Building a Better Iowa Podcast
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© University of Northern Iowa Business and Community Services
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Building a Better Iowa Podcast is produced by Business and Community Services (BCS) at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). BCS is a collection of 13 unique outreach programs headquartered in Cedar Falls. Our mission is to build a better Iowa through entrepreneurship, education, business, innovation and sustainability. For more information, visit bcs.uni.edu.
27 Episodes
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Today we’re talking with John Burnett and Nick Pfeiffer about their work with the Cedar Valley Makers (CVM), a space located in downtown Waterloo that offers membership to tools and resources for building, construction, 3D printing, Crickets, and more. CVM is neighbors with the UNI Metal Casting and Foundry 4.0 Centers and provides meaningful resources to small business owners and hobbyists who don't own their own tools.
Learn more at https://www.cedarvalleymakers.org/.
In this episode, learn all about how Business & Community Services helped Iowa Chill in its entrepreneurial journey. Scott Burak is one of Iowa Chill's owners who shares more about the premiere social network, the people behind the screen, and why the team has an office here at UNI.
Learn more about Iowa Chill at https://www.iowachill.com/ and learn about entrepreneurship at UNI at https://jpec.uni.edu/.
Today on the podcast, we ask Olivia Warren from the Downtown Davenport Partnership about her experience at the Heartland Economic Development Course. James Hoelscher, of the Institute for Decision Making, also shares about what goes into the course and what benefits that students see.
Learn more about the course at https://heartland.uni.edu/ or about the organizers at https://idm.uni.edu/.
Lindi Roelofse, T. Wayne Davis Chair in Entrepreneurship at UNI, is taking over the mic for this special episode to talk all about the entrepreneurship efforts of the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC) in conjunction with the 24/7 Black Leadership Advancement Consortium (24/7BLAC). Their conversation covers inclusion and capital in the entrepreneurship space, including how people who do have power can take a step back to empower and celebrate others. Keep listening to hear from Julienne Shields, CEO of USASBE; ReShonda Young, program director for 24/7BLAC; and Carol Fletcher, director of UNI Dining.
Katie and Patrick are back talking with Christy Ryken, who, you might remember from season one, is the director of Strategic Marketing Services. Today, we’re talking specifically about their program MarketSolve, which provides unique assistance for businesses in need of market research that might not have a far-stretching budget. Listen in and then visit https://sms.uni.edu to learn more!
The Iowa Air Emissions Assistance Program–or IAEAP for short–is designed to train and educate Iowa small businesses on air emission regulations enforced by the Clean Air Act. Jennifer Wittenburg joins Katie on the podcast today. As the IAEAP Manager at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center, Jen shares how the IAEAP assists Iowa small businesses through on-site visits, workshops, compliance assistance materials and more.
Learn more at https://iwrc.uni.edu/iaeap.
Employee ownership is a shared equity model where employees have an ownership stake in the company. These employees may or may not be involved in key management decisions, but they participate in the financial performance of the company. As BCS's Advance Iowa breaks into the employee ownership space, we're chatting with their team to learn more. In this episode, Patrick and Katie interview Stacy Mullinex, program manager, who leads the employee ownership efforts of Advance Iowa. Learn more at advanceiowa.com/employee-ownership.
The Heartland Economic Development Course offers intensive training in the basic concepts, information, methods, and strategies of local economic development. The course is presented by a board of directors and the Institute for Decision Making, a center located in BCS. Today, Katie is talking with James Hoelscher, senior program manager at IDM, about all facets of the course. Learn more at bcs.uni.edu/heartland.
The R. J. McElroy Student Business Incubator, a program of the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (UNI JPEC), is an educational learning laboratory designed to inspire and educate students interested in entrepreneurship and small business. Today, Katie chats with Bart Schmitz, program manager, about how the JPEC works to empower and inspire students at every stage of their entrepreneurial journey. Learn more by visiting jpec.uni.edu.
Food waste is a complicated issue that has far-reaching ramifications including societal strain, environmental degradation and financial burdens. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center at UNI has been providing food waste prevention and reduction services since 2013. Today, Katie and Patrick chat with Jenny Trent, program manager, about the work she does to reduce waste in the food, beverage and organics areas—at both macro and micro levels. Learn more by visiting iwrc.uni.edu/food-waste.
Green Iowa AmeriCorps is Iowa's leader in boots-on-the-ground energy and environmental services. GIA is headquartered at the University of Northern Iowa Center for Energy & Environmental Education and maintains 20+ sites throughout Iowa. Today on the podcast, Patrick interviews Ashley Coffin, program director, who shares more about the work they're doing across the state. Visit GreenIowaAmeriCorps.org to learn more about their program and how to apply to serve!
On Nov. 10, 2022, the UNI Family Business Center will host its second Iowa Family Business Conference in West Des Moines! To kick off season two of the Building a Better Iowa Podcast, Patrick and Katie interview Dan Beenken, director. Listen in to hear more about the keynote speaker (hint: it's going to be spicy!) and topics that will be covered.
There is a fee to register, but families with a UNI FBC membership receive two free tickets. The early bird discount expires on the evening of Monday, Oct. 10, so be sure to get your tickets ASAP!
Quick links:
Iowa Family Business Conference registration
UNI Family Business Center
Contact the FBC
Today on the Building a Better Iowa podcast, Randy Pilkington interviews Paul Kinghorn, director of Advance Iowa. This program is housed in BCS and delivers facilitated services, resources, and programming that assists small and mid-sized enterprises in the key areas of innovation, strategic growth, business ownership structures, and succession planning. Learn more at advanceiowa.com.
Randy interviews Jerry Thiel on today's episode about the UNI Metal Casting Center and the UNI Foundry 4.0 Center, of which Jerry is the director. The UNI Metal Casting Center has a 30-year history of supporting the casting industry through materials research, manufacturing approaches and helping the foundry sector move toward Manufacturing 4.0 technologies. UNI has long been a leader in the metal casting sector, with many innovations in binder technologies, 3D printing of sand molds and cores, investment casting automation and sensors and the IoT. They recently launched a new program to enhance the defense supply chain by adopting manufacturing 4.0 techniques and automation in collaboration with Youngstown State University.
Learn more about the MCC and F4C initiatives at UNI at their website: https://mcc.uni.edu/
We're joined today by Chris Lampe, Senior Program Manager at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center, who works specifically with the Spray Technique Analysis and Research for Defense (STAR4D) program. The STAR4D program began in 2003 as a means to provide effective painter training to the U.S. Armed Forces. Training military painters is of the utmost importance to ensure corrosion prevention, proper application, and efficient production. The program has grown throughout the years but the core mission has always remained to provide hands-on customized training.
Learn more about the STAR4D program at their website: https://iwrc.uni.edu/star4d
The Tallgrass Prairie Center is an organization at UNI that empowers people to value and restore resilient, diverse tallgrass prairie. It aims to increase the capacity of partners and stakeholders to establish and protect native perennial vegetation and restore ecosystem services in the tallgrass prairie region. The TPC also increases awareness and appreciation of the Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem, and understanding of its significance to society. Today, Patrick and Katie are joined by Laura Jackson, director and professor of biology at the TPC.
Learn more about the TPC at their website or follow them on Facebook.
IASourceLink is the go-to resource for aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners who need help starting, scaling, or accelerating their business in Iowa. In a collaboration between the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurship Program, IASourceLink is housed at the UNI JPEC and led by Patrick Luensmann, our podcast co-host and Associate Director of the JPEC. Today, Katie asks Patrick about IASourceLink's history, growth and impact across the state of Iowa.
Learn more about IASourceLink at their website: https://www.iasourcelink.com/
The Center for Energy & Environmental Education – or CEEE for short – creates opportunities for UNI students, faculty and staff to work with community leaders to arrive at evidence-based, solution-oriented responses to the problems they wish to address. Today, Patrick and Katie are joined by Kamyar Enshayan, Director of CEEE, to talk about the services they offer in energy conservation and renewable energy, environmental conservation, and community-based agriculture. The CEEE serves all people, careers, organizations and communities in Iowa.
Learn more:
Website
Facebook
Today we talk to Laurie Watje, director of the University of Northern Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC). Laurie describes JPEC programs that all benefit UNI student and community entrepreneurs, like the Early Founders Program, R. J. McElroy Student Business Incubator, Iowa SourceLink, and the Small Business Development Center.
Learn more about the JPEC:
jpec.uni.edu
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
Today we hear from John DeGroote, director of the GeoInformatics Training Research Education and Extension (GeoTREE) Center. GeoTREE is located within the Geography Department at the University of Northern Iowa and supports the effective use of geospatial technologies like Geographic Information Systems, Global Positioning Systems, Remote Sensing, and Web mapping. Originally founded with federal support from NASA, the GeoTREE Center continues to address the goal of supporting use of geospatial technologies in Iowa, while also actively supporting the effective use of these technologies by faculty, students, departments, and groups at UNI.
Visit geotree.uni.edu to learn more about the great work coming from GeoTREE.
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