TUESDAY, DEC. 10, 2019  |  IN THIS ISSUE
 
John Bertrand 
Coralville-based healthtech company IDx Technologies is shuffling its executive leadership team as it works to accelerate product development and scale its operations to accommodate increased market adoption of IDx-DR, its FDA-authorized autonomous AI system that detects a leading cause of blindness.
 
Founder and CEO Dr. Michael Abramoff will succeed Gary Seamans as executive chairman, while John Bertrand will succeed Dr. Abramoff as CEO, the company announced this week.
 
Additional executive changes include the appointment of Seth Rainford as president and COO, and Danika Simonson to the newly created role of chief of staff.
 
Mr. Bertrand brings a decade of health care technology experience to IDx, holding a variety of executive roles at Madison, Wisconsin-based Epic Systems, the creator of electronic medical record software. He most recently served as executive in residence at 8VC, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm focused on health care technology.
 
"John is an amazing person who is deeply passionate about autonomous AI's promise to lower cost, improve quality and increase access," Dr. Abramoff said in a statement. "He is determined to radically transform health care delivery and has a proven track record of successfully executing go-to-market strategy and accelerating growth at numerous companies, which is exactly what we need as market demand rapidly increases."
 
IDx last week announced that its IDx-DR system will be used at CarePortMD retail health clinics located within the Albertsons grocery store chain. IDx -DR uses AI to identify patients with diabetic retinopathy and macular edema, common complications of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness.
 
In July, the American Medical Association established a new billing code for automated point-of-care retinal imaging, speeding adoption of the company's groundbreaking system.
CCR funeral equipment company wins innovation award 
 
An image of The Stepper, with the smaller set of wheels shown about the engage the next set of steps. CREDIT MORTUARY LIFT
A Cedar Rapids-based company has won second place in the National Funeral Directors Association's annual Innovation Awards for its lightweight stair climbing system known as "The Stepper."
 
The Stepper is a two-wheeled system designed for lifting and lowering remains of up to 375 pounds. On stairs, a smaller set of wheels electronically grabs the next step and pulls the wheeled platform up or lowers it down with control, eliminating manual lifting and pulling, according to the company.
 
"It takes gravity and strength out of the equation of transferring remains from private homes," Mortuary Lift President Katie Hill said in a release announcing the award. "A single person of either sex can confidently collect remains from a second floor or basement on their own, without back strain."
 
The NFDA's Innovation Awards recognize outstanding funeral service equipment, products and processes introduced commercially during the prior year.
 
The Stepper promises to ease the toll lifting takes on workers in the funeral service industry. The average male funeral director in the United States is 50.6 years old, while the average female funeral director is 44.6, according to Census Bureau data compiled by datausa.io.
 
Learn more at mortuarylift.com.
Para3High fiber: Enseva bringing Hiawatha firms top data speeds
A contractor installs fiber optic cable for Enseva that will cross under I-380 to the west side of Hiawatha. PHOTO ENSEVA
Businesses in Hiawatha are seeing plenty of utility marker flags - and better high-speed data connections and rates - as local data center operator Enseva cuts out the internet service middle man.

Enseva is more than halfway through a fiber buildout project that is directly connecting area business customers with its Hiawatha data center. Instead of transmitting data over hundreds of miles of fiber optic cable through peering arrangements among multiple internet service providers, the data is traveling over a distance of a few miles over one network, Enseva Chief Technology Officer Chris Sevey said.

Through its own local fiber network, Mr. Sevey said Enseva has been able to offer rates about 50 percent below what some customers were quoted by their internet service providers (ISPs). The network now reaches businesses on the east side of Interstate 380, and installation has recently begun on the west side.

"Depending on how weather treats us, by early spring of next year Enseva will have fiber in the vicinity of all commercial property within Hiawatha city limits and will be on the edge looking at opportunities to drop into Cedar Rapids as well," Mr. Sevey said.

Enseva had no intention of becoming a communications provider when it opened the data center seven years ago.

"We're a business that entered the market providing co-location services - real estate where customers bring their own servers," Mr. Sevey explained. "In the last two years, we've seen a massive transition of customers ... who are now looking for more of a cloud service provider. Probably 98 percent of our sales these days are cloud-related as opposed to data center sales."

Read the full members-only story in this week's print or digital editions of the CBJ.
 
After nearly a decade as the president of Grinnell College, Raynard Kington will leave the college at the end of the academic year to become the new head of school of Phillips Academy, better known as Andover, the prestigious Massachusetts university-preparatory boarding school, the Des Moines Business Record reports.
 
Grinnell's Board of Trustees chairman, David Maxwell, announced the news last week in a special campus memo. Among Mr. Kington's most important accomplishments are increasing diversity and inclusion efforts on campus, and providing greater access to education.
 
"Throughout his years at Grinnell, President Kington has modeled a commitment to strategic and inclusive leadership as well as clear, thoughtful, and fair decision-making processes," Mr. Maxwell wrote.
 
Mr. Kington promoted innovation and entrepreneurship on campus, creating the Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize and the Innovation Fund. He championed the development of a Center for Careers, Life, and Service, ensuring that students are well prepared to thrive in their lives after college. He also helped lead the college in investing nearly $140 million in a campus renewal program.
 
He strengthened ties to the city of Grinnell and throughout the Midwest region through initiatives such as AmeriCorps and programming for public school children. Since 2013, investments in the "Zone of Confluence," where campus and downtown come together, have focused on a process for revitalizing that gateway district through joint redevelopment projects.
 
Mr. Kington will become the 16th head of school at Andover.
 
Read the full story at businessrecord.com.
Para5USAF extends Collins contract to support aircrew simulators

A JSTARS simulator at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. CREDIT COLLINS AEROSPACE
After nearly two decades of providing sustainment support, Collins Aerospace Systems has received a 10-year extension from the U.S. Air Force to provide services critical to maintaining the training system for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft.

The system includes full flight simulators and navigator training terminals located at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. Collins Aerospace is a unit of United Technologies Corp.

With a track record of 99% uptime over the life of the contract, Collins Aerospace will continue to help the USAF overcome obsolescence of the training system by providing cybersecurity updates, hardware upkeep and onsite logistics.

"With the missions having anywhere from four to 15 aircrew involved, training system uptime is crucial for an effective rotation to maintain readiness," said Nick Gibbs, vice president and general manager, Simulation and Training Solutions for Collins Aerospace. "We are proud to support the critical JSTARS mission by providing sustainable training readiness."

The JSTARS training system is made up of two Collins Aerospace full-flight simulators as well as two navigator training stations that provide simultaneous training for both pilots and crew.

Beyond the E-8C JSTARS, Collins Aerospace has been providing broad-scope, complex simulation and training systems for other platforms that include the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, B-52 Stratofortress and E-6B Mercury for over 15 years.
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Alliant Energy LNT 52.95 0.07 0.13%
Casey's General Stores CASY 158.72 -16.6 -9.47%
Deere & Company DE 169.90 2.00 1.19%
Dow Jones ^DJI 27,881.72 -27.88 -0.10%
General Mills GIS 53.24 0.08 0.15%
GoDaddy GDDY 66.02 -0.78 -1.17%
Great Western Bank GWB 34.42 0.07 0.20%
Heartland Express HTLD 21.00 -0.10 -0.47%
KemPharm KMPH 0.3612 0.0162 4.70%
Marsh & McLennan MMC 108.7 0.36 0.33%
MidWestOne MOFG 34.67 0.15 0.43%
Pearson PSO 8.29 -0.07 -0.84%
Pepsico PEP 136.27 -0.89 -0.65%
Principal Financial PFG 53.24 -0.01 -0.02%
QCR Holdings QCRH 41.99 0.13 0.31%
S&P 500 ^GSPC 3,132.52 -3.44 -0.11%
Procter & Gamble PG 124.27 -0.60 -0.48%
United Fire Group UFCS 43.22 -0.02 -0.05%
U.S. Bank USB 59.95 -0.05 -0.08%
United Technologies UTX 145.37 -0.85 -0.58%
Wells Fargo WFC 53.69 -0.23 -0.43%
West Bank WTBA 24.84 0.23 0.93%
Whirlpool WHR 144.47 -1.75 -1.20%
Short-Term Event Planner
       
Dec. 11
1 Million Cups, by 1MC Cedar Rapids, 8:15-9:15 a.m., Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Join for community connections, free coffee and presentations by entrepreneurs, established companies, experts and more. Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MCICR.
 
1 Million Cups, by 1MC Iowa City, 9-10 a.m., MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. Join for community connections, free coffee and presentations by entrepreneurs, established companies, experts and more . Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MillionCupsIC/ .
 
Ashley Homestore Ribbon Cutting, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Ashley Homestore, 1421 Coral Ridge Ave., Coralville. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2OJq1Eu.
 
Dec. 12
Monthly Breakfast Roundtable, by SCORE of East Central Iowa, 7:30-9 a.m., Scott's Family Restaurant, 1906 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids. Free. This networking opportunity offers a chance to share best practices and get help with business challenges. Free. To register, visit conta.cc/32In4Yi.
 
LFS Alumni Holiday Breakfast, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 7:30-9 a.m., Ideal Social Hall, 213 16th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Join the Leadership for Five Seasons Advisory Board and LFS alumni at the alumni holiday breakfast. Bring a bring a package or two of diapers to support the Eastern Iowa Diaper Bank. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/2qMuQne.
 
Charitable Giving & Tax Strategies, by SCORE of East Central Iowa, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Hills Bank, 3905 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids. This workshop will take a strategic look at charitable giving and maximizing your impact for tax purposes. Free. To register, visit conta.cc/2XuePyj.
 
Short's Burger & Shine Ribbon Cutting, 3 p.m., Short's Burger & Shine, 780 11th St., Marion. Celebrate the opening of this new Marion restaurant. Free. For more information, visit bit.ly/2X6jqGy.
 
Regional Legislative Launch, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 5-7 p.m., Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery, 1441 Marak Road, Swisher. The Economic Alliance and Iowa City Chamber have partnered to create identical state and federal public policy agendas. The pair will advocate as one this year when working with regional policymakers. Members of both organizations are invited to celebrate this collaboration and officially unveil the agendas. Free. To register, visit bit.ly/2rhgL11.
Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28 
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
A judge has sentenced a Cedar Rapids man to 14 years in federal prison for having his cousin try to hijack an internet domain from another man at gunpoint.  The judge sentenced 27-year-old Rossi Lorathio Adams II following his April conviction on one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats and violence. Mr.  Adams owned a social media company and repeatedly tried, but failed, to buy the domain doitforstate.com from a Cedar Rapids man.  In 2017, Mr. Adams convinced his cousin,  Sherman Hopkins Jr. , to break into the domain owner's house, where he tried to force him at gunpoint to transfer the domain to Mr. Adams. During a struggle, Mr. Hopkins and the domain owner were shot, but both survived.
 
Police say a man between the age of 40-50 robbed a convenience store in Cedar Rapids with a knife Monday morning.  Cedar Rapids Police tell CBS2/Fox 28 it happened at 10:38 a.m. at the Kwik Shop at 1001 First Ave. SW.  They described the suspect as a black male around 5'6" to 5'10" with salt and pepper facial hair wearing a stocking cap.  Authorities say he entered the store with a knife and left with an undisclosed amount of money. W itnesses at the scene told officers he left in a light blue sedan.  No one was hurt and no arrests have been made.
  
T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Weather First Forecast
 
Despite abundant sunshine, highs will only climb into the upper teens today. A gusty northwest wind as high as 20 mph will keep wind chills in the single digits at times.  Overnight, an Alberta Clipper arrives bringing light snow to the area. The snow looks to kick off after 1 a.m. and will continue through 6 a.m. Overall snowfall will be light, but given the cold temperatures in the single digits, the snow will be fluffy and accumulate quickly on roadways. The timing of the snow right before the morning commute could lead to a few issues on the roadways so plan on needing additional time to get to school/work Wednesday morning.  Generally, the snowfall will be most likely along/south of Highway 20. There will be a narrow corridor of 1", potentially locally higher, along a line from Grundy Center, through Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, to the Quad Cities.