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integrated roadways

Integrated Roadways testing smart pavement tech in Colorado

By Tommy Felts / April 3, 2018

Integrated Roadways is launching a pilot test of its smart pavement technology in Colorado in an effort to save lives. In partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation, Integrated Roadways will install one-half-mile of its smart pavement technology on U.S. 285 near Fairplay, Colorado. The technology, which makes roadways touch-sensitive to vehicle positions, will collect…

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Digital Sandbox

Digital Sandbox KC funds four new area tech startups

By Tommy Felts / April 3, 2018

Four early-stage companies have joined the ranks of the Digital Sandbox KC. The proof-of-concept incubator program is awarding grants to the quartet of startups, two in partnership with the Ennovation Center in Independence, Missouri, and two out of the Innovation Stockyard in St. Joseph, Missouri. “We continue to see a high volume of creative, innovative…

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Grant Gooding: Marketing math breaks down the odds of getting your campaign right

By Tommy Felts / April 2, 2018

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Check out more from Grant Gooding here.  With the seemingly unlimited places to spend your marketing dollars, clients ask us if we can nail down three things in almost every study we do: What is the right message to win over customers? Which…

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Entrepreneurs’ innovative thinking pays off for smart cities, Think Big co-founder says

By Tommy Felts / March 30, 2018

There’s a difference between innovation and invention, said Herb Sih, managing partner and co-founder of Think Big Partners. “Invention is a good idea in search of a home — or, as someone said this morning, a solution in search of a problem,” Sih said. “Reverse that: Innovation. It’s a problem in search of a solution.”…

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iKan, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, John Thomson, PayIt CEO, and Donna Shelite, interim Kansas chief technology officer

Say goodbye to the DMV? Gov tech firm PayIt launches iKan app with State of Kansas

By Tommy Felts / March 29, 2018

Kansans can now renew their vehicle registration with a touch on their phones thanks to a KC-based government tech firm’s new iKan app, Gov. Jeff Colyer said Thursday. Designed by PayIt, the iKan platform is designed to allow users to interact with multiple state services in a self-service, intuitive experience from their phones, tablets, and…

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Neal Sharma, DEG co-founder and CEO, top talent

IXKC: Want top talent in Kansas City? Stop talking about yesterday (Photos)

By Tommy Felts / March 29, 2018

Kansas City already has what it takes to recruit and keep top talent, Neal Sharma told Wednesday’s Innovation Exchange crowd. What the metro seems to lack is the confidence to boast about itself, he added. Sharma, CEO and co-founder of DEG, a full-service digital agency in Overland Park that has grown to about 300 employees,…

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Mayor Sly James, State of the City

State of the City: Mayor challenges startup community to be more inclusive in hiring

By Tommy Felts / March 28, 2018

As a growing piece of Kansas City’s business fabric, the startup community should better reflect the diverse creative and tech talent working within the city, Mayor Sly James said Tuesday following his State of the City address. “There are a lot of entrepreneurs who, for example, make bow ties, who make clothing, who do things…

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Predictive tech

Predictive tech gives KCMO smart weapons in the fight against potholes, crime

By Tommy Felts / March 28, 2018

Kansas City is tackling its pothole problem using technology that aims to predict where they’ll emerge next, city officials said. The proactive approach also is targeting Kansas City’s crime rate. Government officials from Kansas City, Missouri, shared details about their experience with smart, predictive technologies during a panel discussion Tuesday afternoon at the Smart Cities…

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Investing in the arts earns KC designation as UNESCO’s only ‘City of Music’ in US

By Tommy Felts / March 27, 2018

Landing on a United Nations agency’s City of Music list reflects more than Kansas City’s century-old link to American jazz, said Jacob Wagner. “This designation is a recognition of our investment and commitment to music, arts and creativity as a driver of urban economic development,” said Wagner, faculty director of the Center for Neighborhoods at…

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Luke Norris OpenCities

PayIt exec departs to launch Australia-based OpenCities office in KC

By Tommy Felts / March 27, 2018

An executive with Kansas City-based PayIt has departed the company to open an area office for another government tech firm. Previously head of local government solutions at PayIt, Luke Norris now is leading the Kansas City office of Australia-based OpenCities, which is a provider of website and digital services for governments across the world. “The…

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