News

Kansas City-built Boddle earns $500K Yass Prize Finalist Award, hits 2M monthly users

By Tommy Felts / October 17, 2024

MIAMI — Winning a coveted award from Stop for Education is expected to empower Boddle Learning to reach a broader audience than ever before, as well as significantly expanding its curriculum and advancing its cutting-edge AI-powered education tools. Boddle, which launched and grew in Kansas City before relocating to Tulsa, Oklahoma, was announced as a…

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Chan Zuckerberg funds KC nonprofit to help AI tech empower educators, innovators

By Tommy Felts / October 17, 2024

A nearly $1 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is expected to help a Kansas City-based nonprofit expand and strengthen the infrastructure of its national education research and development coalition, its founder said. The funding specifically supports Leanlab Education’s American Group of Innovative Learning Environments (AGILE) Network, a national education R&D network and collective…

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Design-Zyme, KU researchers latch onto $3M SBIR award for Lyme disease vaccine

By Tommy Felts / October 17, 2024

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.  LAWRENCE — Vaccine development at KU Innovation Park could help stop an uptick in Lyme disease in its tracks, using a just-announced $3 million in federal funds to bring a…

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Crown prime location: How two KC foodies are creating Museum of BBQ in one of the world’s barbecue capitals

By Tommy Felts / October 17, 2024

A new museum — showcasing Kansas City as a barbecue capital of the world, as well as how meat takes on its famous flavors — is set to open in spring 2025 the Crown Center Shops, led by two veterans of the local food scene, and complete with barbecue baked beans ball pit. The aptly…

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‘Wonderful things anywhere’: Entrepreneurs share keys to ‘Main Street’ success

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2024

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a member of the Kansas City Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and The Kansas City Beacon. Click here to read the original story. COLUMBIA, Missouri — When Willy Schlacks noticed what he said were inefficiencies plaguing…

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