Government Stories
Candidates: Unchecked property crime against businesses driven by prosecutor’s failure to hold offenders accountable
Melesa Johnson, Tracey Chappell share their solutions for combatting recent uptick in break-ins at Kansas City businesses Editor’s note: Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is not seeking re-election, so it’s an open race for her countywide seat. Democrat Melesa Johnson and Republican Tracey Chappell are running in the 2024 general election with a vote…
Here’s how a new data dashboard could help KCMO redirect funds to small businesses
A new data dashboard built to better understand Kansas City’s business needs — and guide the city’s response — is not only revolutionary for the metro, said Nia Richardson, it could be the first of its kind, period. Small business advocates already are calling it a win. “I don’t know of any other city or playbook…
World Cup will be KC’s biggest-ever event, top founder says (and local businesses can still get in the game)
When Neal Sharma co-founded DEG at the turn of the millennium, Kansas City felt like it had an inferiority complex, he said. Fast forward to 2024, and the city is teeming with extrinsic validation, he added. The exited founder-turned-civic leader hopes being a World Cup host city in 2026 pushes Kansas City to take a…
$500K state grant bolsters KU’s startup ecosystem; here’s what KU Innovation Park is launching with the funds
LAWRENCE, Kansas — A $500,000 Forging Opportunities for Research, Growth & Entrepreneurship (FORGE) grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce will help KU and KU Innovation Park create software, infrastructure and financial mechanisms needed to bridge the gap between academia and industry, growing the state’s economy while enhancing the university’s teaching and research missions. As…
How an animal health leader’s $130M investment in KC will boost its fight against canine parovirus
ELWOOD, Kansas — A $130 million investment from global animal health leader Elanco is a testament to Kansas’ pro-business economy, said Laura Kelly, lauding this week’s expansion announcement and its plans to bring 70 new jobs to the region’s animal health corridor over the next two years. “Elanco’s expansion not only is creating new job…
