Minority-Led

‘My soul is being fed’: Shonta Dabney sips the small wins in her round-the-clock quest to bring Black-roasted coffee home

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2022

While most kids were drinking milk, juice, or plain old water — Shonta Dabney held a warm mug in her hands, sipping coffee at the kitchen table with her grandparents, she recalled.  “I have to be one of the very few Americans whose grandparents gave her coffee as a toddler,” Dabney laughed, looking back on where…

Just funded: First wave of Alchemy Sandbox grants aim for ‘snowball effect’ in KC

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2022

A new grant program has selected its first five awardees — with 15 more to come in 2022 — aiming to create rolling momentum for Kansas City’s main street businesses, said Miranda Schultz. The Alchemy Sandbox Program on Friday announced its first quarter grantees with entrepreneurs selected to receive as much as $5,000 for their…

SnapIT scores lucrative government contract with $50B ceiling in emerging tech space

By Tommy Felts / February 19, 2022

An Overland Park IT firm’s selection to deliver technology solutions to federal agencies is the latest evolution of the Johnson County business, which has seen rapid growth over the past three years as it expanded its focus. SnapIT Solutions, a high-tech services and tech training firm headquartered in Johnson County, was tapped for the second…

Just another day in Paradise (EDU): Urban nursery turns soil to nurture STEAM students

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2022

When learners dig into the Paradise Garden Club STEAM program, they unearth non-traditional learning opportunities in a classroom cased in chlorophyll.  “It starts on a very base level — using your hands to work with raw soil,” said Jessica Teliczan, owner and operator of Crossroads-planted Paradise Garden Club, teasing the newly launched effort — formally branded…

It’s a ‘movement, not just a moment’; H&R Block audits impact of Black excellence, businesses

By Tommy Felts / February 17, 2022

Reading is among the best way to learn about Black history, said Willa Robinson, the founder and owner of Willa’s Books & Vinyl. “I’m grateful to be able to educate people about what’s going on in the Black community through books. There’s so much history on what we have experienced, what we have accomplished,” said…