West Des Moines-based LenderClose received $10 million in a completed series B funding round, the lending platform announced this week. Investors include Next Level Ventures, Collins Community Credit Union, Financial Plus Credit Union, Serve Credit Union and Ascentra Credit Union in Iowa. The company recently launched an automated loan processing solution called HEx (Home Equity Express), […]

Fourteen broadband providers received $15,542,302 in Empower Rural Iowa broadband grants from the state of Iowa this week, the office of Gov. Kim Reynolds announced on Monday. The funding is the remainder of the $50 million in CARES funding designated for broadband grants from a previous round, and cover 21 counties and more than 2,800 homes, […]

A mockup of the mobile Farmmee platform, expected to launch this spring. Contributed image A new mobile app launching for agricultural producers this spring is designed to connect farmers with equipment to farmers with jobs, the founders say. The Farmmee app is expected to launch after April 1 following a year of development and piloting […]

Applications for the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Venture Competition are now open. The statewide competition will award $100,000 in cash prizes, including a first place award of $40,000. Iowa businesses that have been in operation for four years or less, or are not yet cash flow positive are eligible to apply. Participants will be judged on […]

BrokerTech Ventures announced the addition of carrier Zurich North America to the BrokerTech platform and accelerator program this week. The addition of Zurich North America now brings BTV to 24 insurance brands nationally. BTV recently announced partnerships with InsurTech Israel and Ayalon Insurance Company to launch the Israeli InsurTech Accelerator internationally, and additional accelerator partnerships […]

Tikly, a Des Moines-based platform for event ticket sales, is closing one year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the company announced on social media Friday morning. The company aimed to lower ticket fees for live events by giving artists and venues direct control over tickets sold, and served clients in five countries over ten years; […]

Haber Technologies Inc., developer of the DRI-Stack grain drying and aeration system, received the 2021 Davidson Prize from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineer (ASABE) and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers during the virtual Commodity Classic event. The Davidson Prize celebrates breakthrough innovations in areas of agricultural, food and biological systems engineering, the ASABE […]

An ongoing cyberattack against U.S. businesses running versions of the Microsoft Exchange Server has already affected at least five Iowa organizations in the last 12 hours, and more will likely be detected, Coralville cybersecurity firm ProCircular told the Business Record today. Organizations using on-premises Exchange Server versions 2019, 2016 and 2013 are vulnerable. The attack […]

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live events, the team behind Des Moines software firm VolunteerLocal is raising their hands to help in the vaccine distribution effort. The staff started reaching out to connections in the medical field after a current customer called operations coordinator Isabel Reed in February to ask if VolunteerLocal’s […]