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Stocking stuffers: iPhone apps from the Prairie
We recently put out a call for you to send us your suggestions for iPhone apps built on the Prairie, thinking that they would make great stocking stuffers. We couldn’t help it. Danny was inspired. Submissions started rolling in immediately. Some were old favorites. Many were brand new surprises. Now, Christmas is almost upon us,…
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Creative Capital Pitch Session heads to Des Moines Jan. 28
The next Creative Capital Pitch Session will be held on Thursday, Jan. 28 at Dos Rios is Des Moines. This will be Silicon Prairie News’ first event held in Des Moines and we’re excited to work with two new partners: Paragon IT Professionals and the Technology Association of Iowa. If you’re unfamiliar with the format,…
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The Nadas’ year-long recording project reaches completion
One band that is taking an innovative approach to the process of making an album is The Nadas [link thenadas.com], Des Moines-based roots rocker, in their new project Almanac [link thenadas.com/almanac]. I recently had the chance to sit down with one of the band’s founders, Jason Walsmith [twitter: @thenadas], at the Authentic Records [link: authenticrecords.com]…
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Closing this week: iPhone app submissions, reader survey
BitMethod, based in Des Moines, developed BNO News’ iPhone push application, which was recently rated one of the Top 10 Mobile Web Products of 2009 by ReadWriteWeb. iPhone/iPod Touch apps developed on the Prairie Next week, Aaron Onken will publish a post with a list of names, icons, and descriptions of iPhone / iPod Touch…
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Performance Marketing provides workspace, mentoring
Performance Marketing (PM), a West Des Moines-based creative agency, decided to take a different approach to celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Rather than throwing a big celebratory party, they took a staff poll to find ideas that would give back to the community. One such idea was the creation of PM Underground, a project that is…
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Dwolla launches in Iowa
Dwolla, a web-based money transfer system based in Des Moines, officially emerged from beta today with the launch of the public system in Iowa. I first interviewed their founder, Ben Milne, at Highlight Midwest and learned about their product and plans for the future. Here’s their official press release on the launch: Dwolla to Launch…
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Name changes: SMASH becomes RAYGUN, 8/7 Central
Last Friday, Des Moines’ creative class success story, SMASH, announced that they were changing names and dividing their clothing store from the web design and screen printing business. The store is now RAYGUN (Twitter: RAYGUNshirts) and the custom design business is now 8/7 Central (Twitter: 87Central) Mike Draper, founder of the two businesses, answered a few…
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SPN interviews Mike Ferrari of SmartyPig
I recently caught up with Mike Ferrari, one of the founders of West Des Moines-based SmartyPig. Silicon Prairie News first interviewed Mike in December 2008, and a lot has changed for the online banking startup in the last year: they licensed their brand in Australia through their partner Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited…
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Catching up with Lava Row
When the SPN team was in Des Moines this week, we took the opportunity to stop by Lava Row’s offices to talk with Nathan T. Wright and Hillary Brown about what’s new. Nathan told us about the Des Moines’ Social Media Breakfast taking place next Tuesday, 8 a.m. at Mars Cafe (2318 University Ave).
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Iowa professor named ‘Innovator of the Year’ by national magazine
Dr. Hans van Leeuwen, an Iowa State University professor of Environmental and Biological Engineering, was recently named “Innovator of the Year” by R&D Magazine. Dr. van Leeuwen’s research has led to technologies that allow for pure drinking water to be derived from wastewater, that eliminate bacteria and pests from ballast water used in shipping, and…