Empower Rural Iowa grant program has invested over $350M so far By Lisa Rossi More than 100,000 homes, schools and businesses across Iowa will now have access to broadband internet due to a grant program that is funneling hundreds of millions in funding toward this effort. Rural Iowans say broadband will level the playing field […]

The InnoVenture Iowa Fund has made investments in eight early-stage Iowa startup companies in the advanced manufacturing, bioscience and information technology industries. The companies are Stratafolio, Shaka, PV Pallet, FarrPro, Farmpost, Clayton Farms, the Hummingbirds and Distynct. More information about the companies is available on the InnoVenture Iowa website. Investment Director Kaylee Williams shares more updates […]

The Greater Des Moines Partnership has announced the participants for the second cohort of the Scale DSM Minority Business Accelerator program, which will run from June to December. Participants will complete Interise’s Streetwise MBA (minority business accelerator) curriculum, which centers practical, case-based peer learning for minority-led businesses. The 11 small business owners selected for the program […]

By Lisa Rossi Potentially thousands of Iowans will learn updated digital skills through interactions with digital coaches and navigators, individuals skilled in everything from safe internet use to operating a business online and financial security. Lindsey Newland has been the Google coach for Iowa since November of last year; she started offering workshops in March. […]

The Iowa Biotechnology Association presented scholarships to five students at the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa in March. The winning students applied to receive a Future Biotech Leader Scholarship and were selected by the IowaBio STEM Committee based on their applications and science fair projects. This year’s winners are Tessa Tauke, Lillian Graham, […]

The Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host a one-day workshop with in-person and virtual options on current generative AI tools. Attendees will test out tools such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, Midjourney, DALL-E 2 and more. The director of Drake University’s artificial intelligence major, Chris Porter, and digital media professor Chris Snider […]

Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed two bills into law that were priorities of the Technology Association of Iowa this legislative session. House File 553 aims to encourage companies to enhance their cybersecurity measures for safeguarding both their operations and customers against cyberattacks. The law offers an affirmative defense in tort litigation related to data breaches, provided that […]

The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) is now accepting nominations for the George Washington Carver Award and the Rosalind Franklin Award, honoring leaders who have made significant contributions to the bio-based economy. The George Washington Carver Award, which is sponsored by the Iowa Biotechnology Association, recognizes significant contributions by individuals in the fields of agriculture and […]

The North Iowa Area Community College John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center will hold the 26th Youth Entrepreneurial Academy on June 12-16, followed by pitch presentations. The academy has been designed to help students launch their own businesses with a chance to earn seed money using a curriculum called the Business Model Canvas. The pitch presentations will […]