MetaCommunications Closes $8M Funding Round to Accelerate Growth of Software Solutions for Marketing and Creative Teams

 CITY, Iowa, Sept. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- MetaCommunications Inc. ("Meta"), developer of software solutions for marketing and creative teams worldwide, announced the close of an $8M growth funding round led by Next Level Ventures, a Des Moines based VC firm that invests in high-potential Iowa companies. The investment, the largest yet made by the firm, will be used to expand Meta's sales and marketing efforts, support new business partnerships, recruit additional talent and further develop Meta's industry-leading technologies.

"We felt the time was right to take on investment to accelerate our growth and we're very pleased to be partnering with Next Level Ventures to make that happen. We pride ourselves on developing software that empowers creative people around the world to work better together. Our enterprise, SaaS and B2C products all focus on giving creative teams the tools they need to produce their best work and compete in a global marketplace. We look forward to continuing to innovate for this market, now with even greater speed and flexibility. My entire team is very excited about what we'll do over the next couple of years," says Bob Long, the CEO and co-founder of Meta.

Meta has been growing rapidly and gaining market share since Long led an employee buyout of the company in 2011. Under his direction, Meta has grown into a leader in the productivity and workflow automation software space while maintaining a tight focus on designing products for marketing and creative teams. Its software solutions, including Workgroups DaVinci, Approval Manager and the newly-launched ProofMe, are used by hundreds of creative teams at the world's leading brands, including Crate & Barrel, Pfizer, Merck, Sony, Staples and Yamaha. Customers rely on Meta's software to manage design projects, streamline workflows and collaborate on content reviews and approvals. With its additional financing, Meta has plans to expand its operations significantly. The company is planning on expanding their workforce with more than 25 new hires over the short term.

Mark Nolte, the President of the Iowa City Area Development Group, was instrumental in connecting Meta and Next Level Ventures. "Meta is one of the most exciting entrepreneurial businesses in the state and a great example of the type of tech innovation the Midwest's Silicon Prairie is becoming known for. The ICAD Group is pleased that Meta's growth will contribute to a rapidly-developing downtown Iowa City and we're excited for their plans to continue hiring great talent from the region," he says.

Iowa City's mayor, Matt Hayek, is also enthusiastic about what Meta's bright future means for the city's burgeoning role as a tech hub. "We are thrilled for MetaCommunications. Its growth indicates the potential for Iowa City to become a larger player in the technology sector. Our vibrant downtown and overall quality of life appeal to a diverse workforce that employers want. We are proud to have MetaCommunications call Iowa City home. Our hope is that its impressive success will signal to other firms that this is a great place to establish roots," he says.

Meta's strong top line sales and its equally strong involvement in the Iowa tech community are a significant aspect of what attracted Next Level Ventures and led them to make this investment in the company. "We're betting big on Meta. The business and its team have a proven track record of innovation and sustained growth in their industry and an enviable list of Fortune 500 customers to support this. In short, Meta has shown it has all of the needed elements to become a powerhouse growth story for Iowa and we want to be a part of that story," says Craig Ibsen, Managing Principal of Next Level Ventures.

Joining Next Level in backing Meta is St. Martin Land Company. Based in Cedar Rapids, IA, St. Martin was founded in 1905. The respected company invests in established, profitable businesses in Iowa and the surrounding areas. Meta's demonstrated growth, loyal employee base, and strong management team attracted St. Martin to sign on as co-investors.

About Meta
MetaCommunications Inc. (Meta) is a technology company whose solutions are trusted by the world's leading brands. Meta focuses on helping marketing and creative teams overcome challenges that arise when creativity meets productivity with tools to improve project management, online proofing, digital asset management, financial management and more. For more information, visit www.metacommunications.com.

About Next Level Ventures
Next Level Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Des Moines that invests $1 to $4 million in fast-growing companies that are based in Iowa. For more information, see www.nextlevelvc.com.

Contact:
Kate Beihl
CMO, MetaCommunications Inc.
Email
(319) 573-9595

Craig Ibsen
Managing Principal, Next Level Ventures
Email
(515) 369-2600

SOURCE MetaCommunications

Related Links

http://www.metacommunications.com

Fed inadvertently publishes staff forecast for 2015 rate hike

 economists at the Federal Reserve expect a quarter-point U.S. interest rate increase this year, according to forecasts the Fed mistakenly published on its website in a gaffe that drew criticism about its ability to keep secrets.

The rate forecast was included with a series of bearish projections on U.S. economic growth and inflation that were presented to policymakers at their June 16-17 meeting.

The disclosure of the sensitive information is the latest blow to the Fed's reputation for secrecy around policy deliberations.

Later on Friday evening, the Fed said the inadvertently released document was not the correct document. It provided a new table showing slightly lower outlooks for gross domestic product and inflation in 2015, as well as other revisions.

Federal prosecutors are currently probing an alleged leak at the Fed of market-sensitive information to a private financial newsletter in 2012.

"It regrettably appears once again that proper internal controls are not in place to safeguard confidential Federal Reserve information," said Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a Republican who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and is pressing Fed Chair Janet Yellen for documents regarding the 2012 leak.

The Fed said in a statement that the forecasts were "inadvertently" included in a computer file posted to its website on June 29.

Fed officials said the disclosure was due to procedural errors at a staff level and that the mistake was discovered on Tuesday this week. The matter has been referred to the Fed's inspector general.

The forecasts do not represent the views of the central bankers who set interest rate policy. Those policymakers, many based outside of Washington in regional Fed branches, create their own forecasts, the most recent of which were released on June 17.

But Board of Governors' staff views are sensitive and influential enough that the Fed normally releases them about five years after they were made.

ONE HIKE IN 2015

In the projections prepared in June, and in the revised table released on Friday, the staff expected policymakers would raise their benchmark interest rate, known as the Fed funds rate, enough for it to average 0.35 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.

That implies one quarter-point hike this year, as the Fed funds rate is currently hovering around 0.13 percent. USONFFE=

Analysts at JPMorgan and Barclays said this suggested the staff expected a rate hike before a scheduled Dec. 15-16 policy meeting. The Fed also has policy meetings scheduled for July 28-29, Sept. 16-17, and Oct. 27-28.

All but two of the Fed's 17 policymakers said last month they think rates should rise in 2015. They were divided between whether it would be best to raise rates once or twice this year.

The staff views were less optimistic about the economy than several key policymaker forecasts.

In the revised projections, which stretched from 2015 to 2020, the staff did not expect inflation to ever reach the Fed's 2.0 percent target. By the fourth quarter of 2020, they saw the PCE (personal consumption expenditure) inflation index rising 1.97 percent from a year earlier.

The Fed's staff also took a dimmer view of long-run economic growth, expecting gross domestic product to expand 1.73 percent in the year through the fourth quarter of 2020. The views of Fed policymakers for long-term growth range from 1.8 percent to 2.5 percent.

The Fed goes to great lengths to manage the release of sensitive information. Policymakers and staff avoid making public comments just ahead of policy meetings, and the Fed makes journalists turn in their phones before letting them into a locked room to see a policy statement and prepare news stories just before the interest rate decision is published electronically.

A Department of Justice probe is looking into an analyst note in 2012 that included details on a policy meeting before that information was made public.

"It is baffling that these leaks continue to occur," said Congressman Randy Neugebauer, a Texas Republican who chairs the House subcommittee on financial institutions and consumer credit.

(Reporting by Jason Lange and Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Douwe Miedema; Editing by Clive McKeef and Ken Wills)

Iowa City ranks in Top 10 for livability

Iowa City is among the top 10 cities in the country in which to live, work and play, according to a new ranking by the website,Livability.com. The city also has appeared on the company’s top 10 lists of best college towns, best cities for book lovers and best cities for affordable health care.

“Each of these cities is a great place to live,” Matt Carmichael, editor ofLivability.com, said in a news release. “Not every city is perfect for everyone, of course, but these are the top five percent, and somewhere in the top 100, you’ll find a great fit to call your best place.”

Ranked No. 9 on the list, Iowa City was praised for its health care options, infrastructure, transit, parks and co-working opportunities. It also made the list because of the presence of the University of Iowa’s Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the city’s designation by UNESCO as a City of Literature.

More than 2,100 cities (with populations between 20,000 and 350,000) were evaluated in the Liveability.com ranking. The editors consider more than 40 data points thatwere then grouped into eight categories: economics, housing, amenities, infrastructure, demographics, social and civic capital, education, and health care. Sources included data available from U.S. Census Bureau, Walk Score, Great Schools.com and Esri.

“This is a great time to study livability,” Carmichael said. “Cities large and small are renewing their focus on improving the day-to-day lives of residents through better transportation, more vibrant downtowns, affordability and accessibility for a range of residents. As a site that covers these issues each day, we take special pride in recognizing the cities that are achieving these goals as the best of the best.”

I.C. working to bring business to vacant industrial park

ANDY DAVIS - IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN

City officials are hopeful that an agreement with a local real estate broker will help attract business to the 420th Street Industrial Park, which has sat vacant for more than six years.

The Iowa City Council on Wednesday will consider entering a one-year listing and marketing agreement with Jeff Edberg, an Iowa City commercial real estate broker with Lepic- Kroeger Realtors, to help find a tenant for the 173-acre parcel along 420th Street on the southeast side of Iowa City. The city purchased the parcel in 2009 from the Bonnie Prybil estate for $2.4 million, and since has invested $12 million towardextending streets, water lines, sewers and electricity to the site.

Maryland-based North American Ductile Iron Co., or Nadicom, announced plans in April 2011 to build an $85 million foundry on the site that was projected to create 175 wellpaying jobs, but those plans never materialized.

Mark Nolte, president of theIowa City Area Development Group — which has partnered with the city to market the site — said the site was initially marketed as the Wind Energy Supply Chain Campus. Over the last six years, Nolte said, the net has been cast wider after indications that Nadicom would not be able to move forward with an Iowa City foundry. “With the changes in the wind energy market and their ability to raise capital, we don’t foresee Nadicom moving forward here,” Nolte said. “The site itself has been a finalist a number of times for multiple projects, but for one reason or another they didn’t pan out. Sometimes the company wasn’t able to get their finances together to move forward, and in several instances we’ve had companies through their consultants really like the site, but when they dug into our labor market realized maybe we didn’t have the labor in enough supply for their clients tomove forward.” Edberg, who is already familiar with the site, said it is designated “shovel ready,” and that all of the high-capacity power and water lines are in position and awaiting industrial development.

“The idea is to find vibrant industrial users that will bring high-paying jobs to the area andbuild the economic base of Iowa City. We’re looking for new tenants, but we’re going to be selective. Not just any tenant will do. We’re looking for tenants that will collaborate with the city and bring exciting, well-paying jobs,” Edberg said.

The city received a pair of state-issued grants totaling $2.3 million between 2009 and 2010 that were used to reconstruct 420th Street and to construct two sidings and a rail spur off the Iowa Interstate Railroad that now runs through the center of the parcel.

“There’s some unique features to this site, and one is the rail spur. A lot of materials are trucked in on Interstate 80, which is a direct access right to the site and we certainly accommodate that, but a lot of products are also moved by rail,” Edberg said. “Trains can pull off the main rail and let othertrains pass while they go within the industrial park and load and unload raw materials or finished products. It really puts this site on the map.”

Wendy Ford, the city’s economic development coordinator, said between April 2014 and March2015 the city contracted listing and marketing services with Minneapolisbased real estate agency Binswanger. The city issued a request for proposals for broker services earlier this year, Ford said, and received two proposals: one from Binswanger and the other from Edberg.

“(Edberg) has a large network to draw from as a (Certified Commercial Investment Member) and a member of other commercial and industrial real estate industry trade groups, and we’re hoping he taps into that while he’s working on this site,” Ford said. “He has great networking across the community and has helped the city with other real estate deals in the past.”

Documents in the City Council’s packet show that in his proposal, Edberg requested 6 percent commission on the sale of the property and offered to split the commission 50 percent with any real estate brokers who might be involved. Binswanger also had requested a 6 percent commission, but would have required 8 percent if other brokers were involved, according to the documents.

Edberg said he plans todraw on his experience and network as a CCIM and a Society of Industrial and Office Realtors to help the city find a tenant for the vacant parcel.

“Being a member in those organizations opens up a network across the world. If other members have a prospect for the park, they’ll be able toreach out for me. It’s a matter of actually assigning tenants, working with the city of Iowa City and ICAD Group to facilitate bringing these tenants to Iowa City,” Edberg said.

Reach Andy Davis at 319-887-5404 or at aldavis@press-citizen.com, and follow him on Twitter as @BylineAndyDavis.

The industrial park along 420th Street on the southeast edge of Iowa City has been certified as “shovel ready.” But as yet, there have been no shovels, and the factories the city envisions attracting have yet to arrive.

JOSH O’LEARY/IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN

The 10 best small cities for educated millennials

While big cities such as New York and Washington, DC often appeal to educated millennials, a number of small cities also have a lot to offer young people.

In a new report on the top destinations for young college graduates, the American Institute for Economic Research ranks cities based on economic and quality-of-life factors that are important to young people.

The top three factors include: high density of people with a college degree, a low unemployment rate, and the ability to get around the city without a car.

The other factors included: average salary, cost of rent, competition for jobs, bars and restaurants per 1,000 residents, and racial and ethnic diversity.

Iowa City, Iowa topped the list of most desirable "smallest" cities for educated young people. The report defined young educated people as those 22 to 35 years old with at least a bachelor's degree, and it defined "smallest" cities as those having metro areas with fewer than 250,000 residents.

Here are the top 10 smallest cities for young educated people:

10. College Station, Texas

Joe Mitchell/Getty

Metro area population: 202,000. Ranked the number two best small place for business and careers by Forbes, College Station offers an abundance of research opportunities, with ongoing projects funded by NASA, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research.

It's also home to the main campus of Texas A&M University and the George Bush Presidential Library.

9. State College, Pennsylvania

Patrick Smith/Getty

Metro area population: 155,000. State College offers a thriving social scene, with dozens of restaurants and bars concentrated in the downtown area. Additionally, young professionals earn an average salary of $46,399, while only paying about $940 a month for housing.

8. Burlington, Vermont

Wikimedia Commons

Metro area population: 215,000. Located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, the sweeping views of the Adirondack Mountains are unrivaled, and the biking paths, sailboat rentals, and strong restaurant scene are particularly attractive to young folks.

Burlington is also home to the first Ben & Jerry's, founded in 1978.

7. Bloomington, Illinois

Daniel Schwen/Wikicommons

Metro area population: 175,000. You can't beat Bloomington's ample green space. The small metro boasts over 40 parks and three golf course, along with natural parks such as the Miller Park Zoo and the Constitution Trail.

Another perk: rent averages out to $889 per month, making it one of the most affordable places to live.

6. Columbia, Missouri

CosmiCataclysm/Wikicommons

Metro area population: 171,000. Ranked the sixth best small town for business and careers by Forbes, Columbia's economy is dominated by education, healthcare, and the insurance industry. The University of Missouri is the towns largest employer.

5. Bloomington, Indiana

StevenW, Flickr

Metro area population: 141,000. Surrounded by several higher learning institutions, such as Indiana University, Bloomington has an obvious allure for young professionals with its thriving music scene. Every fall, the world-renowned Lotus World Music and Arts Festival takes place in the streets of Bloomington, where artists from all over the world perform.

4. Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

stantontcady, Flickr

Metro area population: 205,000. While surrounded by farm communities, Champaign-Urbana's proximity to the University of Illinois and its abundance of tech startup companies makes it a popular destination for millennials. The average young graduate can earn $47,121 a year and live comfortably for about $815 a month.

3. Lawrence, Kansas

Lauren Wellicome, Flickr

Metro area population: 114,000. Home to University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University, the college town is known for its lively music and art scene, filled with restaurants, bars, galleries, shops, and music venues.

Also, the paychecks in Lawrence are larger than most small metros, averaging out to $51,732 for educated people between 22 and 35.

2. Ithaca, NY

Shutterstock.com

Metro area population: 104,000. Ithaca has been named the best college town in the past; it's also a great town for young graduates. Surrounded by strong schools such as Ivy League institution Cornell University and Ithaca College, it's no surprise that Ithaca would appeal to young, educated people.

The college town offers several unique festivals, such as the Apple Festival in the fall, Chili Fest in February, and the Circus Eccentrithaca.

1. Iowa City, Iowa

Vkulikov, Wikimedia Commons

Metro area population: 139,000. The top-ranked small city, home to the University of Iowa, offers young graduates a growing technology corridor, low rents, and a diverse population.

Over half of the population has a bachelor's degree (51.5%), only 3% of the labor force is unemployed, and recent grads earn an average of $42,511 per year
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-small-cities-for-recent-college-graduates-2015-5#ixzz3adXRiIOw

Inaccurate Zillow 'Zestimates' a source of conflict over home prices

When "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell asked the chief executive of Zillow recently about the accuracy of the website's automated property value estimates — known as Zestimates — she touched on one of the most sensitive perception gaps in American real estate.

Zillow is the most popular online real estate information site, with 73 million unique visitors in December. Along with active listings of properties for sale, it also provides information on houses that are not on the market. You can enter the address or general location in a database of millions of homes and probably pull up key information — square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and baths, photos, taxes — plus a Zestimate.

Shoppers, sellers and buyers routinely quote Zestimates to realty agents — and to one another — as gauges of market value. If a house for sale has a Zestimate of $350,000, a buyer might challenge the sellers' list price of $425,000. Or a seller might demand to know from potential listing brokers why they say a property should sell for just $595,000 when Zillow has it at $685,000.

Disparities like these are daily occurrences and, in the words of one realty agent who posted on the industry blog ActiveRain, they are "the bane of my existence." Consumers often take Zestimates "as gospel," said Tim Freund, an agent with Dilbeck Real Estate in Westlake Village. If either the buyer or the seller won't budge off Zillow's estimated value, he told me, "that will kill a deal."

Back to the question posed by O'Donnell: Are Zestimates accurate? And if they're off the mark, how far off? Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff answered that they're "a good starting point" but that nationwide Zestimates have a "median error rate" of about 8%.

Whoa. That sounds high. On a $500,000 house, that would be a $40,000 disparity — a lot of money on the table — and could create problems. But here's something Rascoff was not asked about: Localized median error rates on Zestimates sometimes far exceed the national median, which raises the odds that sellers and buyers will have conflicts over pricing. Though it's not prominently featured on the website, at the bottom of Zillow's home page in small type is the word "Zestimates." This section provides helpful background information along with valuation error rates by state and county — some of which are stunners.

For example, in New York County — Manhattan — the median valuation error rate is 19.9%. In Brooklyn, it's 12.9%. In Somerset County, Md., the rate is an astounding 42%. In some rural counties in California, error rates range as high as 26%. In San Francisco it's 11.6%. With a median home value of $1,000,800 in San Francisco, according to Zillow estimates as of December, a median error rate at this level translates into a price disparity of $116,093.

Some real estate agents have done their own studies of accuracy levels of Zillow in their local markets.

Last July, Robert Earl, an agent with Choice Homes Team in the Charlottesville, Va., area, examined selling prices and Zestimates of all 21 homes sold that month in the nearby community of Lake Monticello. On 17 sales Zillow overestimated values, including two houses that sold for 61% below the Zestimate.

In Carlsbad, Calif., Jeff Dowler, an agent with Solutions Real Estate, did a similar analysis on sales in two ZIP Codes. He found that Zestimates came in below the selling price 70% of the time, with disparities ranging as high as $70,000. In 25% of the sales, Zestimates were higher than the contract price. In 95% of the cases, he said, "Zestimates were wrong. That does not inspire a lot of confidence, at least not for me." In a second ZIP Code, Dowler found that 100% of Zestimates were inaccurate and that disparities were as large as $190,000.

So what do you do now that you've got the scoop on Zestimate accuracy? Most important, take Rascoff's advice: Look at them as no more than starting points in pricing discussions with the real authorities on local real estate values — experienced agents and appraisers. Zestimates are hardly gospel — often far from it.

kenharney@earthlink.net

Distributed by Washington Post Writers Group.

Full story can be found at: http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20150208-story.html

Lucky's Market moves into Von Maur space at Sycamore Mall

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A new natural food grocery store chain could breathe life into Iowa City’s former Sycamore Mall, which faced a dubious future with the loss of its most prominent tenant, Von Maur, to Coralville and foreclosure within the last two years. Boulder, Colo.-based Lucky’s Market signed a lease last week to open in spring 2015 a 34,000 square-foot grocery store taking up most of the former Von Maur space at the center of the mall, at 1600 Sycamore St., which was renamed Iowa City Marketplace last year. “People will really sense our love for food and the quality in our preparation,” said Ben Friedland, Lucky’s vice president of marketing. “We subscribe to the motto, ‘good food for all.’ People will be taken aback by our prices. It’s much less than people anticipate for this quality of food.” He said the store will offer local produce, fresh seafood and meats, a bakery, ready-to-eat meals, a juice bar, beer and wine, an outdoor cafe, and a full grocery that features 90 percent natural and organic foods. The Iowa City Marketplace will undergo renovations inside and outside to accommodate Lucky’s, which will employ approximately 200 people, according to the company. Lucky’s was established in 2003 by culinary trained chefs Trish and Bo Sharon and now has seven locations, including in several college towns, and the Iowa City location is part of a wave of five new locations announced. Lucky’s plans to open six to 10 per year for the foreseeable future, Friedland said. John Arlotti, vice president of California-based CORE Realty, which owns the Iowa City Marketplace, said Lucky’s is the cornerstone in the transformation of the former Sycamore Mall, which has been reeling in recent years. “In my opinion, it is going to completely revitalize the center,” Arlotti said. “It is going to change the entire dynamic of center and the surrounding properties in the east side area.” He said within the next few months, two additional tenants will be announced, adding another 100 jobs. The occupancy at the mall will climb from around 50 percent to about 80 percent, he said. Some wondered if the mall would survive the loss of Von Maur on top of other tenants leaving. The mall ownership and city officials fought to keep Von Maur, which was lured to Coralville with $9.5 million, plus other incentives, to build a store in the Iowa River Landing District. The mall offered substantially reduced rent and Iowa City considered incentives, according to city documents. Then in December 2012, the mall went into foreclosure while owing $12 million on a $13 million loan signed in 2008. The final payment had been due in September of that year. The mall’s value has plummeted under the weight of retailer departures, from $16.4 million in 2011 to $10 million in 2014. Jeff Davidson, economic development administrator of Iowa City, estimated based on the property valuation that the mall’s tax contribution declined from $669,778 in 2011 to $367,803 in 2014. The mall is one of the largest property taxpayers in the city, but Davidson is optimistic that the mall is going to see a turnaround, anticipating its value will rebound to the $15 million to $18 million range with the new tenants coming on board. It should also allow the 21 existing tenants to breathe a sigh of relief. “Getting the anchor space filled really is key,” Davidson said. “That will lead to the rest of it getting leased up. The other tenants have been waiting to see what happens with the anchor space.” Davidson said it’s possible the project will get some tax incentives from the city, but incentives have not been requested at this point. Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek said the loss of Von Maur coupled with major road construction created a difficult time for the area. He called Lucky’s a “solid anchor tenant” that should uplift the mall and area on several fronts. It should stabilize existing tenants and attract new ones, he said. “It’s exciting for Iowa City,” Hayek said. “It brings a high quality tenant to a facility that is important to the area and the community. I think it will offer a jolt of energy to that area.” Mark Seabold, an architect and head of the commercial division with Shive-Hattery Architecture-Engineering, has been working on the reformation of the mall into a marketplace concept. He said the grocery store will have longer hours than a traditional retailer and will bring traffic that should help the mall as a whole. “It’s going to really drive traffic inside and outside the mall,” Seabold said. “Lucky’s is the first step for improvements across the site. Ultimately it will help lace the whole marketplace together and be a real driver for the Iowa City Marketplace.” Katie Andrios, president of Four Seasons, one of the remaining 21 tenants in the mall, said the last couple of years has been a “roller coaster” for the mall. Andrios said Four Seasons has stayed at the mall because business has remained strong, but agreed that the addition of Lucky’s will help with turning around the mall by infusing more foot traffic. “I feel like we still have a ways to go, and we need to rebuild the community’s confidence in Sycamore Mall, but I think this is a great first building block,” Andrios said. Copyright KCRG, all rights reserved. Read more at http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/iowa-city-mall-finds-new-anchor-store-to-replace-von-maur-20140731#fp6JgcJILKbP9H0C.99