gamble  PG 79.21 1.31 1.69%
United Fire Group UFCS 56.07 0.46 0.83%
U.S. Bank USB 49.94 -0.03 -0.06%
Wells Fargo  WFC 55.25 -0.31 -0.56%
West Bank WTBA 25.80 0.15 0.58%
Whirlpool  WHR 148.8 2.65 1.81%
Short-Term Event Planner      

July 6
First Friday Coffee Connections, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 7:30-8:30 a.m., Corridor Dental, 2345 Landon Road, Ste. 300, North Liberty. Network with business professionals on the first Friday of every month. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2tiI1u9.

Government Contracting Opportunities Workshop, by SBA and Iowa SBDC, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Kirkwood Small Business Development Center, 1770 Boyson Road, Hiawatha. This
workshop will include an overview of the SBA's Business Development Program as well as explore government contracting opportunities for small businesses. Free. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/2KjwdTb.

July 9
Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., Twelve01 Kitchen and Tap, 1210 First Ave., Coralville. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network and keep up-to-date with chamber and community events. Free for members. Call the chamber at (319) 337-9637 if interested and not a member.

July 10
Facing Retirements? Strategies for Knowledge Transfer, by Eastern Iowa Human Resource Association, 7:30-9 a.m., The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. This membership meeting will feature Lynda Braksiek of Rockwell Collins. Free for members, $15 for non-members. For more information, visit bit.ly/2HvoA5N.

How New Technologies Will Impact Marketing's Future, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 8-9:15 a.m., Economic Alliance, 501 First St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Joshua McNary, founder and CEO of McNary Marketing & Design, will introduce new technologies for marketing and sales and explore how your business can make the most of them. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/2M2LJPm.

TechBrew AM, by Technology Association of Iowa and ICAD Group, 8-9 a.m., MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. TAI President Brian Waller will conduct a casual interview with a local executive as part of this informal networking event. Free. Register at technologyiowa.org/events.
Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28 
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
The City of Tiffin is warning parents to be on the lookout after razor blades were found in some park equipment.  The warning comes after some were found at a park within city limits when two families raised concern on Sunday afternoon.  "We usually don't check park equipment before we let our kids play on them," said Blair McDonough, one of the mothers whose children frequently play at Woodfield Park.  It was never a concern for Ms. McDonough when taking her young kids to the park near their home, but that changed after Sunday's events.  "You never think that would happen," she said. "Being in a situation and finding a razor blade once a kid was going down a slide and my child being hurt." Ms.  McDonough says her neighbor took photos of the razor blades hidden throughout the playground and took to Facebook in hopes of warning other families.  They also reached out to the City of Tiffin and spoke with the Johnson County Sheriff's Department. The City of Tiffin says they have checked the other parks in the city with metal detectors and say all are in the clear, but families should always be alert.  "I think I would tell my kids to watch out for other kids as well, whether it's anything in life but especially here at the park," said Floyd Evans, a father whose kids enjoyed the parks in Tiffin when they were younger. The Johnson County Sheriff's Department is now investigating.

The Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival has announced their Balloon Glow event, which had been cancelled in June due to poor weather, has been rescheduled.  The event will take place from 6-9:30 p.m. Aug. 7.  Gates will open at the Sinclair Levy - BoTown Entertainment Park at 5 p.m.  Admission is free with a Freedom Festival button which can be purchased at local Hy-Vee grocery stores or Casey's General Stores.  For more information about the Balloon Glow visit the  Freedom Festival's website .
 
T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast

A cold front will move through the area today and will drop the humidity for the weekend. Today will still be warm and a little humid with temperatures in the mid-80s.  It will feel more comfortable with low humidity Friday through Sunday. Temperatures will be in the low to mid-80s, near average for the time of year.  Then... the heat and humidity climb back up next week. Temperatures will be near and above 90 starting Monday.