healthcare organizations, earned a spot on Fast Company’s list of companies with the best employee benefits and perks. The magazine lauded Epic for the four-week paid sabbatical it gives to employees after five years of service. Under the program, the company pays for an employee to travel to any country in the world, as long as it’s one he or she hasn’t previously visited.
—The Wisconsin startup accelerator Gener8tor kicked off its latest program, which will be run from Madison, on Friday. The five participating companies are working on technologies including “back-end” software management, medial diagnostic imaging, digital art, and sensors for machines and wearable accessories. Gener8tor has raised a third fund totaling $1.5 million, which the accelerator said will fund both of its core programs this year.
—The Federal Communications Commission will provide more than $570 million in subsidies over the next four years to help improve Internet connectivity in rural Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The three telecom companies that will receive money as part of the FCC-administered Connect America Fund II program are AT&T (NYSE: [[ticker:T]]), CenturyLink (NYSE: [[ticker:CTL]]), and Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FTR]]). One-third of Americans who live in rural areas do not have sufficient broadband service, according to the FCC, which can limit business opportunities where they live.
—Rockwell Automation (NYSE: [[ticker:ROK]]) announced it acquired Devens, MA-based MagneMotion, a manufacturer of smart conveying systems, for an undisclosed amount. In a press release, Milwaukee-based Rockwell said the purchase will complement its packaging and materials-handling technology, known as iTRAK. Rockwell acquired the technology in 2014 when it bought Erlanger, KY-based Jacobs Automation.
—Rabble, a Madison, WI-based startup that is aiming to turn public libraries into hubs for local music, expects the number of cities using its software to increase from two to 10 by summer’s end. The company’s open-source software, called MUSICat, allows local artists to add songs to a library’s online collection and receive licensing fees in return. Tracks are free to stream and download, though the later activity requires a library card.
