Susan Gentz met her husband on Capital Hill in a Senator’s office somewhat notorious for successful matchmaking. “It’s a true D.C. nerd love story,” said Susan. The office known for true love is none other than that of Iowa’s longstanding Senator Chuck Grassley – perhaps surprising as cupid. And the experience led to the happiest moment of her life.

As promised last week, here are the details on our big Two Year Birthday Celebration coming up on September 2!

When it comes to finding coffee in West Des Moines, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someplace that’s not a chain. So when it comes to setting up shop in a cafe to do a little coworking, you may not be overwhelmed with options.

Enter Mahalo’s Coffee & Mini Donuts. Located in a strip mall off Mills Civic Parkway and buffered by a Quizno’s and a day spa, the small shop may not immediately be a place you would think of to get work done. But Mahalo’s free wifi, comfortable environment, and (let’s be honest) easy access to mini donuts makes it a great place to pop in for some powdered sugar coated productivity.

Meet Gravitate member Steve Sherlock, the co-founder of Pablow who is an Irish born, Australian, normally living in Berlin, who arrived in Iowa via a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

When it comes to remote working, sometimes it’s important to step outside your normal routine and go in search of a different environment. In Des Moines, that can mean crossing neighborhood boundaries or taking a new interstate exit to visit a different suburban coffee shop. 

While the west side neighborhood of Windsor Heights is notorious for its speed traps and home to Senator Chuck Grassley’s favorite Dairy Queen, it’s also a wonderful place to get things done. Nestled between restaurants and residential spaces, the neighborhood branch of the local chain Grounds for Celebration offers a welcoming atmosphere and a great setup to ensure productivity.

We're now four months into doing the monthly Iowa Startup Power Rankings and I'm tweaking things just a bit. Rather than posting towards the end of the month with a floating time frame for recognition, I've decided to push the publish date until after the first of the month. That means that we'll be able to consistently recognize the efforts of the people and companies in our community from the calendar month prior. Also, it means that this post isn't technically late even though today is August 3rd and the post is about July (when all else fails, change the rules).