CCPress AR, developed by Strata AR, allows advertisers in the Charles City Press to link print ads to multimedia displays and specials for readers of the three-county newspaper.  In community journalism, maintaining advertising revenue is a tough nut to crack. A small publishing company in northeastern Iowa is turning to augmented reality (AR) for the […]

City by city, the first few tons of 5G wireless internet equipment is being installed — and protested, as CityLab reports.  5G networks have only just begun to spread — a few providers, including AT&T and Verizon, have started going live in a handful of cities (Verizon announced 5G service will be arriving in Des Moines, although wasn’t clear […]

The Des Moines Oppenheimer Society — “Dedicated to innovation in the face of unintended consequences” — is hosting the Oppenheimer Awards and Advocate Auction to benefit special-needs students on May 21 at Gravitate Valley Junction. The lighthearted awards will recognize the 2019 “Twenty Over 20” class, sponsored by Trokt, and the Advocate Auction features artwork by children […]

Five agtech startups have been selected to the 2019 cohort of the Iowa AgriTech Accelerator, the accelerator announced this week. The program will run from June 3 to Aug. 30 in the East Village, with final Demonstration Day pitches during the World Food Prize in October. Participants are Otrafy (Vancouver, Canada); droneSAR (Des Moines); Vitalgia (Heerlen, […]

Nurx, a San Francisco-based telemedicine startup offering birth control online, plans to launch in Iowa — after a recent report alleging company practices have put patients at risk through the handling of medication ordered in the app. Nurx (pronounced nur-ex) sells prescription drugs online, including birth control, HIV PrEP, HPV home screenings and emergency contraception […]

Iowa applicants applying for the USDA “ReConnect” Grant Program will have an advantage applying for the Governor’s Empower Rural Iowa Initiative, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced this week. The program, announced in December 2018, makes about $600 million in grants and loans available for broadband providers in rural areas that do not have sufficient access to […]

San Francisco-based HarvestPort, an early-stage agtech company developing a marketplace platform for farmers and supplies, is opening new offices in Des Moines, the company announced. HarvestPort has also hired Tyler Horbach, founder of agtech startup the FarmElement, as Grower Solutions Manager. Horbach previously founded the FarmElement in Jefferson, Iowa in 2017. HarvestPort was founded in […]

California-based Sectigo, a leader in web security platforms, has acquired West Des Moines-based Icon Labs, which provides cross-platform security solutions for internet of things (IoT) device manufacturers, Sectigo announced today. Sectigo’s expanded IoT Security Platform will provide device manufacturers, systems integrators and enterprises using connected IoT with the ability to use purpose-built IoT issuance from a trusted […]

Only 4% of bank business and IT executives believe that the impact of technology on the pace of banking change has stayed the same over the past three years, while 96% said it has either significantly accelerated or accelerated, according to a new report from Accenture. This technological disruption has a large effect on how banks […]