What is Prairie Moves?

Published Tuesdays and Fridays, Prairie Moves is a roundup of career changes, media coverage, product development and other updates from the companies and individuals regularly covered by Silicon Prairie News.

If you or your company would like to submit an item for our next Prairie Moves post, please email editor@siliconprairienews.com or use the form below.

Lead Read

"A blunt, direct voice" - Dan Shipton of BitMethod profiled in Sunday's Des Moines Register, giving an in-depth look at his background and approach

Quotable

"We are destroying our competitors. Part of me says I don't really care if the VCs on Sand Hill Road know us. We don't need their money. We're crushing it here." - John Wirtz of Hudl speaking with Inc. about the Midwest's obstacle of humilty - Inc.

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Phantom EFX of Cedar Falls, Iowa was acquired by WMS of Waukegan, Illinois - Phantom EFX blog, Press Release and Cedar Valley Business Monthly

Fundings

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Drone Journalism Lab earned a $50,000 prototype grant from the Knight Foundation - Knight Foundation blog, Drone Journalism Lab blog and SPN

Career Moves

• Rebecca VanDeCasteele, formerly with the Des Moines Register, joined ShareWhere as merchant acquisition manager - ShareWhere blog
• Nathaniel Watley, Neema Bahramzad, Andrew Koerner, Jed Dumire, Avery Quandt, Tim Hoffman joined Don't Panic Labs as summer interns - Don't Panic Labs on YouTube

New Tech

• xii games launched its first commercial game, Resonance - SPN and Press Release

New Creative

• Grain & Mortar launched a new site for minorwhite studios - minorwhitestudios.com
• Omaha World-Herald redesigned its website - omaha.com, Omaha World-Herald, SPN and Nebraska Creative
• VoterTide launched a new landing page - votertide.com/breakingnews

Product & Business Updates

• SmartyPig interest rate increasing to 1% APY - SmartyPig blog and Press Release
• Foundry Coworking shuts down amid competition - Des Moines Register
• VinSolutions shuffles management - Kansas City Business Journal
• Dwolla created merchant packs - Dwolla blog

Mentions

• Goodsmiths - Tech Spotlight: Goodsmiths on crafting an online shop - Des Moines Register
• Hudl - Lower Burrell software firm acquired by Neb. company - Trib Total Media
• ActiveGrade - Give students the feedback they need to be creative problem solvers with ActiveGrade - Startup America Partnership blog
• Qup - "Qup" Your Favorite Movies from Netflix Streaming - Programmable Web
• Qup - Apps We Like! - Qup.tv - Mashery blog
• Dwolla - Startup Says Goodbye to Slow Money Transfers - MIT Technology Review
• Central Iowa SourceLink - New initiative: Central Iowa SourceLink - Des Moines Business Record
• DSM Web Geeks - 'Geeks' leader wants you to know: It's not just for geeks - Des Moines Register
• Daniel Shipton of BitMethod - A blunt, direct voice - Des Moines Register
• Corey Vilhauer of Blend Interactive - Confab 2012: A Methodology for the Madness - Razorfish blog
• Scott Data Center - An amped-up Scott Data Center - Omaha World-Herald
• Hack The Midwest - Sarah Withee’s team wins Best Mobile App at Hack the Midwest Contest - University of Missouri Kansas City news
• The Trouble With Starting Up in the Heartland - Inc.

One Week

• One Week KC: A Big Event for Small Businesses - KCTV 5
• Big 5 effort, Kauffman Foundation team up for Kansas City entrepreneur week - Kansas City Business Journal
• Poll: Is Kansas City truly an entrepreneurial town? - Kansas City Business Journal
• One Week KC spotlights entrepreneurs - Kansas City Star
• One Week KC Kickoff Remarks (Video) - Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
• One Week KC Demo Day (Video) - Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Gig Bits

Gig Bits is an occasional feature keeping our readers up to speed on Google Fiber. Read Gig Bits.

• Tech Transfer Connects Innovative Ideas with the Marketplace - Google Connects KC

Recognition

• Ryan Bennett of IdleSmart, George Brooks of CremaLab, Justin Graves of Infegy, Rodrigo Neri of Instin and Royce Haynes were recognized on Ingram's "20 in their Twenties"
• Missouri was No. 6 on CNN Money's "10 most entrepreneurial states"

Blogged

• First There Was Silicon Valley. Then Silicon Alley. Now…the Case for Building Silicon Prairie - Jeff Slobotski
• Gearing up for launch! - Seedlauncher
• You Are the Exception to the Rule - Wade Foster
• Needed: Feedback on Feature Preview! - ActiveGrade
• Build Your Business Within An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Alana Muller
• Our Best Tips for New Grads #1 - Stay Classy San Diego - Grain & Mortar
• Here We Are - SecretPenguin
• In-Depth with the Think Big i-Team: Bobby Miller Jr. - Think Big Partners
• In-Depth with the Think Big i-Team: Shelby Livingston - Think Big Partners
• In-Depth with the Think Big i-Team: Sara Heins - Think Big Partners
• Dwolla FiSync (video) - Dwolla

Misc.

• KC maker launched a DLP printer on KickStarter, see it working at Maker Faire: Kansas City - twitter.com/makerfairekc
• Social media will aid fan experience during All-Star Game - Kansas City Star
• Divshot added itself to Crowdfunder - crowdfunder.com
• Picture of Ben Milne's protrait in Times Square during F.ounders - twitter.com/kevinabosch

Credits: HERE