IOWA

Lisa Covington recently received the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for her advocacy and work for equity and liberation of African Americans and people of color in Iowa City.

Shannon O’Shaughnessy has always worked in restaurants, and last June she bought Riley’s Cafe in Cedar Rapids and in November officially changed the name to Bea’s Cafe.

Michelle Morse will become the superintendent of Bettendorf Schools beginning July 1.

Jaimen Pangborn helps Cedar Rapids’ at-risk youth find their path to success. In 2011, Pangborn was one of the first employees hired by the Zach Johnson Foundation for its Kids on Course program.

U.S. Rep. Abby Finkenauer opened up to USA Today about her battle with endometriosis, and how she’s using her position to push to raise awareness.

NATION

Chances aren’t looking good for the United States to see a female on the 2020 presidential ballot. Last week, both Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race, leaving one remaining female candidate — Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard — in a race that started with the most women candidates in history.

California’s grand experiment to add women to corporate boards is well underway and the first signs of how effective it is are in. The results are mixed at best.

In recent years, Yelp has seen an increase in requests from users for ways to search for women-owned businesses, and the business listing site is ready to honor those requests.

Every year, Fortune studies the portion of venture capital funding that went to companies founded solely by women. Female-founded companies in 2019 got 2.7% of venture capital funding, for a total of $3.54 billion.