Iowa City has a new shared entrepreneur space and one of URP’s incoming students is part of it. Emily Legel is spending her summer working for Iowa City Area Development (ICAD) which recently opened MERGE, a downtown space where entrepreneurs and start-ups can share resources and creativity.

ICAD is a local economic development group supporting projects in the area by assisting "interstate commerce companies with location or expansion projects, workforce development and entrepreneurial services." They operate MERGE in cooperation with the UI's Office of Research and Economic Development and the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.

Emily received her bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Iowa this spring and completed an internship last summer at Clinton Regional Development Corporation in Clinton, Iowa.

See the Cedar Rapids Gazette article in full. Emily is pictured in orange, speaking with URP alumnus, Ed Raber, Executive Director, Washington Economic Development Group.

Photo taken from Gazette article, contributed by Creative Mellen.