If only all our stories could be tweeted by Ashton Kutcher, an Iowa native and celebrity angel investor with more than 13 million Twitter followers. Thanks to an April 10 tweet by Kutcher and the notable news that accompanied it – his investment in Dwolla – Silicon Prairie News recorded its highest traffic day yet.

Another story about Dwolla – coverage of the startup’s Series B round — also landed among our 10 most-read stories of the year, ranking fifth. Two stories on Sen. Chuck Grassley, both covering his hold on a bill of high interest to the tech industry, finished in the top five. A profile on WebFilings, a quiet giant in Ames, Iowa, took the other top-five spot.

In all, we published more than 1,300 posts — the vast majority on weekdays — in 2012. We added a new series, Prairie Portraits, and said goodbye to another, our weekly video podcast PrairieCast. Our two major events, Big Omaha and Thinc Iowa, accounted for more than 100 posts, and our inaugural Silicon Prairie Awards chipped in another 20.

Without further ado, here’s our list of the year’s 10 most-read stories, representing news items of the Silicon Prairie community (we’ve excluded SPN-related posts, such as Big Omaha coverage or hiring announcements).

Top 10

1. “Ashton Kutcher, Dwolla confirm star’s involvement in Series B round” (April 10)

What: Iowa native and celebrity angel investor Ashton Kutcher invested in Dwolla’s latest round of funding.

Why: Interest in Dwolla is high. Interest in Kutcher is higher. When the two combined to for a live interview (left) to make the announcement, Kutcher shared the news on Twitter, the story hit Techmeme and multiple outlets linked to SPN in their own reports.

2. “Grassley releases committee hold on bill with tech industry support” (July 18)

What: Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa (left) released his Senate Judiciary Committee hold on H.R. 3012, the bill also known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act.

Why: Driven by a desire to increase the nation’s talent pool, the tech industry took a high interest in this bill and the news that surrounded it. 

3. “Iowa senator’s ‘hold’ endangering Startup Visa Act” (Feb. 27)

What: Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa put a hold on key startup legislation, a bill known as the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act.

Why: The tech industry, including notable figures such as Vivek Wadhwa (left), rallied around the bill.

4. “Two years since WebFilings launch, CEO says it’s pulling the market” (March 28)

What: A profile on WebFilings, a cloud-based financial reporting software.

Why: Founded in 2008, WebFilings has flown under the radar. But the Ames, Iowa-based startup rightly deserved the attention. “Now we are getting the calls instead of us reaching out to our potential customers,” CEO Matthew Rizai (left) told SPN.

5. “Dwolla raises $5m Series B round led by Union Square Ventures” (Feb. 7)

What: Dwolla announced it closed a Series B round led by New York venture capital firm Union Square Ventures.

Why: The Des Moines-based startup delivered on anticipation and rumors surrounding its next fundraising round with news of notable investors. The story hit Techmeme, as well.

6. “Google puts Kansas City home shared by startups at front of Fiber line” (Nov. 1)

What: A Kansas City, Kan. house (left) shared by startups became one of the first to receive Google Fiber in the Kansas City area.

Why: Google Fiber news is hot, so when the internet giant confirmed it put startups at the top of its Fiber installation list, word spread throughout social networks.

7. “From pitch to proposal: Iowa couple finds love at Startup Weekend” (Jan. 5)

What: Shannon Younger (formerly Thomas) and Kenny Younger (left) shared their story, from meeting at Startup Weekend Des Moines in 2011 to getting engaged late last year. 

Why: Everyone loves a good story, and a love story on top of that. Younger’s recollection of an early impression of Thomas says it all: “She just totally rocked the pitch. It was amazing. I was like, ‘I’m totally asking her out now.’ “

8. “April Fools: Google Fiber Bar, Iowa Foxconn plant and a new ‘Lab’ ” (April 1)

What: A roundup of April Fools’ day jokes throughout the region.

Why: April Fools’ Day is a popular day on the web, and the Google Fiber Bar story might have won best in show. TechCrunch’s story about an Iowa Foxconn plant had some people on edge, as well.

9. “Handmark founder Augie Grasis reflects on life, work in KC” (Aug. 8)

What: The Kansas City Area Development Council released a promotional video profiling Handmark founder Augie Grasis. 

Why: Founded in 2000, Handmark has made name for itself in Kansas City. When KCADC released a profile on the company’s founder, the crowd came to watch it (and share it widely).

10. “Sharks set to bite into eCreamery Friday on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ ” (Sept. 18)

What: eCreamery announced it would be featured on an upcoming episode of Shark Tank.

Why: Fans of eCreamery, a popular brick-and-mortar ice cream shop as well as online seller, shared the story far and wide, dishing it out nearly 250 times on Facebook.

Next 10

11. “Traffic and sales soar, investors call on eCreamery post-Shark Tank” (Sept. 26)
12. “Social beauty store Bloom.com closes $5.4m Series A led by Capricorn” (Feb. 29)
13. “MacPractice “going like gangbusters” building health care software” (Aug. 15)
14. “In the fight for one life, Team Kris Miner hopes to save many” (June 8)
15. “The mechanics behind the daily rainbow in downtown Omaha” (June 21)
16. “When you know it’s time to quit your day job and launch a startup” (May 16)
17. “Columbia, Mo.-born Zapier launches from its new home at Y Combinator” (June 20)
18. “Food Fight gamifies restaurant ratings, wins Hack Omaha” (April 16)
19. “Hudl acquires APEX, solidifies spot atop sports video analysis market” (June 5)
20. “Google Fiber “arrives on July 26,” new KC video spot announces” (July 18)

See the most-read posts of 2011 and 2010.

Credits: Credits of images found within respective stories.