Q&A with Tracy Jon Sargeant By Lisa Rossi It wasn’t until Tracy Jon Sargeant’s junior or senior year in high school in the small town of Black Creek, Wis., that he first had access to a computer. “There were socioeconomic barriers that contributed to me growing up in a household…
The school district, community college and four-year university will pursue more collaborations to develop education talent pipeline The University of Northern Iowa, Des Moines Public Schools and Des Moines Area Community College are engaging with existing and new relationships to create pathways that develop educators for Iowa. The DMACC Foundation…
By Hailey Ann For the last two years, ReShonda Young has been in the process of opening the first Black-owned bank in Iowa. Young had opened her own businesses before — she founded and franchised the successful gourmet popcorn chain Popcorn Heaven in 2014 and ran her biological father’s business…
Submitted by by Britton Langdon and Scott Hoekman In 2022, Cedar Rapids-based construction technology and software startup Msuite announced its sale to the world’s largest tool company, Stanley Black & Decker. The following is a great case study of how Msuite’s relationships and strategic development led to an excellent outcome….
Using greater collaboration to meet customers’ changing needs By Michael Crumb Wellabe, formerly American Enterprise Group, has been on a journey to become a more agile organization to create an environment where its leadership and employees can be more collaborative to achieve better results for its customers. The insurance company…
By Michael Crumb Starting out as a crop insurance company in 2016, Growers Edge has evolved into a company that offers warrantied crop performance products and an agriculture input financing program. The goal, leaders of the Johnston-based company said, is to help retailers and input manufacturers, and the farmers they…
Iowa’s only statewide science fair spurs student curiosity, ingenuity Most people can picture a science fair — trifold poster boards, project demonstrations and judges making their rounds. For almost 70 years, Iowa’s only statewide science fair, the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa, has welcomed future scientists, inventors and…
Submitted by Todd Van Thomme Here’s a simple formula: Patents equal innovation. Except it’s not that simple. The number of patents often does not accurately represent the level of innovation, and innovation certainly occurs without patenting. Although the number of patents filed is a convenient way to quantify innovation, especially…
How Iowa will use Disability Innovation Fund Grant Submitted by Brandy McOmber Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services was awarded a Disability Innovation Fund Grant to support innovative activities aimed at improving the outcomes of individuals with disabilities. Nearly $14 million, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, will be used over…
As part of a refresh of the Business Record’s Innovation Iowa brand, we have created a new landing page on the Business Record website to house all Innovation Iowa coverage and more stories from the Business Record covering innovation and technology.
Visit www.businessrecord.com/innovation-iowa to view all Innovation Iowa stories, including the 2026 Innovation Iowa Magazine, out now.
-Sarah Diehn, Business Record Editor