Mill Race logoWartburg College has partnered with the Mill Race Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, a community workspace in downtown Cedar Falls, designed to support area entrepreneurs and employees working remotely.

The college’s early commitment to the operation gives Wartburg a seat on the Governance Committee and access to office and meeting space in the State Street building.

“Focus on the Future, the college’s constituent-based planning process, reaffirmed the work we have been doing to find new ways to deepen our connections in the region. When looking at the Cedar Valley, we saw that many of our strongest organizations and businesses were all rallying behind and becoming a part of Mill Race,” said Kristin Teig Torres, Wartburg’s Center for Community Engagement director. “Being a Mill Race founding member will put us at the table with these people and allow us to help shape Mill Race moving forward.”

Mill Race was co-founded by Danny Laudick, a University of Northern Iowa graduate and the former director of talent solutions for the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber. Other partners include the City of Cedar Falls; Cedar Falls Utilities; the University of Northern Iowa; Kris Hansen, CEO of Western Home Communities; and Mark Kittrell, who has worked in technology and economic development in Iowa for decades. These early supporters all have a seat on the organization’s governance committee.

The membership also includes the ability to book Mill Race conference rooms, two key fobs for after-hours entry and daily access to the commons area. Teig Torres said faculty, staff and students are all encouraged to use the common space weekdays between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., which includes Wi-Fi access. Any room reservations or after-hours needs must be arranged through Teig Torres. Those who use the space during regular business hours are encouraged to let Teig Torres or Jennifer Onuigbo, office coordinator for student life, know so usage can be tracked.

Teig Torres said the college’s involvement with Mill Race is part of a larger initiative encouraging students to tap into their creativity and entrepreneurship to solve social issues. The college is currently hosting a Wicked Problems Poster Challenge that allows students to submit their ideas on how to tackle a problem using interdisciplinary and innovative approaches. The winner will receive help incubating their ideas-potentially with the assistance of other Mill Race partners-as well as start-up funds.

“This is a little bit of a leap of faith,” Teig Torres said. “We don’t know what will come out of this, but we think there are enough opportunities there-we’re already working on several curricular connections-that will make the investment worthwhile for the college.”