Listen in on our conversation with Lee Ulrich, the owner and operator of Iowa Coffee Roasters located on the east side of Marion. Lee has been roasting coffee for almost 20 years now and has grown a following of customers who he loves to share his passion and his coffee with. Lee shares his entrepreneurial journey as well as his lessons of small business ownership.

In 1985, David Martin, started a small architecture firm in Uptown Marion known as Martin Design Consultants. Dave and his team provided design services for a significant number of retail, religious, residential, and commercial structures throughout the United States. In 2006, David’s son Kyle Martin joined the company as an Intern Architect and in 2010 the company acquired Gardner Architecture and officially changed its name to what it is today. Upon Dave’s retirement in August of 2017 the company welcomed Kyle as the new President and Principal Architect of Martin Gardner Architecture, a position he continues to hold today. Still located in Uptown Marion, Martin Gardner Architecture is a 12-employee architectural firm with a second office location in Oelwein. True to its humble beginnings, the company continues to handle a wide variety of architectural projects for individuals, businesses, local governments, and institutions in the Cedar Rapids, Marion, Iowa City, Waterloo, and Dubuque metro-regions and throughout Northeastern Iowa.We welcome President Kyle Martin to the podcast as we listen to his recent presentation at Marion Economic Development called, The Story of Martin Gardner Architecture.

Startup Spotlight is part of Marion Economic Development's commitment to supporting new businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to scale and gain awareness in the Marion community and the ICR region.Recently we welcomed Taylor Matteson, founder of Tay's Hemp to the Startup Spotlight stage at Cowork 1107. Founded in late-2021, Tay's Hemp is an e-commerce retailer and wholesale distributor of full-spectrum cold pressed hemp extract products. Rich in cannabinoid CBDA, their products focus on ingestibles (Tincture, Gummies) and topicals (Salve, Soap) that support a wide variety of benefits including pain & inflammation reduction, anxiety reduction, brain health, sleep, and skin health. The company recently located to a small manufacturing facility in Marion. Join us for a conversation about their startup journey and overcoming the stigma of hemp and its history, and what's in store for Tay's Hemp in 2023.

The City of Marion continues to be a statewide leader in new housing construction and overall community growth. But how do we best understand the current and long term housing needs of our community? How many new single family homes, multi-family units, income qualified properties, or senior living options are in demand over the next five years? How might this demand influence public policy needed to support a diverse mix of housing options?Maxfield Research and Consulting, LLC performed a housing needs analysis for Marion, which was received and filed by City Council on October 6, 2022. The study analyzed demographic and economic data, and housing market conditions, and provides calculations of housing demand between 2022-2030. It also suggests housing product types and amounts necessary to satisfy current demand and the demand of projected growth.Join Marion Economic Development as we host Tom Treharne, Community Development Director for the City of Marion, IA,CLICK HERE to download Marion's full 2022 Housing Needs Assessment.CLICK HERE to download the presentation Powerpoint slides.

Marion Economic Development Corporation recently launched a new series titled "The Story of."  It's a platform to share the success stories of entrepreneurs in our community with those who aspire to do the same.This month we feature “The Story of Bob Sternowski.” Bob is the owner of Marion based Softronics, a company he grew from a hobby to a successful company working with global customers. We hosted him on May 19th 2022 with a live audience.