Do you have an interesting story idea or news tip to share about a local business? Ideas can be shared with business reporter Grace Nieland at grace.nieland@thmedia.com or 563-588-5647.
Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights several recent developments taking place in Dubuque.
A longtime Dubuque child care center is rounding out a significant remodel expected to increase its capacity by more than 100 slots.
Young-Uns Preschool and Childcare Center is nearly done with a renovation and expansion at its two-building campus at 3375 Kennedy Circle and 3392 Hillcrest Road. The remodel will add 117 slots expected to roll out over the next year, bringing the total number of children the center can serve to more than 300.
“There’s such a need for child care in Dubuque, and we were lucky that the timing was right (for this expansion),” said center co-director Deb McDonnell. “We’re really excited to help out the community and clear some of our waitlist.”
McDonnell runs Young-Uns Preschool and Childcare Center with her sister, Barb Weber. The center first opened in 1997 and has run out of the Kennedy Circle campus since 2007 to serve children ages 6 weeks through 12 years.
The expansion includes the addition of six classrooms and a new multipurpose room built in space formerly leased by the center to commercial tenants in the Hillcrest Road building.
The new classrooms will be used for children ages 3 and older, McDonnell said, though they also should open up space for younger children as older kids move from their current classrooms into the new ones.
“It was probably 2021 when we finally decided that we were going to go for the remodel, … but we probably started working on (construction) last March,” McDonnell said. “We basically just gutted the whole space and started from scratch.”
She added that the new classrooms were designed to be “functioning, cozy and educational” spaces that mirrored the flexibility and utility of existing instructional areas in use in other portions of the Young-Uns campus.
The multipurpose room serves as a complement to the classrooms to allow for larger group activities. Depending on the time of day, the space will be used by various age groups for indoor, interactive play.
“We made it this bright, vibrant room with these bright, colorful floors,” McDonnell said. “It’s just a fun space for a lot of different activities, and I think the kids will really love it.”
Area residents are invited to tour the newly expanded facility at a community open house from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5. Additional information on the facility and its services can be found online at young-uns.org.
Perinatal therapy business opens in Dubuque
A physical therapy business focused on care for women before and after pregnancy has opened a new location in Dubuque.
Prenatal Postnatal Therapy recently opened a new office at 2254 Flint Hill Drive inside Key West Chiropractic Health. The office specializes in pelvic floor therapy and other services for new or soon-to-be moms.
“We’re very passionate about working with women during and after pregnancy … and offer that extra support,” said owner Leslie Kremer. “We want to help women have the birth and (post-birth experiences) that they want to have.”
Kremer — a licensed physical therapist — opened Prenatal Postnatal Therapy in 2021 in Cascade, Iowa, with a focus on helping women navigate pregnancy-related issues such as pelvic pain, organ prolapse, bladder leakage and more.
Earlier this year, she decided to add a Dubuque location based on an ongoing and increasing demand for perinatal therapy services and the high percentage of patients already traveling from Dubuque to Cascade for care.
The Dubuque office opened in October and now serves as a sister location to the one in Cascade. Clients at both locations can seek prenatal and postnatal services such as birth coaching, craniosacral therapy, visceral manipulation and more.
“It is an opportunity to help with one specific health problem but also just to provide a little extra boost all over during a big moment of transition,” Kremer explained.
For a complete list of services, visit prenatalpostnataltherapy.com and fill out the online form to schedule a consultation. Services are offered by appointment only Monday through Friday at both locations.
New metaphysical store opens in Dubuque
A new metaphysical store has opened in Dubuque with a focus on education and accessibility.
The Good Witches Cottage recently opened at 1064 Central Ave. next to River City Hair Co. The store includes a small retail space as well as private rooms for spiritual services, such as tarot readings and reiki.
“We want to be a spiritual, metaphysical place of healing,” said co-owner Sara Mess. “I think so many people have felt ostracized when they’re talking (about those topics), and we really just want to give that space to have the conversation.”
Mess co-owns The Good Witches Cottage, familiarly called The Cottage, alongside Makayla Rogers and Tori Rock.
The women met roughly two years ago and bonded over their shared interest in spiritual and metaphysical study. After discussing their experiences further, all three realized they each initially had struggled to find information on those topics and wanted to relieve that pressure for others.
The new venture is the manifestation of that goal, Rogers explained, and is set up as a space for people from all walks of life to learn about the intersection of spiritual and physical well-being in a comfortable, attainable way.
“We wanted to do this in a way that is accessible for everyone, not just people who make six figures,” Rogers said. “You see so many places where healing has become a luxury, but it’s not a luxury. It’s a necessary thing.”
All of the store’s retail items were either handcrafted by one of the three owners or ethically sourced from outside vendors after careful research to ensure alignment with the store’s mission. Offerings include handmade jewelry, essential oils, spell charms and more.
Available services include reiki, tarot readings, psychic mediumship and spiritual guidance, among others. Services are offered by appointment or by chance, depending on who is working at the store on a given day.
“We want to bring the knowledge that we’ve obtained and the certification that we’ve obtained and bring that to other people looking for that kind of education,” Mess said. “We want to empower the community.”
The Good Witches Cottage currently is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, though hours are subject to change as the trio settles into the space. For updated hours and additional information, visit The Good Witches Facebook group.