Ken Stone, an Iowa State emeritus economics professor; and Georgeanne Artz, a visiting assistant professor of economics in ISU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, have authored a new study comparing retail sales in Iowa communities 15 years before and after Wal-Mart's entry into a community. While host towns showed moderate increases in total retail sales in the 15 years following the stores' opening, the study found that neighboring communities without Wal-Mart stores have also seen their sales largely stabilized during the same 15-year period. However, Stone points out that, "One has to keep in mind that most of that gain was by Wal-Mart stores, and they did have negative impacts on a lot of other businesses in town -- mainly any store that was selling essentially the same thing they were selling." Read the full story here by Mike Ferlazzo, ISU News Service: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2012/may/WalMart

Ron Prescott, the retail and small business specialist with Iowa State's Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development and Department of Economics, reports that new National Retail Federation data projects that Iowa retailers should see an increase in their Mother's Day sales. Sales nationally may peak at $152.52 per person, which Prescott says is an 8.4 percent increase over last year. Read the full release at:http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2012/may/mothersday

The Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) is the recent recipient of a $768,000 competitive grant through the US Department of Agriculture. The grant is directed toward the continuation of CARD's work in policy analysis, with its focus on farm and agriculture; the environment; rural economies; and consumer, food and nutrition. The award also marks CARD’s successful transition away from congressional funding towards competitive grants, showing its capacity to thrive in a post earmark environment.

Iowa State Professor Cathy Kling, interim director of CARD, says that while the recent shift away from earmarks posed some new challenges, the center’s ability to compete effectively for grant funding highlights the significance of their work.

The Iowa State National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) chapter won first place in the association’s Student Marketing Team Competition, held in conjunction with the association’s annual conference and trade show April 17-20 in Kansas City, Mo.

To compete, students developed a business plan and professional presentation to market a new product or service. This year the team marketed Caridea Farms fresh Iowa-raised shrimp. The team was judged by a panel of marketing and agribusiness professionals. The chapter’s marketing team advanced to the final round of competition, ultimately beating out 29 other universities for the first place honors. This is the first time Iowa State University has won the national competition.