In August, the U.S. Census reported that the Latino population in Iowa had increased by 32 percent since its last data collection in July of 2005. The Des Moines Business Record also featured a story in its August 14th issue within its "Trends & Issues" section on area supermarket chains and grocery stores adding special sections featuring Hispanic items to their shelves.

On September 15, USA Today ran a front-page story on another city starting to look a lot like Des Moines – Salt Lake City, Utah. This city's population, 98% white until 1970, is now becoming a mini-melting pot, with Hispanics making up 16.5% of the population.

In November, The Des Moines Business Record published a front-cover feature titled "Sights Set High" profiling Hispanic business growth and the issues surrounding Hispanic entrepreneurship in our city.

And to round out the year, Cityview highlighted Des Moines' Spanish-language radio stations in its cover story titled "¡VIVA RADIO!" The story profiled two of the city's highest-profile Spanish-language stations broadcasting in a 24-hour format.

I was excited and proud to see so much great mainstream press this year focusing on the very factors we try to make our clients aware of. These are: 1) the Latino population in Iowa is growing at a remarkable pace and this population is a viable purchaser of products and services of most every kind; 2) there are more ways than ever to reach the Latino population in Iowa and across the nation; and 3) marketing to the Latino population not only makes good business sense, but also positions and differentiates the companies that choose to market to this demographic in the right way.