Government

Olathe mayor touts startup community in pitch for Amazon HQ2

By Tommy Felts / October 20, 2017

With a workforce rich in entrepreneurial spirit, Amazon would be wise to tap Kansas City for its second headquarters, Michael Copeland said. “The climate has cultivated world-class start-up businesses and nurtured corporate giants, and it’s been a source of support and stability for everything in between,” said Copeland, mayor of Olathe. “It fosters risk-taking and…

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Hyperloop to AP: Kansas City-St. Louis route among top 5 as finalists narrowed

By Tommy Felts / October 20, 2017

Kansas City’s hopes to land a high-speed commuter route to St. Louis continue to shoot forward, a Hyperloop official confirmed Thursday. Two weeks after the State of Missouri entered into a public-private partnership with Hyperloop to study the feasibility of a 23-minute supersonic track between the two cities, the Associated Press reports Missouri is a…

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After shootings, ‘It’s most important to keep the public safe,’ Smart City leaders say

By Tommy Felts / October 19, 2017

Citizens expect public safety from their city government to encompass such basics as sidewalks and water, Bob Bennett said. And for that reason, improving public safety must be a top concern for smart city projects around the nation, the chief innovation officer at the City of Kansas City, Missouri, added. “We have to provide the…

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Is KC enough for Amazon? Pros and cons

By Tommy Felts / October 12, 2017

Correction: An earlier version of this story used an incorrect figure for Kansas City streetcar ridership. It has since been corrected to  reflect the system’s more than 3 million riders. Kansas City wants Amazon. But does the online retail giant want KC? With only a few days remaining before the deadline to submit proposals for…

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Deadlines approach for $100K, $500K co-investment opportunities for MO startups

By Tommy Felts / October 12, 2017

It’s easy to form an idea. It’s more difficult to take it to market. The Missouri Tech Corporation’s IDEA Funds seek to facilitate the commercialization process for high-tech Missouri technologies, via a variety of co-investment opportunities. The IDEA Funds divide financing into four components that correspond to four stages of growth for entrepreneurs, from pre-investment…

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