The following is a look back at the things that really stood out in the Iowa innovation community in 2016. To create it, I combed through the past 51 issues of The Pull and grouped the highlights into three pretty handy categories: Acquisitions, Accelerators and Investment. Of course, there were several other items that I wanted to include that didn't fit as neatly into one of the categories so you'll find them at the end in the "The Year in Other Stuff" section.

Putting together a post like this really makes one appreciate how much ground we cover as a community in the course of a year. You're all pretty great. 

Welcome to the first ever Iowa Startup Community Power Rankings! The idea is to highlight the most interesting things being done within our statewide community at any given time. The plan is to publish around mid-month and recognize companies for the things they've accomplished in the 30 (or so) days prior.

It’s on me to have a list of most-interesting startups to share and promote and I realized that I’ve never done that publicly. So, I sat down this week and put together my own current top five “most interesting” list.

Matt Patane, technology and innovation reporter for the Des Moines Register and Geoff Wood, community builder at Gravitate, sit down for an in-depth discussion of the companies, events and ideas making news in the Iowa innovation community.

Topics discussed on this episode: FunnelWise raises a $7MM Series A, EntreFEST is cancelled for 2016 and the problems that come with record low unemployment.

Feedback, thoughts or suggestions? Hit us up on Twitter or email the show at mvp@gravitatedsm.com