Palisade Systems Inc., an Ames-based data-protection software company, has secured $2.6 million in venture funding, the company announced Wednesday. The lead investors in the funding round were DeWaay Investment Partners in West Des Moines, Cedar Valley Venture Fund, and Principal Life Insurance Co. With the investment, Palisade Systems will also ramp up its marketing efforts and continue to expand offerings of its PacketSure data-loss-prevention product to small and medium-sized businesses. “We are very excited to be involved with Palisade Systems at a time when the demand for compliance software continues to grow exponentially,” Adam Claypool, managing director, DeWaay Investment Partners, said in a press release. “Palisade Systems is well positioned to become the standard in managed and hosted loss prevention.” See related story.

The fraction of households receiving foreclosure-related notices in November was down 8 percent from the previous month, marking the fourth straight month of decline. Approximately 307,000 households, or one in every 417 homes, received a notice. Read more.

Iowa State University received a $309,868 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology to be used to support the Iowa Manufacturing Technology Center, Sen. Tom Harkin announced today. The center is part of a national network of Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEP), which provides companies with knowledgeable manufacturing and business expertise through local centers.

Dubuque-based Flexsteel Industries Inc. declared a first-quarter dividend of 5 cents per share, payable Jan. 4 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 18. This is the 272nd consecutive cash dividend the company has paid. See the release.

The $700 billion federal bailout Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) will be extended through Oct. 3, 2010, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday. It will be scaled back, however, and will limit spending to newer programs aimed at stopping foreclosures, loans to small businesses and propping up the credit markets to make loans more available. Read the full CNNMoney.com story.