Governor Reynolds demonstrates new statewide emergency radio system

Governor Kim Reynolds placed the ceremonial ‘first call’ at the Iowa State Fair on Monday, using a new statewide radio network that will be used by public safety agencies, hospitals, first responders and public schools, her office reports. The Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System (ISICS) is built on Motorola Solutions…

Continue reading

ISU architecture revives 3-D pavilion for Iowa State Fair

Shelby Doyle, assistant professor of architecture at Iowa State University, assembles LED lights throughout the IM_RU2 pavilion on Monday in the midst of setup for the Iowa State Fair, which opens today. Photo by Kate Hayden Inside the Varied Industries building at the Iowa State Fair, about 4,000 recyclable pieces…

Continue reading

Lincoln, Neb. conducts test pilot program for Navya autonomous shuttle

What started as a feasibility study concept ended up as framework for a statewide policy for driverless vehicles in Nebraska, reports Silicon Prairie News. The city of Lincoln is the first in the state conducting a pilot test of a Navya autonomous shuttle over several weeks. The shuttle, funded in…

Continue reading

West Des Moines, Microsoft to partner on pilot community Wi-Fi access

A new pilot project between the city of West Des Moines and Microsoft Corp., among other partners, aims to change the way Valley Junction neighborhood residents and businesses access high-speed broadband service. The broadband equity pilot project will provide levels of free community Wi-Fi access to Valley Junction homes, businesses, employees,…

Continue reading

Pork plants use new tech to cut down on hog confinement odors

The largest pork producer in Iowa is taking new steps to beautify and cut down on confinement odors, reports Radio Iowa. Iowa Falls-based Iowa Select Farms will be installing an electrostatic precipitator fence around all company-owned farms built in 2018, environment project manager John Stinn said. The system requires high-voltage…

Continue reading

Patent filings gives us just a glimpse of Microsoft’s phone plans

DIGITAL TRENDS:. Digital Trends published illustrations made public in Microsoft’s Andromeda patent filing today, suggesting that our future phone’s most prominent display will be a hinged, dual-screen device (Is anyone else getting vague Sidekick flashbacks?). Aside from a few questions about cleaning the fingerprints off both screens and fitting a…

Continue reading

Iowa billionaire invests $5M in Ames startup Smart Ag

Iowa billionaire Harry Stine, founder of Stine Seed Co., announced an investment of $5 million into an Ames startup focusing on driverless tractors, the Des Moines Register reports. Founded by 28-year-old Colin Hurd, Smart Ag aims to solve critical labor shortages in agriculture with a software system that automates tractors…

Continue reading