with the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Seven Fortune 500 companies have research entities at the university's research park located in Champaign. The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is in Urbana. Midwest Silicon Prairie An area of the Midwestern United States is often referred to as the Silicon Prairie. This region can loosely be defined as the states bordering along Interstate 29 in the Upper Midwest; mainly Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Gateway Computer company Gateway 2000 and several other companies began using the moniker in the mid -1990s in advertisements and promotional materials. Paycom Founded in Oklahoma City in 1998, Paycom is one of the first online payroll and HR technology providers, recognized by Fortune magazine in 2020 as one of the fastest-growing publicly traded companies in the world. They also operate a secondary facility in Dallas, and broke ground on a new operations center in Grapevine in 2019. Silicon Prairie Communications (prairie.net) - ISP and regional BBS Founded in 1992, Silicon Prairie Communications started as a regional BBS and UUCP gateway, expanding to a boutique ISP that still serves as the delegated admin for a large group of .us domain localities, both regionally in Iowa and several large metro cities. Silicon Prairie News In 2008, the online technology and entrepreneurial news publication Silicon Prairie News was founded to highlight achievements of companies in the region's principal cities such as Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis, Omaha, Sioux Falls and any adjacent cities. Silicon Prairie Portal & Exchange d/b/a Silicon Prairie Online In 2016, the MNvest portal operator Silicon Prairie Online received registration approval from the Minnesota Department of Commerce to commence operations as a JOBS Act approved crowdfunding portal operator. Iowa Governor Culver In 2009, Governor Chet Culver (D-Iowa) used the term to describe his desired future reputation for his state after their investment in wind and other renewable energy industries. ISU Research Park Ames, Iowa Workiva - An Ames, Iowa-based business enterprise software company. In 2016 Workiva received the Technology Association of Iowa's Prometheus Award for Top Growth Company of the Year. Des Moines Dwolla - A mobile payment company, whose business model includes speeding up business to business and business to consumer transactions and payments. Nebraska Angels An Omaha-based group of approximately 60 investors who fund local start-ups. South Dakota Property Meld is a Rapid City-based SaaS startup that streamlines maintenance coordination for