Greitens’ budget cuts ding Missouri, KC entrepreneurship efforts
January 30, 2017 | Bobby Burch
A series of state budget cuts by Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will directly impact Kansas City entrepreneurship.
The sweeping $146.4 million rollback of the Show Me State’s budget will cut funds from both the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Free Enterprise Center and Missouri Technology Corporation. Greitens’ plan will cut about $3.3 million from the enterprise center and $4.5 million from the MTC.
Greitens said that the cuts were a result of lower-than-expected state revenues, an unbalanced budget and a move for the state to become more efficient.
“We must come together, tighten our belts, be smart and wise with our tax dollars, and work our way out of this hole by bringing more jobs with higher pay to the people of Missouri,” Greitens said in a statement. “Government must become more efficient, and we must build a thriving economy with more jobs and higher pay.”
Announced in 2015, the $14.8-million Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center at UMKC is intended to be a state-of-the-art facility for both entrepreneurial students and community members. The facility — which will be located at a new building at 215 Volker Boulevard — will feature a lab, rapid prototyping equipment, 3D printers and a business incubator. Former Missouri Gov. Nixon said in May of 2015 that the state would provide about $7.4 million to the enterprise center.
Greitens’ cuts also hit the MTC, which has invested more than $1.8 million in Kansas City-area organizations, including startups — like PopBookings and SquareOffs — and startup-support organizations like Digital Sandbox KC. The MTC is a public-private partnership organization created by the Missouri General Assembly to promote entrepreneurship and foster tech firms’ growth. Since 2011, the MTC’s Idea Funds have supported more than 90 Missouri startups and has invested more than $30 million around the state.
The MTC and UMKC have not yet responded for comment.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
With traction in tow, Super Dispatch is a model ‘lean startup’
Super Dispatch began like every tech startup: with a good idea. But as founder Bek Abdullayev will tell you, it takes more than that to be successful. In 2013, Abdullayev founded Super Dispatch, a software-as-a-service platform for the trucking industry intended to eliminate paperwork. Super Dispatch streamlines the communication of documents between truckers and their…
Pipeline Entrepreneurs accepting applicants for 2017 fellowship
Ahead of its first adventure abroad, Pipeline Entrepreneurs is accepting applications for its fellowship program that not only affords entrepreneurial education but also a network of powerful business leaders. The 2017 class will mark the organization’s 11th-annual program in which Pipeline accepts at least 10 entrepreneurs from the around the region to participate in a…
KC-made card game Mixtape makes a ‘soundtrack for your life’
If your life was a movie, what song would you play in the background? A fast paced techno montage? A jazzy love story? Perhaps a dreary ballad? Regardless of the tune, music is intimately connected with the special moments in life, according to Joel Johnson, who’s set out to prove that with Mixtape, a board…
Ryan Weber: KC’s proposed ride-sharing rules should concern local tech firms
Editor’s note: The public comment period on Kansas City’s proposed ride-sharing regulations has now ended, prompting the city’s regulated industries division to submit its recommendations to the Kansas City Council. By directive of the council, city officials have reviewed current laws and culled public input on new, proposed changes, which at this point focus largely…