News

Fueled by $15M, MTC releases plan for boosting entrepreneurs: Here’s how KC is already seeing impact

By Tommy Felts / September 26, 2023

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Increased funding for the Missouri Technology Corporation will keep core support programs healthy through 2024, as well as help expand successful pilot initiatives designed to widen economic opportunity in the Show Me State, MTC officials said Tuesday. Among the new efforts gaining extended life through the announcement of MTC’s FY 2024 strategy…

This Kansas gardener sued to sell fruit and honey; Now her town will allow urban farming

By Tommy Felts / September 26, 2023

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Ottawa city officials are trying to strike a balance between people who want to produce food and the interests of their…

Godfrey Riddle wants to build you a home; How Civic Saint’s eco-friendly bricks could reshape the foundation of affordable housing

By Tommy Felts / September 23, 2023

Winning $55,000 in a recent national LGBT pitch competition provides Godfrey Riddle the building blocks for a hard pivot — shifting the focus of his lifestyle company Civic Saint from handmade retail goods to earthen bricks used to sustainably create artful, affordable homes. “Affordable housing is a problem I’ve been pondering since my family lost…

KC Cattle Company steaks its reputation on wagyu hot dogs; Why this rural MO business enlists veterans on its new mission

By Tommy Felts / September 22, 2023

WESTON, Missouri — Patrick Montgomery struggled to find his way after his service in the U.S. Army, he said. Now on a new mission — his venture KC Cattle Company — Montgomery is helping other veterans at a similar crossroads. “The military does some things really well and they do some things really poorly,” he…

KC-area startup earns spot in first-ever AWS accelerator for emerging GovTech companies

By Tommy Felts / September 21, 2023

A Lee’s Summit-based startup focused on developing tech for the criminal justice industry has been selected for Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) inaugural GovTech Accelerator cohort. eHawk — led by co-founders Bart Cooper and Ted Green, a former bail bondsman and trial attorney — is one of 13 companies tapped for the program. The Kansas City-built…