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New UP-developed technology builds better, safer trains
This is a sponsored post from Union Pacific Railroad. The physics involved in operating a freight train are amazingly complicated. Think about it: thousands of tons of metal rolling on steel wheels over steel rail at speeds up to 80 miles per hour over a variety of terrain—up and down different grades—in all kinds of…
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Retail Aware shows no signs of slowing growth despite pandemic
Keith Fix, co-founder and CEO of Retail Aware, learned to code during a brief stay with his mother at a homeless shelter. The 10-year-old aspiring entrepreneur’s parents had recently separated, and young Fix needed money for clothes and the after school programs he wanted to attend. A family friend needed a website built. Fix convinced…
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Midwest art and music turn to technology to keep making fans—and money
As it has with nearly every aspect of life over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we experience art. With many galleries and performance venues closed or limiting in-person attendance, art organizations and artists across the Midwest are increasingly turning to technology to showcase their work safely and maintain relationships with…
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UNeTech levels the playing field for high-risk, high-reward tech startups
The “valley of death” is a term used in the startup community to refer to the dreaded gap between the discovery of promising new technologies and the bringing to market of commercially viable new products based on those technologies. It is the badlands where risky and possibly disruptive tech goes to die. Put more formally,…
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HTI Labs fights human trafficking through research, technology, policy
An Omaha-based company using a data-driven approach to combat human trafficking recently raised funding to expand its crucially needed work to support law enforcement, victims and survivors of the practice. HTI Labs, a social enterprise corporation combating human trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault through data-driven research and tech, has grown far larger than CEO…
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Mutual of Omaha finds IT talent in its own backyard
This is a sponsored post by Mutual of Omaha. It was written by Annette Allen, technical solution architect. An underwriting supervisor, a UX designer, a sales compensation analyst, a business systems analyst and a customer service rep walk into a classroom. When they walk out, they’re software developers. It’s not a joke, but a reality…
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Looking back, looking forward: The tech startup community’s predictions for 2021
It’s been a wild year. A pandemic has squeezed the global economy while also spurring innovation and unique tech-based solutions. Silicon Prairie News reached out to entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders and government officials across Nebraska to get their take on 2020 and see what trends they think we will see in 2021. Answers below are…
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Is it over yet? A look back at 2020
We have yet to meet anyone who wishes this year would last longer. From COVID-19 to civil unrest to political and economic turmoil, 2020 brought us a number of challenges and tragedies beyond the scope of this article. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that December is almost over. So while it might seem premature…
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Karen Borchert on Flywheel: Building something big, in the middle of somewhere small
This guest post written by Karen Borchert, COO of Flywheel, originally appeared in Medium. This March, I was planning to give a speech at SaaStr US, about how our company, Flywheel, built something big, right in the middle of Omaha, Nebraska. This week is my last week at Flywheel, and while the pandemic prevented me from…
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Virtual awards ceremony a first for Omaha’s tech community
Last night, members of Omaha’s tech and startup communities attended the first-ever virtual version of the AIM Tech Awards, a celebration of local innovators and changemakers in the technology sector. A prerecorded ceremony streamed on a virtual stage, accompanied by a live chat constantly scrolling with affirmations, congratulations and commentary from attendees. Traditionally held in…