Idaho
One of America's 'fastest-growing companies' is in eastern Idaho, and it's celebrating 10 years of business – East Idaho News
Brandon Griffin designing an animated video course at Stukent in Idaho Falls. See how it works in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
IDAHO FALLS
Local company that makes digital courseware for students turns 10
IDAHO FALLS – After building one of Inc 5000’s “fastest-growing private companies in America,” Stuart Draper is looking forward to the next phase of life.
The 40-year-old Idaho Falls man stepped down as CEO of Stukent earlier this year. It’s a company he started in 2014 to make sure schools and universities had access to updated textbooks.
A decade later, it’s served more than a million students worldwide.
Stukent provides digital courseware content for about 1,000 universities and high schools. From a 25,000-square-foot building at 1755 International Way in Idaho Falls, about 175 employees work with professors to provide 45 online courses. Most of them revolve around business topics. Two of the most popular courses are digital marketing and social media marketing.
The business continues to grow and evolve after being listed among the nation’s fastest-growing companies for the last six years, and 2024 marks 10 years since its launch. The community is invited to celebrate this milestone on Thursday with a tour and open house of its new building.
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Jim Holm was hired as Stukent’s new CEO in February. He’s impressed with everything Draper and his team accomplished, and he’s eager to build on that vision.
“It’s been fun to see the great thing that’s been built. I wasn’t here for the journey that got us here, but I have an interesting perspective on where we’re at now,” Holm says.
The company’s claim to fame is its simternship model. It’s a 10-week digital simulation for students to practice hands-on skills in the workplace. Brandon Griffin is one of the videographers who creates this content. Get a taste of how it’s made in the video above.
Holm says many students aren’t coming out of college with relevant real-world experience and this simulation gives them the ability to compete in the job market after graduation.
“Focusing on the skills you need as a first-time employee with two years of experience is critical in order to help students with the transition from education into employment,” says Holm.
Holm previously worked for a Boston-based company called Examity, which provides remote proctoring services for universities so students can take exams anywhere in the world instead of going to the testing center.
He met the investment team for Stukent in Utah last year. Realizing how similar the customer base was, Holm was interested in being involved.
“Education technology is a relatively small world, but this is completely different from what I’ve done previously,” Holm explains.
After 10 years of putting everything he had into building Stukent, Draper says he wanted to have more time with his family.
Still, Draper is the company’s second-largest shareholder and remains on its board of directors as he pursues other business interests.
What he’s most proud of during his tenure is seeing the positive impact his company had on the lives of employees.
“We’ve helped over 100 people buy and sell homes through their income from Stukent. For the majority of them, it was their first home purchase. So the work we’ve done with our startup has really had an impact on the local economy,” Draper says.
He expresses gratitude for every team member who played a role in getting the business to this point, and he’s eager to see what Holm does with it.
“I’m really excited to watch Jim take it to the next level,” says Draper.
Holm says they’re working with Jim and Earl Stice, two emeritus accounting professors from Brigham Young University, to build new courses in this field of study.
Holm says the overall goal is to make the software more immersive to “close the gap” between traditional learning and digital simulations so that students “have a leg up” in the job market after they graduate.
“We’re really proud of our heritage of being in eastern Idaho. We love it here and the work ethic of the team members and the creativity they bring,” he says.
Thursday’s tour and open house will begin with a ribbon-cutting of the new building. It begins at 4:30 p.m. Food, drinks and family activities will be provided.
BIZ BITS
Portneuf Primary Care celebrating a decade of business
POCATELLO – Portneuf Primary Care is in its 10th year of delivering high-quality, individualized care to the community.
Services include examinations, health screenings, immunizations, treatment of short and long-term medical conditions, ongoing care of chronic problems, lab work and palliative care.
The team of physicians bring expertise and a personal investment in the education and treatment of their patients.
“It is an honor to commemorate the remarkable 10-year anniversary of the Portneuf Primary Care Clinic and this team of providers,” said Jordan Herget, CEO and President, Portneuf Medical Center. “Please join me in thanking this team for providing exceptional patient care and for their ongoing dedication to improving the health and well-being of our community.”
To schedule an appointment with Portneuf Primary Care, call (208) 239-3815. For an appointment with Specialized Family Medicine, call (208) 269-7147.
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We’re lucky to live in a place as safe as the Treasure Valley. Despite our growth, one of the things that makes our area so special is the way that we look out for one another–for our neighbors! That’s a principle that seems to have held on as Boise has boomed.
Despite low crime rates, there seems to always be one incident or so that makes us scratch our heads.
A recent string of fraud incidents in the Treasure Valley area is one of those.
Nampa Police initially warned the public of this because cases of fraud began to ‘mushroom’. Then, it took an interesting turn–people that HAD their credit cards were being ‘taken to the bank’, so to speak.
In a statement originally released on April 30th by the Nampa Police Department, officials advised the following:
We are not sure how the suspects are gaining access to the victim’s credit cards. There is a growing fraud scheme, “ghost tapping”, that scammers are using to access victims’ credit cards. This is possibly occurring in these instances. “Ghost tapping” uses stolen credit card details in Apple Pay or Google Pay, then remotely relays the tap signal over the internet to a ‘mule’ at a store, allowing them to make high-value purchases that appear completely legitimate. (We’ll share more information on ghost tapping in a later public service announcement that will also suggest ways to protect yourself.) The app used by these criminals obscures the actual credit card number, making it harder for investigators to link a victim to a particular crime. Keep in mind that victims still have their physical credit cards while suspects use the stolen card information to make purchases, which also affects how victims are alerted. So far, local investigators have not been able to identify a common theme among the victims (e.g., a specific bank, a website they visited, a gas pump they used, etc.) in the fraud cases we are investigating.
The investigation spans far and wide.
Authorities say that some suspects are in custody, others are being contacted, and others are still at large.
Now, a week later, the police are back to reaching out to the public–this time, urging people to check their bank accounts.
Nampa Police say that they have caught onto a pattern– there are fraudulent charges at Albertson’s to purchase gift cards, at Costco to purchase Apple products, and at Best Buy, also for Apple products.
Check those bank statements!
Inside The Arrest of 3 Venezuelan Fraudsters
What on earth was happening in Eagle this week?
Gallery Credit: Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
It’s Not Hard To See Why This Idaho Police Photoshoot Is Going Viral
The Jerome Police Department is going viral thanks to Twin Falls photographer, Layton Henderson. Once you see the hilarious photos, you’ll see why!
Gallery Credit: Chris Cardenas
A powerful search engine that organizes and provides access to vast information on the internet.
The USDA has issued a public health alert for various meat and poultry products containing FDA-regulated dairy that may have been contaminated with salmonella. The recall was originally issued on April 30th, but the contaminated product list could continue to grow as more products are identified.
The Food Safety and Inspection arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the public health alert and there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the products listed below, consumers are still advised to dispose of the items or return them to the place of purchase. Great Value and Pork King Good products sold at Idaho Walmart stores are included in the alert and recall.
Public Health Alert and Food Recall Issued For Pizza and Pork Rinds Sold in Idaho
As of right now, the food list includes pork rinds, breakfast pizzas, and chicken bacon ranch pizzas. The list could grow and the USDA advises consumers to check the list frequently. We will also update the list here when possible. The contaminated products carry a variety of ‘Best By’ and ‘Produced On’ dates, so check the lists carefully to make sure you don’t consume a contaminated product.
The nationwide brands to look for are Mama Cozzi’s from Aldi stores, Pork King Good, and Great Value at Walmart Stores.
Photo Credit USDA – 1
Photo Credit USDA – 1
You can also look through these label photos to see if you have the product in your freezer.
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
If you feel sick and have consumed a contaminated product, the USDA advise you to contact your health care provider.
Guy Fieri’s Top Idaho Moments On Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives
Food Network just posted a compilation video of Guy at these spots!
Gallery Credit: Shannon Buccola
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