company’s weather stations in fields in Argentina that grow Monsanto seeds. Understory’s solar-powered stations can measure things like temperature, humidity, wind, hail, and rainfall.
—Two Milwaukee-based organizations—software startup Access HealthNet and physician network Trilogy Health Solutions—said they’re partnering to create a new program aimed at lowering the amounts self-funded employers are required to pay in workers’ compensation claims. In a news release, Access HealthNet cites data from the Workers Compensation Research Institute, which has found it costs Wisconsin employers 46 percent more than the national average to settle such claims. The program Access HealthNet plans to co-create is based on its approach of bundling all the different charges that make up a certain medical procedure or episode, and determining which provider charges the lowest amount for it.
—Quad/Graphics (NYSE: [[ticker:QUAD]]), a Sussex-based company that claims to be the largest American printer of magazines, catalogs, and retail inserts, acquired a majority stake in Rise Interactive, a Chicago-based digital marketing agency. Quad said it previously held an ownership stake in Rise, but decided to acquire more of the company’s stock to continue Quad’s “ongoing transformation to leverage its strong print foundation as part of a much larger integrated marketing platform.” Quad did not disclose any financial terms in its news release announcing the deal.
—Gener8tor, which runs training programs for entrepreneurs in its home state of Wisconsin and other Midwestern cities, is launching an accelerator in Minneapolis for startups developing new medical technologies. The seven-week program will take place three times a year. Participating startups will not get money from Gener8tor—unlike its core accelerator program—nor will they surrender any ownership of their companies. Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]), Mayo Clinic, and the University of Minnesota are providing funding and support for the program, Gener8tor said.
—Separately, Gener8tor and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee are partnering on an initiative to invigorate the local music scene. As part of the collaboration, the two organizations will provide four Milwaukee-area musicians with a $20,000 grant and 12 weeks of mentorship to help them move their careers forward, according to an e-mail from 88Nine’s Jeff Bentoff.
—Final Gener8tor item: Jon Eckhardt, one of the organization’s co-founders and the executive director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, said he received $425,000 in grant funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Eckhardt plans to use the funding from the foundation, which tracks startup activity across the U.S., to “study how to improve how university entrepreneurial ecosystems can drive economic growth,” UW-Madison said. [This paragraph has been updated with information from Jon Eckhardt.]
