Kansas City From beer and magazines to religion and tipping, apps in a variety of categories have been built using the App Creation Studio, the product of Kansas City, Mo. startup RareWire. Since its launch last October, co-founder Kirk Hasenzahl said more than 2,200 accounts have been created on the platform, and currently more than 1,000 apps in development. "We are excited, but still have more work to do," Hasenzahl said. "At the end of the day, it is still something new to learn. For those that commit to it, the … read more

Omaha Innovation Accelerator, a four-year-old Omaha-based public-private entity that supports the commercialization efforts of Small Business Innovation Research grantees, announced today … read more

Lincoln Three-year-old Lincoln, Neb. startup Green Bein' Productions on Friday will celebrate its next chapter with a new name, Gear Five Studio, and new look. The new name represents the five areas the former gaming studio plans to focus on in the future – web development, virtual worlds, games, software and interactive branding. "The biggest thing with … read more

Cedar Falls Banno founder and CEO Wade Arnold has lured in a 25-year financial technology industry veteran to join his team as president. The Cedar Falls, Iowa company today announced the addition of Charles Potts, who comes to Banno after serving as a managing director at ProfitStars, a division of Jack Henry & Associates recently in the news for entering into a partnership with Arnold's company. "Having Charles join our team is a privilege, and we have high expectations for his ability to substantially contribute to Banno's growth and further our role as a major innovator … read more

Lincoln In honor of Data Privacy Day today, Calvin Pappas launched a new look for his online privacy management site, SelectOut. He also added features aimed at helping individuals protect their online privacy and companies shore up their privacy practices. "Give or take, well over half of companies on the web don't have any privacy policy," SelectOut founder Pappas said, noting that many of those … read more

Kansas City The purchase of a retro handheld game console in 2009, triggered a series of events that led Justin Barwick of Kansas City, Mo. to dream up his own console, pull together a team of collaborators and launch a Kickstarter campaign earlier this month. As of today, the last day of the crowdfunding campaign, Barwick (left) and his team have raised more than $215,000 – nearly 1,500 backers have contributed at least $135 to pre-order the device. … read more

Kansas City At its annual awards event Thursday, Pipeline, the Kansas-based entrepreneurial fellowship program for high-growth entrepreneurs, revealed its new class of fellows. Chosen from what's described as an "extensive selection process," these 13 individuals will work with Pipeline staff, mentors, alumni and one another over the next twelve months … read more

Indianola With the help of an economic development organization and a utilities provider, Simpson College is working to put Indianola on the startup map. The partnership between the college, the Indianola … read more