The inaugural Risk Management and Insurance Strategic Collaborators Summit, happening this week in Iowa City, is designed around how the insurance industry can recruit, inspire and equip the next generation of risk management professionals. The event is organized by a national group of higher education institutions that want to advance innovation and…
A lot of people encouraged Billie Asmus, founder and CEO of Repaint Studios, which sells reusable paint trays, to apply to ABC’s hit show Shark Tank. Her thought? What’s the worst that could happen? She wouldn’t make it. That’s not that bad. Well, she not only made it on the…
Dream City, an Iowa City-based nonprofit that offers leadership programs and opportunities for youths, families and entrepreneurs, started as a response to young boys who were growing up without fathers and needed a safe space. Frederick Newell, executive director of Dream City in Iowa City, had his first child at…
The Technology Association of Iowa recently hosted its latest TechBrew event at West End Salvage with guest Iowa Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer. The event was moderated by Tyler Wyngarden, vice president of strategic partnerships. Cournoyer has experience in the technology sector and artificial intelligence, according to her bio. She worked…
Futurist Mike Bechtel visited Des Moines Tuesday to speak at an event hosted by Holmes Murphy and Bankers Trust Co. Bechtel recently left his role as chief futurist for the business consulting firm Deloitte. He held it since 2019. At Deloitte, he and his team worked to make sense of…
America’s Cultivation Corridor, which develops and markets Iowa’s agricultural and bioscience economy, recently hosted a virtual roundtable with three Iowa-based agricultural startups called Startup Success Stories. The panel featured three speakers: The panel was moderated by Billi Hunt, executive director of America’s Cultivation Corridor. The following are four takeaways from the…
About 3½ years ago, leaders at Wellabe, a Des Moines-based life and health insurance company, started working on an initiative revolving around keeping their customers engaged and satisfied, with the goal of improving loyalty. Susan Kelly, Wellabe’s director of member transformation, posed the question: “Have we ever just asked our…
Data centers are no longer just infrastructure; they are a “backbone of our digital economy,” said Iowa Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer during the Technology Association of Iowa’s Iowa Data Center Summit. The summit, held Oct. 2 in Ankeny, convened various stakeholders related to data centers. “Every state is having a…
Among the recommendations of a new white paper published by Des Moines-based nonprofit Pi515 is that the Iowa state legislature pass a law to fund artificial intelligence integration throughout K-12 schools. That includes measurable goals and accountability for K-12 integration, the report said. The white paper, which is available online, also recommends launching an AI…
Editor’s note: This is the third in a three-part series of stories about rural innovation in Iowa. See the first story about food carts here and the second story about Native Prairie Bison here. Stephanie Bias was studying event management at Iowa State University when her mom first came up with a big idea: Open an…