John Pappajohn was honored with a Lifetime Achievement in Entrepreneurship Award from the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship in Chicago on Tuesday. He was nominated by the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, located on the campus of North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City. “This award marks yet another acknowledgement of the incredible work and generosity that John has shared through his entrepreneurial endeavors,” said Deb Derr, NIACC president. A sponsor of the New Venture and Iowa Business Plan competitions, Pappajohn, 81, continues to actively support new Iowa companies.

The Iowa Economic Development Board yesterday approved $1 million in support from the Grow Iowa Values Fund for four projects being considered by Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. If Iowa is deemed a viable location, more than $17 million would be invested in projects, including $9.5 million to renovate and expand Pioneer’s Krug Building in Johnston, $3 million to expand offices and laboratories in Dallas Center, $500,000 to expand laboratories and offices in Ankeny and $5 million to renovate the Reid laboratory building in Johnston. With the expansions, Pioneer, a subsidiary of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., would hire 160 additional research and information management employees.

In addition to Pioneer’s awards, the Iowa Economic Development Board approved awards for several other Greater Des Moines companies, including $100,000 from the Grow Iowa Values Fund for an expansion and relocation of Relationship Marketing Inc., a marketing communications company, to West Des Moines; $150,000 from the Iowa Demonstration Fund for Legosys Solutions LLC to commercialize and market nationwide its FastGrade software tool; and $50,000 from the IT Joint Venture Fund to Canvis LLC for a joint project with Spin Ventures Inc. to turn a software prototype into a viable tracking tool for the construction industry. Canvis is a spinoff of the The Weitz Co. Other training, networking, export promotion and business assistance applications are pending.

Online search engines and portals may want to rev up their efforts to reach new-car buyers in the face of a report by J.D. Power and Associates yesterday that said social media sites are having a greater impact. Results of an auto buyer clickstream analysis conducted by J.D. Power and Compete Inc., which involves tracking actual Internet URL visitation of new-vehicle buyers, found that automotive marketers that establish a presence on social networking sites can be particularly effective at finding and targeting new-vehicle buyers. Creating profiles or fan pages on these sites may increase opportunities even further, the report contends, though it is important for marketers to understand that overt advertising on social networking sites can be received negatively by target audiences.

About 6,000 runners are slated to take part in the seventh IMT Des Moines Marathon on Sunday and race officials expect that the number to grow prior to the starting gun. The event, which includes a marathon, half-marathon, 5K road race and five-person marathon relay, which has sold out for the third consecutive year, will be held in conjunction a free sports and fitness expo at Hy-Vee Hall today and Saturday. For more information or to register, visit www.desmoinesmarathon.com

The Salvation Army reported that its family services department in Des Moines served nearly 18 percent more clients during its fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, than during the previous year. Of the 37,289 individuals served, 25 percent were first-time clients. Housing assistance was in greatest demand, with more than 1,000 households seeking assistance with rents, mortgages and utilities. Though demand was up this year, said David Corliss, city coordinator, contributions were down almost 9 percent from the previous year. The organization’s Red Kettle fund-raising campaign begins Nov. 13.