Software firm Connecture moving headquarters to Waukesha; 100 jobs possible   

Connecture Inc., a growing health insurance software firm, will move its headquarters from Atlanta, Ga., and add about 100 jobs this year in the Waukesha area. 

Alice.com gets another financial boost  
Alice.com, a Middleton company that sells consumer packaged goods online, is getting another financial infusion.

High-speed Internet access expanding to remote areas of Wisconsin  
Federal stimulus dollars approved in 2009 will be used to create as many as 659 jobs and provide high-speed Internet access to more than 7,400 rural households in Wisconsin this year.

WisBusiness: Past business plan contest finalists still in business, have raised money and are hiring    
Finalists in the Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest since its inception in 2004 have performed well over time, with 76.7 percent remaining in business today. Those same finalists have raised at least $52 million in private equity and other financing, and they plan to hire more workers in the year ahead.

SoLoMo picking up speed  
In a SoLoMo world, Internet display ads are just plain old-fashioned. SoLoMo - which describes the collision of social features, local business promotions (e.g., coupons) and mobile applications - is driving marketing trends and changing the way businesses build and monitor their brands.

Diagnostic tests make inroads in market; Stemina was past BPC finalist  
When thalidomide came to market in the 1950s as a morning sickness treatment, no one imagined the many cases of birth defects that would result from use of the drug.

John Torinus Blog: Tale of two states on jobs, venture capital
Zach Brandon of the Wisconsin Technology Council paints a dramatic story of what Wisconsin's pathetic track record on venture capital has meant to the job base. His numbers on venture investing say that if Wisconsin had kept pace with the national average, it would have almost no unemployment. Read the full post here.  

Young named director of UW-Whitewater Technology Park Robert Young has been named executive director of Whitewater University Technology Park.  

Lucigen gets grant for Parkinson's research  
Lucigen of Middleton has received a $187,000 grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to study LRRK2. Mutations of the LRRK2 gene have been found to be connected to an increased risk of Parkinson's.

Report of Epic's continued growth wows at WIN-Madison luncheon  
A top official of Epic Systems Corp. dazzled his tech industry colleagues on last month with figures of the Verona company's rapid growth.

Middleton medical isotope firm to build new plant in Janesville  
A Middleton start-up aiming to make medical isotopes said it will build a new manufacturing plant in Janesville. Shine Medical Technologies said it hopes to complete the plant, which would have more than 100 permanent employees, in 2015.

Executive Q&A: Google exec learns from entrepreneurs    
Dave Sobota grew up on the West Side, sold popcorn at the Hilldale Theater and delivered the Wisconsin State Journal from his Radio Flyer wagon as he walked a  paper route in the Nakoma neighborhood.

Twin Disc reports profitable quarter  
Thanks to improved sales in the oil and gas markets, Twin Disc Inc. (TWIN) said fiscal second quarter increased to $5.86 million, or 51 cents a share, from $4.03 million , or 35 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

UW-Oshkosh biodigester is finalist for Renewable Energy Award   The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's innovative dry fermentation anaerobic biodigester project has been chosen as a finalist for the Readers' Choice Renewable Energy Award by RenewableEnergyWorld.com.

Venture investing in Wisconsin slides 40 percent in 2011; venture bill touted   Wisconsin companies raised $72 million in venture capital in 2011, a 40 percent drop from a year earlier, according to figures released Friday.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained? New state-backed venture capital fund pushed  
Randy Spaulding couldn't have picked a worse time to try and raise money for his new medical equipment company in West Bend.

State makes $750,000 grant to water tech incubator  
A Milwaukee business incubator to provide space for water technology firms is getting $750,000 in state funds, it was announced recently.

WAN works with new angel group in Northeast Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Angel Network has been working with a group of Oshkosh business leaders to launch Northeast Wisconsin's first angel group. "Angels on the Water" plans to raise $2.5 million to finance entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in the region.

Aircraft company plans to move to Superior
A Maine-based aircraft company announced it is moving its headquarters to Superior, creating up to 600 new jobs.

Angel network director Zach Brandon discusses early stage capital on Milwaukee Public Radio  
Brandon sat down with WUWM's Erin Toner to discuss a stated priority for both parties in the new legislative session. The yet-to-be unveiled legislation would establish a state-leveraged venture capital fund. Listen to the full interview here. 

Digitizing health records, before it was cool: New York Times features Epic Systems    A Jan. 14 news story in the New York Times described one of Wisconsin's biggest technology success stories, Epic Systems, the electronic health records company that helps to keep track of 40 million patients. Click here to read more.

WIN Milwaukee meeting on future of early stage capital bill draws coverage  
A meeting of the Wisconsin Innovation Network in Milwaukee on the prospects for passage of a venture capital bill drew broad news coverage. Guests were Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville. Click here to read a story in WisBusiness.com, and here to see the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel coverage. 

Zeon Solutions Inc. acquires e-commerce development firm

Milwaukee-based software developer Zeon Solutions Inc. said Wednesday it has acquired e-commerce development firm Grand River, which will bring total employment to more than 280.