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Silicon prairie trailer
The Silicon Prairie, a take on the Silicon Valley, can refer to one of several places in the United States: an area in Texas, one in a multi-state region loosely comprising parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Missouri, one in Wyoming, and one in Illinois.
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Silicon prairie land rush the tech boom in the crossroads the local show
Dallas–Fort Worth Silicon Prairie
North Texas's Silicon Prairie refers to north Dallas and Dallas and Fort Worth's northern suburbs, all part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is named for the high concentration of semiconductor manufacturing, telecommunications, and other information technology related companies in the area.
Dallas–Fort Worth area business in these industry sectors include:
The Telecom Corridor in Richardson is usually considered an area within the Silicon Prairie. There are also a large number of recognized video and computer game developers in the area, known as the Dallas Gaming Mafia, including Gearbox Software, id Software, 3D Realms, and Ensemble Studios.
Illinois Silicon Prairie
The Illinois Silicon Prairie typically refers to the Chicago and Champaign/Urbana areas. Much of the high technology industry base in the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area consists of research and small start-up companies working with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Seven Fortune 500 companies have research entities at the university's research park, which is located in Champaign. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is in Urbana.
The Chicago Metropolitan Area is home to several companies in the industrial automation, consumer electronics, telecommunications and online services industries. The Illinois Technology and Research Corridor along Interstate 88 and the Golden Corridor along Interstate 90 have particularly high concentrations of such businesses.
Among the Chicago area companies and organizations that comprise the Illinois Silicon Prairie are:
Midwest Silicon Prairie
An area of the Midwestern United States is often referred to as the Silicon Prairie. This region can loosely be defined as the states bordering along Interstate 29 in the Upper Midwest; specifically Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Missouri.
Gateway
The moniker was first claimed by the Gateway 2000 computer company in advertisements in the mid-1990s as its location in advertisements and promotional materials. The firm was founded in Sioux City, Iowa but later relocated across the border to North Sioux City, South Dakota.
Silicon Prairie Communications (prairie.net) - ISP and regional BBS
Founded in 1992, Silicon Prairie Communications started as a regional BBS and UUCP gateway, expanding to a boutique ISP that still serves as the delegated admin for a large group of .us domain localities, both regionally in Iowa and several large metro cities.
Silicon Prairie News
In 2008, the online technology and entrepreneurial news publication Silicon Prairie News was founded to highlight achievements of companies in the region's principal cities, namely: Des Moines, Kansas City, Lincoln, Omaha and Sioux Falls.
Silicon Prairie Portal & Exchange d/b/a Silicon Prairie Online
In 2016, the MNvest portal operator Silicon Prairie Online received registration approval from the Minnesota Department of Commerce to commence operations as a JOBS Act approved crowdfunding portal operator.
Iowa Governor Culver
In 2009, Governor Chet Culver (D-Iowa) used the term to describe his desired future reputation for his state after their investment in wind and other renewable energy industries.
ISU Research Park
Ames, Iowa
Workiva - An Ames, Iowa-based business enterprise software company. In 2016 Workiva received the Technology Association of Iowa's Prometheus Award for Top Growth Company of the Year.
Des Moines
Dwolla - A mobile payment company, whose business model includes speeding up business to business and business to consumer transactions and payments.
Nebraska Angels - An Omaha-based group of approximately 60 investors who fund local start-ups.