The Concept Works

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Woolson noted that it’s no surprise Grassley bucked an anti-incumbent trend that swept the nation.
“Chuck Grassley was voted the hardest-working member of Congress this year. For a Republican to receive that recognition in a Democrat-controlled Congress says it all. Chuck Grassley does, indeed, work for Iowa and he works harder than anyone else,” Woolson said. “His win is a great victory for Iowa and the country and I’m proud to have had a small part in them.”

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. A combination of factors punctuated by the prolonged economic downturn has led Deans Clothiers to announce a quitting business sale that begins for the public on Nov. 4, owner Dean Goldenstein said today.
Goldenstein, who founded the mens wear store 15 years ago, noted that the long-running trend toward casual attire, increased competition from online retailers, the loss of sales during the persistent recession, and soaring costs have pushed him to close the business. He began working as a mens wardrobe consultant at the age of 18.
It all plays together. Given the current economic conditions, its not a good small business environment, he explained. Under these circumstances, I just dont feel comfortable making any further long-term financial commitments. As a business owner, you feel like youre letting your employees down, as well as the loyal clients of the store, but you have to look out for your familys future and cut your losses at a certain point. Unfortunately, Im at that point.
He continued, Weve had a great number of customers who have experienced a job loss or have been forced to take early retirement or theyre business owners who have also been affected by the economic downturn. Thats resulted in a substantial decrease in their spendable income. Some have rejoined the work force as consultants, so the demand for business attire has decreased. People used to buy three or four suits at a time and now if they buy one its just for a special occasion like a wedding. And, weve experienced a reduction in the number of employees due to that change in buying habits.
Goldenstein will sell the entire inventory of his store, located at 14847 Clayton Road, in a sale that opens to the public on Thursday. Initially, store hours will be 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 4 and 5; 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6; and 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 7. Thereafter, the store will be open 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.
Goldenstein said the closing is especially difficult after working through past economic highs and lows as he served a marketplace niche described in the stores tagline Towering style in big, tall and small sizes like no other store in St. Louis.

JOHNSTON, Iowa – Paws & Effect, a new-to-Iowa, non-profit organization that raises, trains and places high-quality, well-socialized service dogs, will be the focus on stories on WHO-TV and KDSM-TV newscasts tonight.
A New York video crew has been in central Iowa since Thursday to film public service announcements to raise awareness about Paws & Effect. Tonight’s coverage will focus on the commercials, which were filmed with Iowa National Guard personnel at Camp Dodge and several other locations in the Des Moines metro area.
Paws & Effect focuses on training two types of service dogs: mobility service dogs and psychiatric service dogs. The animals are highly skilled and devoted to assisting their human companion to live an independent and normal life.
The recipients of the service dogs that Paws & Effect places will primarily focus on fulfilling the needs of Iowa military veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder upon returning to Iowa from Iraq and Afghanistan, people in need of mobility assistance, and children with autism.
The Concept Works provides public and media relations services to Paws & Effect.

ANKENY, Iowa Accu-mold broke ground today on a $5 million, 40,000-square-foot expansion that will increase the high-tech plastic parts manufacturers workforce by 43 employees.
Our focus has never been on creating just one or two quarters of growth. Our mission has always been about being an innovation leader on a path of sustainable, long-term growth, president and chief executive officer Roger Hargens said today. Our customers expect and require a supplier that is reliable, committed to excellence and is going to be around for a long, long time. This expansion is so special because it means were delivering on those priorities and creating quality jobs in the process.
The groundbreaking event, which featured Ankeny Mayor Steve Van Oort and city economic development director Tim Moerman, took place at the companys facility at 1711 SE Oralabor Road. The company has been at its present location since 2001.
Im very pleased to have one of the worlds most respected high-tech plastic manufacturers growing and thriving in Ankeny, Van Oort said. This expansion is not just an endorsement of Ankenys business climate, but in the quality and productivity of the workforce in the entire Des Moines metropolitan area. The addition of 43 new jobs to our community will be a strong addition to the local economy.
Moerman said, Weve worked hard to make Ankenys business climate one of the best in the Midwest. When Accu-mold chooses Ankeny to grow its business, it means our city and state remain an integral part of a global brand.
Since its inception in 1985, Accu-molds mission has been on the production of super-micro, ultra-precision, plastic injection-molded parts. Today, Accu-mold is an international leader in tooling and manufacturing complex, micro-size parts and components that often measure in mere microns. To produce those parts, Accu-mold builds specialized molding machines engineered to handle volumes from prototypes to millions per year while maintaining consistent, precise tolerances that are unique in the industry.

TIPTON Fields Mens Wear, a local retail anchor for 154 years after opening its doors just eight years after Iowa gained statehood, will hold a quitting business sale that begins for the public on Oct. 7.
Owner Tom Petitgout said today that while the company has operated under different names through the years, it has always persevered through the economic ups and downs and constant changes in fashion and consumer tastes.
Tipton is a great little town. The whole county has super people and weve had people come to us from a long ways away for many years, Petitgout said. This business has been a wonderful thing for my wife and me, but the days of the independent store are just about numbered.
He added, Its really been a great ride. The last thing on my mind is to close the place, but Ive become older and its harder to go to market. Its harder to appeal to the younger market of men in their 30s and 40s. Times change. Its time for me do something else.
A public sale of the stores inventory at sharply reduced prices begins at 8:00 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 7. The sale will continue until its entire stock of clothing is sold. The stores extended business hours will run from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday.
Fields, located at 106 E. Fifth St., began under a grander name: The Great Western Clothing Emporium. Originally a harness shop and clothier, the emporium evolved into strictly a menswear store over time.
Back in those days, every county in the state had at least one menswear store and most had two or three, Petitgout said, noting that Cedar County had three mens clothing stores well into the 1960s. But this store was something special for a community of Tiptons size.
Petitgout, who had been working at local grocery store since he was 14, started working at Fields in 1967 as a 22-year-old. Keith Fields hired Petitgout when Keiths partner, Herm Leabhart retired that year. Keith then changed the name to Fields Mens Wear and Petitgout kept the name after he took over in January 1990.
Petitgout has seen fashions and fads come and go. They all laugh about leisure suits, but we didnt laugh at the time. They sold like a house on fire, he recalled.
One challenge for Main Street menswear stores, Petitgout notes, is the long-running trend of casual clothes. A Fields mainstay has been the strong demand for tuxedos at prom time and the demand for new shirts and ties for homecoming and other dances.
Ive waited on the grandparents, parents and now the kids. Its good to see them dressed up they do look so nice but that lasts for just one day, he said.
When Petitgout entered the clothing trade a pair of Levi Strauss jeans cost $5, neckties and belts sold for $1.50 and a brand name suit would retail for $85. Store buyers would gather at the Hotel Fort Des Moines to buy from wholesalers. Today, the dwindling numbers of independents travel to Minneapolis to meet with suppliers.
Everybody asks, Is this one of a kind? Thats what they kid me about. Its going to be in my obituary, Petitgout laughed. But merchandise doesnt come by the piece. It comes by the dozen, and that makes it harder for the independent store to appeal to customers, too.
Petitgout notes the industry seems to run in 10-year cycles. The 1970s were the go-go years followed by a decade of the worst Iowa economy since the Depression years. Business rebounded strongly in the 1990s and 1997 was probably the biggest year weve ever had here. The new century got off to a mediocre start but consumer confidence stalled with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
People have been scared about whats going to happen next. Theres no optimism. In the 80s, we had optimism that tomorrow was going to be a better day and the 90s were better, Petitgout said. So, lets hope it changes and 2011 brings us back strong.
However consumers feel about the future, Tiptons next decade will start without a mens clothing store for the first time since before the Civil War.

With Property Tax Deadline Today, Conlin Hypocritically Calls for More Taxes but Quietly Takes Abatement on Nearly $2 Million Mansion

DES MOINES Iowans across the state are feeling the burden of higher property taxes with todays payment deadline, but U.S. Senate candidate Roxanne Conlin isnt one of them after receiving tax abatement on her nearly $2 million mansion.
Conlin continues to campaign claiming she wants to end tax breaks for the wealthy but she and her husband applied for and city officials granted them an urban revitalization tax abatement on their 8,206-square-foot brick residence that also has a 1,431-square-foot deck and 192-square-foot porch in an upscale Des Moines neighborhood. As a result, the Conlins semi-annual property tax bill is only $1,441 despite owning the third-most expensive home in Des Moines. The mansion and land are valued at $1.78 million. Under the five-year abatement, the Conlins pay property taxes on only the lot and not the $1.65 million structure and, in fact, their semi-annual property tax bill went down $347, 19 percent, this year.
If Roxanne Conlin wants to end tax breaks for the wealthy, the first thing she can do is stop applying for them and then she can start paying property taxes on her home like ordinary Iowans do, said Eric Woolson, spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassleys re-election campaign. If she feels so strongly that everyone ought to pay higher taxes, why is it that she and her husband proactively sought to escape paying the property taxes that fund local schools, repair local streets and pay the salaries of school teachers, firefighters and police officers? Once again, her hypocrisy knows no bounds.
A politician cant get more hypocritical than to call for higher taxes and then go out of their way to escape paying them. Roxanne Conlin seems to think everybody else in the world should pay more taxes than her, including older Iowans on fixed incomes who are just getting slammed with big property tax increases this year. When they cast their votes in the Senate race, Iowans who are paying more than their fair share might want to remember that Roxanne Conlin has once again avoided paying taxes.

DES MOINES — Eric Woolson, owner of The Concept Works, was interviewed today in a CBS News story about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s potential 2012 bid for the presidency that aired on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
Woolson, who managed the successful Iowa campaign of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential bid, spoke to CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds about the dangers of candidates who run celebrity-based campaigns rather than putting in hard work at the grassroots level.
Here’s a link to Reynolds’ story, “Palin: It’s Time to Take Our Country Back” as it appears on the Political Hotsheet.

WEST DES MOINES Hubbell Realty Co. will break ground on affordable-housing developments in Johnston, Norwalk and Des Moines in upcoming weeks with completion of 182 residences slated by the end of 2012, President and CEO Rick Tollakson said today.
Hubbell Realty, as the regions leader in affordable and market-value housing, is responding to specific needs in the Des Moines market, Tollakson said. In Johnston, the Cottages at Johnston Commons will offer ranch homes for renters who are age 55 and older. In Norwalk, the Cedarbrooke Place Apartments will be designed for families. And, the Riverpoint Lofts are targeted specifically for downtown living. When these three developments are completed, Hubbell will own and manage more than 2,100 apartments.
A portion of the three developments announced today will be funded through federal grants approved Tuesday by the Iowa Finance Authority.
In addition to providing much-needed affordable housing, these three developments will create more than 310 local jobs, Tollakson said. They represent a real win-win for greater Des Moines.
Cedarbrooke Place Apartments, 2503 Cedar St., Norwalk, will include 60 affordable housing apartments for families. Cedarbrooke represents a $9.1 million investment, including $1.6 million in a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and $937,684 from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
The Cottages at Johnston Commons will include 31 units. Tollakson said the development will cost $5.8 million. It was awarded a $1 million block grant and received a $588,988 tax credit. The Riverpoint Lofts, 308 SW Eighth St., in Des Moines Court Avenue neighborhood involves the rehabilitation of a former Sealy mattress warehouse to create 91 residences. Its total estimated cost is $14.8 million, which includes a $3 million block grant and a $1.45 million tax credit.
Hubbell Realty Co. has been a staple in the Des Moines real estate market for over 150 years. Its superior craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail has established its reputation for excellence and value. Buildings that Hubbell Realty has constructed for over a century remain prominent throughout the Des Moines metro today.

Maximum Fitness 24/7, located at 640 S. 50th St., is owned and operated by Hubbell Realty Co. It was formerly Accel Fitness.
Members have 24-hour access cards. Whether you want to exercise at 11 p.m. or 4:30 a.m., you dont have to wait for someone to let you in the door. You can work out when it works for you, said Kelly Sharp, Vice President of Retail Operations for Hubbell Realty Co. Not only is it conveniently located for most people who live and work in West Des Moines, but it also is a secure facility with a 24-hour monitored surveillance system.
Jenae Halstead, who manages Maximum Fitness 24/7, said the joining fee for new members will be waived during the grand opening week August 23-28.
Maximum Fitness 24/7 has several features that are not typical for around-the-clock centers, which are often a bit cramped. We have 8,700 square feet and executive locker rooms with showers. We have a wonderful weight area and plenty of equipment so our members dont have to wait around for other people to finish exercising, Halstead said. We offer free yoga classes and personal training and, overall, its just a great atmosphere.
Maximum Fitness 24/7 offers memberships starting at $19.95 with no long-term contracts. Membership information and free passes are available at 999-5438 or www.maximumfitness247.com, Halstead added.
Hubbell Realty Co., which also owns and operates 24/7 X-Press Fitness at 8850 University Ave., has been a staple in the Des Moines real estate market for over 150 years. Its superior craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail has established its reputation for excellence and value. Buildings that Hubbell Realty has constructed for over a century remain prominent throughout the Des Moines metro today.

DES MOINES Hubbell Realty is launching construction of a second group of downtown brownstone homes in a development that already includes the Brownstones on Grand, a company executive said today.
Steve Niebuhr, Hubbell Realty Co. senior vice president of construction and development, said earthwork is already underway for the first of four four-home buildings to be named the Riverwalk Brownstones between Second and Third streets at Powell Way. The homes, which will be smaller than the Brownstones on Grand and offer a lower price range, will have the brick and exterior design of traditional urban brownstones.
We had tremendous success with the Midtown Heights community at MLK and High Street because it combined urban living with an attractive price point. Thats what youll see with the Riverwalk Brownstones, Niebuhr said. Theyll be a little over 1,400 square feet and their price range will be from $193,900 to $198,900. Theyll complement the Brownstones on Grand so potential downtown residents have a real range of options.
The two-story Riverwalk Brownstones are the only downtown properties to offer two- or three-bedroom brownstones and two-car attached garages. The brownstones have the equivalent of a 10-year tax abatement, a feature that was also a strong attraction for Midtown Heights buyers.
The tax abatement allows buyers to get more for less, Niebuhr said. In this case, when potential buyers run through the numbers, theyll see the abatement will make the cost of a Riverwalk Brownstone equal to a row home or townhome in the suburbs.
Brownstone residents who work downtown can walk to the office and all the activities going on and they also have easy access to I-235 if they work in the western suburbs and take the reverse commute to work, Niebuhr said.
Hubbell Realty Co. has been a staple in the Des Moines real estate market for over 150 years. Its superior craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail has established its reputation for excellence and value. Buildings that Hubbell has constructed for over a century remain prominent throughout the Des Moines metro today.