Cedar Rapids will be one of three cities to participate in the Capstone Challenge Series, a pilot program led by advocacy organization National League of Cities testing geographic information system (GIS) broadband tools. Esri is the program’s strategic partner, providing four GIS solutions to launch and test in Purcellville, Va.; Butte-Silver Bow, Mont. and Cedar Rapids. Included are the equity […]

Eric Engelmann plans to step down from his role as NewBoCo’s executive director on Dec. 1 to focus exclusively on ISA Ventures, a multi-million-dollar fund he founded to provide capital for both early-stage startups and fast-growing companies in Eastern Iowa, reports the Corridor Business Journal. Engelmann’s role at NewBoCo will be filled by Aaron Horn, […]

Four award-winning businesses and three honorable mentions were awarded between $4,000 and $40,000 in the 15th Annual John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition, held digitally in September, the Iowa State University and University of Iowa JPEC centers announced last week. 3D Health Solutions of Ames received $40,000 and first place, FBB Biomed of Iowa City […]

At the morning keynote on June 4, NewBoCo Executive Director Eric Engelmann sat down at his computer with a plastic toy hand-clapper and gave it a good shake. The session’s “pre-standing ovation,” an EntreFEST tradition, would go on as planned — even over Zoom, with a sea of audience microphones muted.  Keeping conference attendees engaged […]

EntreFEST on Wednesday announced five keynote speakers and plans to carry on as scheduled for the 12th annual conference June 4-5. Event planners say they are staying informed about developments on the novel coronavirus and will heed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the Iowa Department of Public Health, but are hopeful the […]

The Technology Association of Iowa will host the 2020 Iowa High School Tech Summit on Oct. 7 in Cedar Rapids, TAI announced this week. The summit will introduce high school students to technology companies and careers across the state. Eddie Etsey, information technology/chief technology officer for the University of Iowa Athletics Department, will emcee the […]

An electric scooter rental program that’s popular but also potentially a dangerous nuisance will return to Cedar Rapids and expand, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports. The scooters and bikes — introduced last year and stationed on public walkways — are slated to return this spring, city officials said Tuesday. Last fall, city officials were weighing whether […]

Cedar Rapids-based Mortuary Lift has won second place in the National Funeral Directors Association’s annual Innovation Awards for its lightweight stair climbing system known as “the Stepper,” reports the Corridor Business Journal. The NFDA’s Innovation Awards recognize outstanding funeral service equipment, products and processes introduced commercially during the prior year. The Stepper promises to ease the […]

The DeltaV Code School, hosted in Cedar Rapids by the New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative, is launching the first nights-and-weekends Code 201 program for potential students with full-time jobs, NewBoCo announced last week. The eight-week course launches Jan. 18, 2020, with final class presentations on March 14. The DeltaV Code School is GI Bill-approved and is […]

SwineTech, a Cedar Rapids-based agtech startup designing products to protect piglets from accidental crushing by their mothers, received October’s Business of the Month award by America’s SBDC Iowa. SwineTech has won multiple awards from MIT, the American Farm Bureau and the Investors Hall of Fame; co-founders Matthew Rooda and Abraham Espinoza have also been recognized […]