Iowa Workforce Development amended the Coronavirus Relief Fund Earn and Learn Grant released on Oct. 19 to expand applicant eligibility, IWD announced this week. High schools and previous recipients of the Coronavirus Relief Fund Employer Innovation Grant and Registered Apprenticeship Incentive Grant may receive additional funds of up to $250,000 through the Earn and Learn Grant. […]

Des Moines-based  “smart buildings” startup Igor won the IoT World COVID-19 Innovation Award for Igor’s Nexos Intelligent Disinfection system, the company announced on Monday. The award recognizes companies that demonstrate innovation to adapt to COVID-19. Nexos Intelligent Disinfection leverages UV-C disinfecting lighting with smart building controls to disinfect spaces safely, Igor reports. The solution kit […]

Students in Iowa City will start the school year online following an unanimous vote by the school board Tuesday night, reports the Corridor Business Journal. The board had considered “hybrid” and in-person instruction on campus, but members ultimately decided the risk of COVID-19 being spread by children and staff was too great, the Press-Citizen reports. […]

Iowa has received $26.2 million in federal relief to fund broadband access for students, the Iowa Department of Education announced this week. Iowa’s grant is part of the nearly $3 billion Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Iowa Department of Education and the […]

The East Polk Innovation Collaborative, Facebook and other local partners have established the East Polk County Relief Fund for local COVID-19 relief, supported by an initial $350,000 contribution by Facebook, the company announced this week. The fund will designate $250,000 for small business support and $100,000 for nonprofit and individual assistance. Small businesses and nonprofits […]

The 2020 Prometheus Awards, hosted by the Technology Association of Iowa, will transition to a weeklong virtual event beginning June 22 with scheduled award announcements in the wake of COVID-19, Vice President Tyler Wyngarden announced this week. The full schedule of announcements will be available online; registered attendees will receive event links before the event to […]

Five Iowa entrepreneurs have established a supply line of medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers from China to the U.S., and the team is seeking more medical facilities stateside to provide for.  At the start of this year, Anisul Huq, Camille Renee, Julien Duhautois, Tim Vastine and Yolanda Wei were coworking colleagues […]

Agtech startup Rantizo, primarily known as a drone spraying service for row crop farmers, is launching stadium and sports arena drone spraying services to help large-scale event vendors with sanitization efforts, the Iowa City company announced this week. Sports organizations or open areas needing to be sanitized will be charged an initial setup fee, as […]

Rocket Referrals has launched a new website to connect U.S. residents in need of a reusable cloth mask with mask makers, the company announced in a statement. Maskhelpers.org launched on April 18. In the first week, people have mailed more than 1,500 masks to 500 families nationally, according to the company. Anyone who would like […]