WEDNESDAY, JAN. 30, 2019  |  IN THIS ISSUE  
 
Midwestern technology provider Marco is preparing to open a new office in southwest Cedar Rapids next month, with plenty of space to grow.
 
The St. Cloud, Minnesota-based firm will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new 5,500-square-foot office at 5741 C St. SW on Feb. 21 at 3:30 p.m. It will replace Marco's current office in Hiawatha, and roughly double its space. That will provide more room for the company to showcase the technologies it sells, and better accommodate the 10-12 employees Marco expects to hire over the coming years as digital service demand drives growth, said Regional Sales Manager Tyler Ebnet.
 
"In the past year, we added 10 new employees to the Corridor, and we are looking to continue that growth with the new office," Mr. Ebnet said.
 
The new space will include multiple collaboration spaces, and a demonstration area where customers can test the copiers, printers and communication technologies, and a telepresence system that will allow them to learn from experts located in other Marco locations across the country, according to Mr. Ebnet.
 
"Our goal is to expand our thought leadership as we've continued to get bigger," he said. "It might be hard to find a copier security expert in Cedar Rapids, but we can find someone in the United States, and they can actually connect in and communicate with our customers while they're using the equipment in our demonstration facility."
 
Marco has been expanding rapidly over the past several years, making seven acquisitions in the past year alone, including Rudzianski's Business Equipment in Dubuque. Most recently, the company purchased Enterprise Systems Group, a business IT services company in Little Chute, Wisconsin. Marco now counts more than 1,400 employees and 64 locations nationally.
 
The University of Iowa is home to top-flight researchers and facilities - but what exactly are they coming up with?
 
Marie Kerbeshian jokes with her colleagues that the innovations coming out of the University of Iowa today might not see any revenue returned to the university until long after they've retired. First, there's the three- to five-year delay between filing an initial provisional patent and final approval.
 
"And since our biggest blockbusters are coming out the health care space, you then have to go through the FDA process, which can take a decade," said Ms. Kerbeshian, assistant vice president and director of the UI Research Foundation (UIRF). "Like I tell my staff, a lot of these inventions are going to benefit the university down the road when we might be gone. But it's also wonderful, because it will ultimately come back to the university and get reinvested in research."
 
With a mission of helping "bring your ideas to the world," the UIRF assists researchers in transferring technology from lab to marketplace, guiding them through the IP protection and commercialization process, working with industry to get new products licensed and collaborating with UI Ventures on new startups.
 
Over the past six years, the office has handled 771 invention disclosures, applied for 589 patents and received final patent approval on 149, including a six-year high of 27 in fiscal 2018.
 
Ms. Kerbeshian said researchers who have discovered new devices, processes, chemicals, drug compounds, software and other protectable IP begin by filing an invention disclosure with her office, where it will be reviewed by staff with experience in both the patent process and scientific and business development. She cautioned an invention is no longer patentable if it has been publicly disclosed, including through an academic journal, so it's important researchers protect their property prior to publishing.
 
"The second question we ask is, 'Would a company be interested in moving the innovation toward the market?'" she said. If that's a yes, UIRF applies for a provisional patent that lasts one year.
 
Over the course of that year, UIRF staff begin reaching out to industry partners to see if they would be interested in licensing or developing a product. If they agree, the foundation will work with the company over the next 20 years - the life of the patent - and collect the royalties.
 
Of the disclosures UIRF manages to license, Ms. Kerbeshian said, about a third generate revenue - and the amount varies widely. The largest revenue generator in UI history was the CMV (Cytomegalovirus) Promoter, a tool that helps turn genes on and off in genetics research and in developing therapies. The CMV Promoter generated about $170 million in royalties from the mid '90s until several years ago when the patent expired.
 
Read the full, members-first story and see more examples of UI innovation in this week's print and digital editions of the CBJ.
 
Iowa City-based ACT Inc. has partnered with Aspiring Minds to launch ACT Stack, a new work-readiness solution for institutions, employers and individuals who need to identify and measure their work readiness on foundational and job-specific skills.
 
ACT Stack combines a comprehensive set of skill assessments from ACT and Aspiring Minds, a provider of AI-powered pre-employment assessments and analytics, and is designed to validate the skills necessary for success in the workplace. Together, they promise to enable "stackable credentials" for current and prospective employees, and help organizations better assess their employees' competencies and identify key performance gaps.
 
The suite will combine ACT assessments and credentialing programs such as ACT WorkKeys and the recently launched ACT Tessera Workforce with Aspiring Minds' Automata, described by the company as "the world's most advanced programming assessment," and more than 200 simulations and skill tests. The assessments will be delivered on Aspiring Minds' state-of-the-art platform for a simple user experience.
 
"This collaboration is a natural fit that will benefit employers and job seekers around the world," Suzana Delanghe, ACT's chief commercial officer, said in a release. "We are very excited to be joining forces with Aspiring Minds to create ACT Stack and to build on the legacy of both organizations to improve workforce readiness and link employers with the right talent."
  
Terms of the agreement were not released.


Few things can bring comfort on a sub-zero day like a steaming hot beverage or a warm meal. Corridor restaurants and coffee shops hope to provide that comfort Wednesday, when the temperatures are supposed to be most brutal, but they say they'll have to make some staffing changes to do so. At Brewhemia in Cedar Rapids, co-owners Matt and Brad Danielson will be the only ones serving up beverages, giving the rest of baristas and kitchen staff a break. "We're here for the neighborhood and everybody needs a hot cup of coffee," said Matt Danielson. "We decided to stay open and see what happens." Watch the full report here.

Iowa Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig will participate in an international trade mission to South America, led by Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) officials, from Feb. 3-9.
 
Iowa is the second-largest ag exporting state in the country, with more than $13.2 billion in agricultural exports annually. Last year, more than $80 million in Iowa goods went to Colombia, with a 247 percent increase in trade within the first six months of 2018 alone, according to the IEDA. Colombia is a top 25 trading partner with the United States overall, and is America's 11th largest agricultural export market.
 
Panama is a strategic partner for U.S. exports, serving as a crossroads of international trade located between two oceans and two continents.
 
"One of my top priorities is to focus on expanding markets for Iowa's crop farmers, livestock producers, and agribusinesses," Mr. Naig said in a release. "I look forward to joining Lt. Gov. Gregg and Iowa farmers on this trade mission to market Iowa's brand and quality agricultural products."
 
Others groups participating in the trade mission include the Iowa Pork Producers Association, the Iowa Corn Growers, the Iowa Soybean Association, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and Midwest Premier Foods, a Johnston-based food processing and trading company with customers around the world.

Correction
A report on Rayser Holdings' acquisition of Keltek Inc. in Monday's CBJ Business Daily incorrectly identified the source of a quotation. Keltek Inc. CEO Kelly Milligan said, "We have talked about making our employees owners for a long time and this gives us the opportunity to do that as well as continue to grow the company." We apologize for the error.
 
Jan. 31
Marion State of the City , by city of Marion and League of Women Voters Linn County, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Cedar Rapids Marriott, 1200 Collins Road NE, Cedar Rapids. Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly will review the city's accomplishments of the past year and look ahead to 2019. Register at www.lwvlinncounty.org.
 
Realtor and Developer Summit , by Terry Lockridge & Dunn and Pugh Hagan Prahm PLC, 2:30-4:45 p.m., The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. This program will cover topics of interest to Realtors, real estate developers and others in the field, including tax updates, opportunity zones, closing checklists, case law updates and more. A reception will follow after the program. Cost: Free for non-Realtors, $15 fee for Realtor CE certificate processing. RSVP by Jan. 23 to Jody at [email protected] or call (319) 364-2945.
 
Feb. 1
First Friday Coffee Connections, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 7:30-8:30 a.m., Country Financial, 655 Liberty Way, Ste. 6, North Liberty. Enjoy an hour of networking before heading off for the daily grind. Free.
 
Feb. 4
Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon-1 p.m., Buffalo Wild Wings, 2500 Corridor Way, Ste. 1, Coralville. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network, keep up-to-date with chamber and community events and frequent a member restaurant or business. Free. Contact Emily at (319) 337-9637 or [email protected]   with questions.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28  
 
As the temperature drops, members of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department are piling on the equipment. Extra stocking caps and a pair of gloves, with yaktrax to put on boots, are just some of the additional pieces of equipment they have on hand. "We have approximately 65 pounds that we're carrying," said Captain Brent Smith, adding that winter brings on different challenges than warmer months, like additional uniforms and equipment on each truck. "We use additional hose if the hoses freeze up. We have duplication in some of those systems to make sure that we're still able to operate the way that we need to," he said. Another seasonal change they see is in the types of calls and how they have to respond to them. Mr. Smith says it's not uncommon to receive calls for falls during the summer, but in winter there is a bit of a different reaction. "We will be going lights and sirens on to that call, knowing that the elements [frost bite] can happen within five minutes with the wind chills the way that they are." There's also a spike of house fires in Cedar Rapids in the months of January and February. The fire department says this increase is usually due to space heaters, furnaces and candles. The Area Ambulance team tells CBS2/FOX 28 they also have extra equipment, including shovels to get to homeowners' doors or clear a path during any emergency.  

T hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28 
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast

Wind chills will be dangerously cold this morning, between -40 to -55. High pressure will move in overhead and there will be plenty of sunshine. The sun will not help with high temperatures in the teens and 20s below zero today. This will set record for the coldest high temperatures of the day and possibly all-time record cold highs. Winds will start to relax through the day, but wind chills will still be in the range of -30 to -50. The Arctic air mass will start to retreat on Thursday, however it will still be a frigid day with highs in the single digits below zero. A clipper system will dive southeast through the area which will bring the chance for light snow. Some minor, fluffy accumulations will be possible. Temperatures will finally climb above zero on Friday with highs in the teens under partly cloudy skies.