Everybody has their own story, and Umaru Balde, director, Latino and multicultural services with the YWCA of Black Hawk County, listens to each individual’s story to better serve them. The approximately 40 students in Umaru’s...

Steve and Stacie Brass are successful business owners with lots of responsibility, but it’s clear the priority and heart of their 22-year marriage is their children, Alyssa, 19, Nick, 16, and Lindsey, 10. “Between business,...

Look around Waterloo and throughout the community, you’ll see a city landscape full of trees. To be exact, the City of Waterloo maintains 25,000 publicly-owned trees between streets and sidewalks and in 52 parks and...

Phil and Phyllis Borleske had never owned a home, but when Phil, a Lutheran pastor, retired, he and his wife put down roots in Vinton, Iowa. “After looking for a year and a half for...

Grundy County Memorial Hospital is a regional healthcare destination with a small community feel and big city services. The hospital attracts patients not only from Grundy County but serves individuals from Black Hawk, Butler, Hardin,...

Success manifests itself differently for every student. The typical classroom model doesn’t fit all students or the employment needs of all companies. To provide a path that creates more opportunity for both, the Cedar Falls...

Exploring possibilities to giving back is important to Dr. David and Karen Zwanziger. It’s one of the reasons the couple uses their funds with the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to focus on impacting the...

Before Al Exito, Tina was wearing two masks: one at school and one at home. She did not feel completely herself in either location – her voice became lost in the tension of her two...

Like the majority of small town fire departments, the Fort Atkinson Fire Department is completely volunteer driven. In small towns across Iowa, funding for staff is not always possible, so it is up to town...