The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education is accepting applications for the STEM Business Engaging Students and Teachers Program, which aims to launch or expand models that create project-based learning opportunities and help students acquire high-demand skills. The STEM BEST Program provides expertise and funding to help teachers and industry professionals […]

A 54-hour Techstars Startup Weekend DSM event, the first to be held in Des Moines in seven years, is planned for Jan. 12-14 at Maple Studios, organizers have announced. The event is meant to bring together designers, developers, marketers and startup enthusiasts to share ideas, form teams and launch startups. Other startup weekends across Iowa have […]

“It’s been about a year since I’ve been capturing the Startup Iowa Hotlist showing those actively raising companies and just companies to watch, and that subscriber list has grown. Maybe 30% of the list is out-of-state subscribers. For instance, Idea Fund just came to Des Moines. It’s based in La Crosse, Wis., and they’re now actively […]

Participants can now register for the 2024 Global Insurance Symposium, which is scheduled for April 16 and 17 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The symposium’s 10-year celebration theme is “Navigating a New Frontier of Risk” and will be co-chaired by Aaron Pearce, president and CEO of Pharmacists Mutual, and Christian Walk, senior vice […]

BrokerTech Ventures (BTV) has opened applications for the fifth cohort of its accelerator program. The deadline to apply is Dec. 18. According to a news release, the concept of the BTV Accelerator is to be an “innovation hub” and proof of concept environment for broker-centric products and technology solutions, ultimately bringing validated solutions to the industry. The […]

InnoVenture Iowa has announced the three Iowa startups that will participate in the InnoVenture Challenge event on Dec. 6 and be eligible for the “winner-takes-all” $100,000 award. Finalists will pitch their business to a live audience and panel of judges at the event at Curate in downtown Des Moines. To learn more about each of the finalists and […]

Adam Keune has been appointed entrepreneur-in-residence within the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC). According to a news release, Keune will help develop innovative programs to accelerate high-potential startups affiliated with Iowa JPEC and provide mentorship to select emerging ventures within the university community. He co-founded Higher Learning Technologies, a technology company known […]

West Des Moines-based PE firm marking third fund, 10 years in business Midwest Growth Partners, a private equity fund manager based in West Des Moines, is about six months into deploying its latest investment fund, which is the firm’s third fund since opening for business in 2013. At the close of fundraising for Fund 3, MGP announced that it exceeded […]

Events are planned across Iowa in celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week, which is from Nov. 13-19. Central Iowa events include the last web3dsm gathering of the year on Nov. 15 and the Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit on Nov. 18. More Central Iowa events are listed on the Greater Des Moines Partnership blog. More events are scheduled at […]