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KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas and Gov. Mike Parson, R-Missouri, talk before the announcement of Meta's new $800 million data center in Kansas City

Meta promises local jobs, impact; How its $800M plan could post growth (and disruption) to KC’s story

By Tommy Felts / March 24, 2022

There’s more to Meta’s $800 million upload into Kansas City’s Northland than face value, company officials said Thursday, outlining plans for community impact that extends well beyond anticipated tech jobs.  “We have programs that help to equip people, schools, and organizations with the resources to build skills and increase the use of technology,” Darcy Nothnagle,…

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Rendering of the Meta Kansas City data center at Golden Plains Technology Park

Facebook coming to Kansas City; Meta selects KCMO for massive, $800M data center

By Tommy Felts / March 24, 2022

A new hyperscale data center is expected to be operational in Kansas City by 2024 — bringing global social media and tech giant Meta to the metro and making good on promises that a Northland development could be the next great national technology hub. The Kansas City Area Development Council and its partners announced the…

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Dr. Richard H. Linton, president of Kansas State University, board of directors for TechAccel

New K-State president joins KC startup’s board, bringing expertise on food science, academic collaboration

By Tommy Felts / March 23, 2022

The president of Kansas State University has joined the board of directors of TechAccel, an Overland Park startup focused on scientific breakthroughs to produce healthier plants, animals and foods. Dr. Richard H. Linton, who assumed the leadership of K-State following the Feb. 11 retirement of former Richard Myers, comes with an array of experience expected…

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Penny Dale-McCant and Myron McCant, KD Academy

$4M dream childcare center opened on Prospect as planned; why the 24/7 KD Academy is struggling to fill its beds

By Tommy Felts / March 23, 2022

Penny Dale-McCant built a childcare model — and a $4 million expansion of her KD Academy brand with her husband, Myron McCant — unlike anything else in the region, she said. Today, however, the center serves only a third of its intended capacity: a product of pandemic trends that have limited staffing. “I’m just proud…

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Steve Radley, NetWork Kansas

NetWork Kansas gets $3M Kauffman boost to build inclusive ecosystems across state

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. WICHITA…

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2018 LaunchKC winners

LaunchKC grants competition gets boost toward relaunch with newly announced funding, MTC says

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

A popular grants competition that helped raise the profiles — and buoy the bank accounts — of dozens of Kansas City startups could be relaunching with renewed funding from the Missouri Technology Corporation, the agency announced Tuesday. LaunchKC was named one of seven organizations to together receive more than $1 million in grant funding to support…

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Kansas City, Missouri, street and infrastructure improvements; photo courtesy of KCMO

Invest in small biz infrastructure, group urges city; They want $11M in KCMO budget for entrepreneur funding

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

Three years of working and waiting might be headed to an impasse for entrepreneur support advocates who’ve been lobbying the City of Kansas City, Missouri, for renewed — and dramatically enhanced — funding to boost startups and small businesses battered by the pandemic. “Everywhere we go, we’re asked ‘Kansas City is supposed to be the…

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Ben McKenzie speaks during the "Trust Me I'm Famous: Ben McKenzie Questions Crypto" session at SXSW; photo by Travis P Ball/Getty Images

Celebrity crypto critic: Overhyped NFTs are just the free drink to lure you into the casino

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2022

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — TV star and economist Ben McKenzie balked at the prospect of downloading a “free” NFT promoted by a vendor this week at SXSW — one of…

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Mark Zuckerberg speaks to SXSW attendees at the 2022 conference in Austin

He’s bringing NFTs to Instagram; how Mark Zuckerberg’s next move could push you further into the metaverse

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2022

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — NFTs are headed to Instagram — but the virtual assets aren’t the only thing Mark Zuckerberg has planned for humanity’s journey deep into the metaverse.  “That’s…

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Dreamgirl hits the start button at SXSW; why the KC band tells its peers to break out of the Midwest

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2022

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — Dreamgirl describes itself as a family — a bit dysfunctional at times, but nonetheless family, members of the Kansas City-based band shared, laughing the morning before their…

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