INNOVATIVE PLACES: SmartScripts

SmartScripts, one of the first virtual pharmacies on the market, has an eye toward deeper care services for its patients. Today, SmartScripts customers receive home delivery of their regular maintenance medications through presorted SmartPacks, which organize multiple medications for patients previously struggling to manage their medication schedules. In 2018, the…

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Q&A: Hridesh Rajan and Iowa State University’s artificial intelligence graduate program

This fall, Iowa State University will begin offering a two-year Master of Science degree program in artificial intelligence, through the computer science department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. ISU expects to welcome five students in the program this fall, and eventually have class sizes of 60-70 in…

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Principal announces new CIO of Retirement and Income Solutions

Shawn Johnson will be the new chief information officer of Principal Financial Group’s Retirement and Income Solutions business to continue driving technology modernization and digital transformation across its retirement savings and solutions platform, Principal announced this week. Johnson has spent 15 years in leadership positions within the energy, health care…

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Ben McDougal joins Techstars Iowa

Des Moines entrepreneur Ben McDougal joined the Techstars Iowa team in a combined entrepreneur-in-residence and ecosystem development role, the accelerator announced last week. McDougal is a four-time company founder and co-founder, an author and is currently the midwest regional representative for the 1 Million Cups entrepreneurship network. The second class of…

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America’s SBDC Iowa announces new Inclusivity Challenge

America’s SBDC Iowa is launching the Inclusivity Challenge, designed to support minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs to establish themselves for economic prosperity. The Inclusivity Challenge provides resources including customized, culturally relevant business and financial advising, business education webinars and access to the most well-connected small business networks. A kickoff event…

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ISU’s ARA launches new era in rural broadband research

Hongwei Zhang and other researchers installed hardware at the Iowa State University’s Research Park for CyNet, an advanced wireless networking system that’s a predecessor to the new ARA rural broadband project. Photo provided A $16 million rural broadband research project will cover nearly 40 miles of rural communities and farmland,…

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LenderClose promotes Trinh Le-Coulter to VP, expands operations team

Des Moines lending platform LenderClose promoted Trinh Le-Coulter to vice president of people power, the company announced this week. Le-Coulter is the former director of operations for LenderClose. In her new role, she will lead LenderClose’s company culture as well as leading the operations department. LenderClose also announced two new…

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Science Center receives $10K Bayer Fund grant for educators’ professional development

A $10,000 Bayer Fund grant will support the Science Center of Iowa’s new program Making Tech Connections, a professional development program for educators teaching students employment skills in computing, algorithms and programming. Making Tech Connections will also show educators how to incorporate liberal arts competencies into STEM education. In 2020,…

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