Des Moines-based nonprofit Pi515 has announced its next Day of Innovation on April 23, 2026. This all-day experience will bring the community together to spotlight the talent of youth and celebrate the future of work. In its 12th year, participants will gather for workshops, industry conversations, inspiring speakers and student-led…
The Technology Association of Iowa has announced its 2026 state and federal principles and policy priorities ahead of the upcoming Iowa legislative session. Developed in partnership with TAI’s Public Policy Committee, these priorities will guide the association’s policy efforts in the year ahead. “We are excited to advance policies that…
This has been my first year on the innovation and entrepreneurship beat at the Business Record and it’s been a whirlwind. I’ve met startup founders from all over the state, spoken to professors about their inventions and even spent some time on a bison prairie for a series on rural…
The University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center wrapped up an end-of-semester Pitch Showcase for its startup incubator program on Dec. 12 at Merge Iowa City. A total of $5,000 was awarded in two categories. Savanna Kaczynski and WedGen won first place and $1,000 in the Tech/Student Lifestyle category. WedGen…
The National Academy of Inventors has elected Iowa State University agronomy professor Patrick Schnable as one of its 2025 fellows. Schnable has founded five startups in his 37 years as an Iowa State faculty member and holds 17 U.S. utility patents and two plant variety protections. Schnable joins a class…
One day, Karri Haen Whitmer took her son Ethan, who has autism, to school in Ames. He was crying. He didn’t want to go. And then she saw something that turned into a “lightbulb moment.” “There was a parent taking a wheelchair out of a car for their child,” Haen…
The West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce has opened registration for the sixth annual Athene Beyond Boundaries Business Summit, presented by Chase Bank. The 2026 event will feature Coach Ken Carter and Reggie Love as the keynote speakers. Carter is a businessman, author and high school basketball coach best known…
The state of Iowa, through its Empower Rural Iowa task force, will provide dollars to expand the number of communities selected in the Iowa Rural Development Council’s Rural Business Initiative grant program. Last month, the council announced the selection of five small-business-focused projects for grants of at least $30,000. That…
America’s Cultivation Corridor recently hosted a webinar on advances in renewable fuels innovation, moderated by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Naig said that the state of Iowa is a leader in the production of both ethanol and biodiesel, as well as a leader in developing the feedstocks for those…
Iowa State University’s outgoing president Wendy Wintersteen is busy in the last days of her tenure – so busy in fact she doesn’t have time to think about her retirement, which is coming in January. But she does know this much. She’s going on a vacation to the Caribbean with…