A dozen Silicon Prairie stories you may have missed in 2012

With more than 1,300 posts published in 2012, it wasn’t easy to choose just 10 stories for our annual look at the past year’s biggest stories in the Silicon Prairie. When doing so, I kept coming across stories that even though they didn’t belong on the list, they deserved to be shared. From a Microsoft…

Des Moines resident James Erwin earned a film deal in 2012 that stemmed from a post on Reddit.

With more than 1,300 posts published in 2012, it wasn’t easy to choose just 10 stories for our annual look at the past year’s biggest stories in the Silicon Prairie. When doing so, I kept coming across stories that even though they didn’t belong on the list, they deserved to be shared.

From a Microsoft acquisition to a “Silicon Prairie” mention on “The Office,” here are 12 stories from 2012 that are worth reading again.

Growing Nebraska software company has plans to grow city skyline, too” (January)

The Lincoln Journal Star revealed the expansion plans of MacPractice, a medical software company that intends to build a seven-story glass-and-brick headquarters in downtown Lincoln to accommodate its increasing employee base.

 

foursquare names Des Moines winner of ‘city badge,’ credits Drake class” (February)

Thanks to a grassroots effort led by a Drake University social media strategies class, foursquare named Des Moines one of five cities nationwide to earn its own badge in the foursquare city badge contest.

 

AgLocal chosen for minority-focused San Francisco accelerator NewME” (February)

Kansas City area startup AgLocal secured one of seven spots from a reported applicant pool of 300 for the second class at NewME, a San Francisco-based residential technology startup accelerator and incubator for businesses that are led by minorities under-represented in the technology industry.

Sporting Innovations gets Fast Company ink for stadium technology” (February)

Sporting Innovations, a sports and entertainment technology company spun off from Kansas City’s Major League Soccer franchise, Sporting Kansas City, earned some significant ink in Fast Company on account of the work it has done at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan.

 

From Reddit to watch it: Des Moines resident sparks Hollywood film” (March)

Wired told the story of how after just three hours, a Des Moines resident’s post on Reddit earned him a call from film producer. “Within two weeks, he was offered a deal to write a movie based on his Reddit comments,” Wired reported. “Within two months, he had taken a leave from his job to become a full-time Hollywood screenwriter.”

 

Five Elms Capital seeks fastest-growing companies for Flyover 50” (March)

Kansas City venture capital firm Five Elms Capital launched Flyover 50, an effort to recognize the 50 fastest-growing companies in the middle of the country. Appcore, a Des Moines-based provider of cloud computing infrastructure, topped the inaugural list.

 

16-year-old satisfies craving for school lunch menu app” (March)

The Daily Nonpareil told the story of how a Council Bluffs, Iowa high school sophomore created a web app that made his school lunch menu and activity announcements more accessible.

 

UMKC-led group lands $1 million grant to foster growth of tech startups” (September)

The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded a $1 million grant to fund the creation of a proof of concept center, known as “the Digital Sandbox.” Led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Innovation Center, the endeavor aims to produce at least 10 new high-growth companies that raise follow-on funding or generate $1 million in revenues within two years of the program’s launch.

Yes, we saw Ryan from The Office say ‘Silicon Prairie’ last night …” (September)

In the season premiere of The Office, Ryan Howard (played by B.J. Novak) said he spent part of his summer relocating to Oxford, Ohio to pursue a startup idea. “I’ve actually done a lot of market research, and it turns out that southwest Ohio is going to be the next Silicon Valley. They call it the Silicon Prairie,” Howard said.

 

Microsoft acquires KC authentication technology company PhoneFactor” (October)

Microsoft acquired PhoneFactor, an 11-year-old Overland Park, Kan.-based company that makes technology to enable the use of phones in security authentication.

With ‘expanded mission’ Don’t Panic Labs lends technical help outside” (October)

After consistently passing on offers for consulting work since its launch in late 2010, Nebraska Global’s Don’t Panic Labs began to provide software development resources to companies not under the Nebraska Global investment umbrella.

Service providers with startups in mind set up shop in Mastercraft” (November)

An alliance of four professional service providers – an intellectual property law firm, a corporate law firm, an accounting firm and a bank – set up shop in The Mastercraft building in north downtown Omaha to cater to startups.

 

 

Credits: Photos from respective stories.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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