Wauwatosa, Wis.-based WaterStone Bank is hosting a school supply drive through Aug. 12 to benefit children served by the Sojourner Family Peace Center.  WaterStone Bank is collecting new folders, notebooks, pens and backpacks at all 14 of its branches.   The Sojourner Family Peace Center, which hosts the drive on an annual basis, is the largest … Read more

The national 501(c)3 organization PenFed Foundation announced Mississippi River Flavor Company as the winner of its Veteran Entrepreneur Investment Program Ignition Challenge. The award was presented by MidCountry Bank, including $75,000 in total grants for the winner and finalists. Mississippi River Flavor Company won a $25,000 grant and will also receive publicity and a full-length … Read more

Bellwood, Neb.-based Bank of the Valley will soon complete work on its seventh branch, in Schuyler, Neb.  The branch is expected to open in September, and a weeklong grand opening celebration is slated for October.  The branch will offer products and services for individual, agricultural and commercial customers.  Bank of the Valley has undertaken steady … Read more

St. Paul.-based Bremer Bank broke ground on a new branch building in downtown St. Cloud, Minn.  The two-story branch will span nearly 20,000 square feet at the site of the former St. Cloud City Hall building, at the southeast corner of Second Street South and Fifth Avenue South. The building is being demolished as part … Read more

Indiana-based First Bank of Berne donated $1,000 to the Pregnancy Care Center of Jay County. The money will go toward The Ladies Night Out event and operating costs. Pregnancy Care Center of Jay County utilizes local grants and donations to offer pregnancy tests, material assistance, educational classes, peer counseling, post-abortion support and community service referrals.  … Read more

Bloomington, Minn.-based United Bankers’ Bank will launch the instant payments solution Pidgin in time for the launching of the FedNow program.  UBB will use Pidgin, which is developed by the software company VSoft Corporation, to allow customers to receive only payments or to both send and receive payments 24/7, 365 through peer-to-peer, consumer-to-business, business-to-consumer and … Read more

Union Grove, Wis.-based Community State Bank broke ground on a new branch late last month in Waterford, Wis.  The 3,000-square-foot space now under construction will open later this year inside the Waterford Lofts on East Main Street, and is part of a larger development project led by the village of Waterford and Selzer-Ornst Construction Co. … Read more

Fond du Lac, Wis.-based National Exchange Bank & Trust awarded 10 scholarships this year to children of employees.  The students were judged on financial need, academic achievement, school involvement, work experience and other community-based factors. The scholarships, awarded in partnership with the Fond du Lac Area Foundation, are awarded annually to sons and daughters of … Read more

Panora, Iowa-based Guthrie County State Bank awarded Tommy Bates and Abbi Holloway with the Trudy Straub scholarship. The scholarships, $500 per year over four years for a total of $2,000, are presented each year to an extraordinary senior speech student selected from those who apply. Bates recently graduated from Atwater Cosmos Grove City High School, … Read more

West Des Moines-based West Bank held a June 22 ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on a new corporate headquarters building within the city. During the ceremony, local officials spoke including West Des Moines City Councilor Greg Hudson, West Bank Building Construction Administrator Doug Gulling, Jeff Henning, CEO of the general contracting firm … Read more