Iowa Business Podcast
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Iowan breathing new life into old ag equipment with Ai retrofits.
Ai is allowing farmers to scale and cover more ground, but new Ai systems can be insanely expensive, costing nearly one million dollars. Craig Rupp of Sabanto Ag sees a more efficient path. His approach retrofits existing, older farm equipment with Ai packages, making old “dumb” farm equipment completely autonomous. Rupp says many of his…
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Iowa’s hidden workforce? Why is HR overlooking easy wins?
One common complaint from recruiters, HR professionals, and skilled trades organizations, is Iowa’s talent shortage. But are we ignoring a massive hidden talent pool in our own backyard? Joseph Johnson, CEO of Change Course talks about a specific group of people who can fill roles including felons and those transitioning off government assistance. Johnson says…
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Where do ag startups get funding? Mikalya Mooney with Ag Startup Engine explains
If you’re an agriculture startup founder in Iowa, where do you get funding? Mikayla Mooney of Ag Startup Engine joins us to discuss why Iowa is leading in ag, but still catching up when it comes to investment for ag-focused startups and companies. Iowa has some of the best soil in the world and we…
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Employees don’t quit jobs, they quit bad managers, says Mike Wagner
Employees aren’t quitting jobs, they’re quitting bad managers says Mike Wagner of White Rabbit Group. Joining fill-in host Jason Kiesau he explains how great leaders build connection, and outlines practices that develop positive direct reports, regular one-on-ones, better questions, feedback, skill development, and delegation. Wagner unpacks the “space between” leaders and direct reports, citing research…
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Up to $20 trillion worth of businesses to be sold over next decade
Guest host Jason Kiesau talks to Mike Barratt, a certified exit planning advisor with Choreo about the Iowa impacts of the “Silver tsunami.” With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every single day, the landscape of business ownership is about to experience a massive shift. A staggering 75% of business owners regret their decision to sell…
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How the midwest won the autonomous vehicle race with Colin Hurd of MACH
The coasts may get the headlines, but the midwest holds the crown for real-world autonomous vehicles. In fact, Ai-driven vehicles have been operating in Iowa for 10 years already. Colin Hurd, CEO of MACH recounts past Iowa successes, and why future of “off road autonomy” is thousands of different robots for niche uses cases. Hurd…
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University of Iowa Student invents platform to give students career clarity
“What am I supposed to do now?” It’s the question every student wants to know the answer to, but few mentors or advisors know how to answer. The Founder of NexPath, Sriram Pullapantula says this is the challenge he is focused on solving. The platform finds valuable skills, certifications and experience, and properly connects students…
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Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate announces new business record!
It’s official, 38,591 new businesses were formed in Iowa in fiscal year 2026, the state’s biggest single year jump in at least a decade. That brings out total to 344,679 active businesses and Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate comes in the studio to break it all down, also discussing their anti-fraud and anti-trafficking efforts.…
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Managing Gen Z: Financially savvy, purpose-driven, high-touch check ins
Like every generation before them, Generation Z has often received criticism and accusations of being soft or poor at communication. While it may be true they have lacked social interactions due to COVID-19 related shutdowns, Jeff Garrison of Results on Purpose explains how their unique purpose-driven focus can be an asset to your company. Based…
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Jethro’s BBQ Social media team shares strategy: people over tech
Tens of thousands of views for balancing drinks on a server tray? Jethro’s BBQ social media team posts content that, upon first inspection, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with their line of business. But clearly something is working. Social media leads, Mason Jeffries and Macy Dirksen, discuss people is more important than tech.…