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The Insider Notebook

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NOTEBOOK: Walsmith’s guitar diplomacy in China

For Jason Walsmith, his first trip to Beijing was a refreshing people-to-people moment celebrating the U.S. Independence Day with an Iowa State Fair vibe at the U.S. Embassy, where solo renditions of songs from the …

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NOTEBOOK: Eighty-six plants (all real) find homes at the offices of Tero International

I commented on the 10 plants that beautify the space of Tero President Rowena Crosbie on a recent visit there to the offices and training space.

“Their placement is very intentional,” Crosbie explained by email …

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NOTEBOOK: Dwolla’s Milne: Look to math for future cybersecurity

Ben Milne, founder of Dwolla and board member of the Technology Association of Iowa, has built a few things that went wrong over the years.

“Someday I hope to get an honorary degree,” Milne said…
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NOTEBOOK – One Good Read: Urban Institute attempts to solve puzzle of low homeownership among millennials

The Urban Institute has gone to the trouble of quantifying the reasons the homeownership rate among millennials trails previous generations, and it has done us the favor of recommending some policy changes that might put…
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NOTEBOOK: A look back at the first of 15 years at the Business Record

Numerous journalists have been quoted as saying that “journalism is the first rough draft of history.” Having reached the 15-year mark this month at the Business Record, I had a little fun glancing in the …

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NOTEBOOK: A condo conversion success story at the Kirkwood Hotel

In 2015, Tim Schutte’s banker told him it would take three years to convert 54 apartments at the Kirkwood Hotel into condominiums and sell each of the units. Schutte, broker owner of Exit Realty Capital …

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NOTEBOOK: Walsmith, 11, launches Kickstarter campaign, dice game

Roan Walsmith is an entrepreneur and inventor who is winding down a $5,000 Kickstarter campaign to polish his product — a dice-based battle game he says is both fun and helpful in boosting players’ math skills.…
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NOTEBOOK: Who’s in the July 27th Issue?

Here’s a list of local people in the July 27 issue of the Business Record and the page number of the article in which they are mentioned. Members can read all of this week’s stories …

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NOTEBOOK: ACCE volunteers assemble literacy kits, donate bears

When the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives arrived for a week of sessions at the Iowa Events Center, about 70 signed up to work with United Way to assemble literacy kits to stress the …

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NOTEBOOK: Some expert advice on leveraging foreign-born talent

Greater Des Moines has taken a leadership role among cities in its efforts to encourage immigration as an economic growth and talent development strategy, but the region needs to do more to encourage immigrants to …