News

$2M in federal funds secured for Disney’s forgotten ‘cradle of Hollywood animation’ in KC

By Tommy Felts / February 28, 2023

A decades-long effort to redevelop Walt Disney’s original Laugh-O-gram animation studios at 31st and Forest, along the Troost corridor, will receive $2 million in federal funding, as officially announced last week by Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II. The influx of funding should generate “momentum” to raise the remaining money needed to complete the project, said Gary…

KC’s Westside neighborhood awarded $1M from feds to reconnect community split by I-35

By Tommy Felts / February 28, 2023

A newly announced $1 million grant is expected to help reestablish a Kansas City neighborhood that was cut off from itself and opportunity thanks to past transportation infrastructure decisions — part of a $1 billion plan to right what many call a decades-long wrong largely perpetrated against historic communities of color. In a first round…

‘Work to support our innovators is never done’: NXTUS leadership transition follows massive impact expansion

By Tommy Felts / February 28, 2023

WICHITA — NXTUS, a nonprofit working to connect startup founders with community resources, capital and customers, on Tuesday announced a top-level leadership change while celebrating milestones in the rollout of its work to help innovators and entrepreneurs grow “companies of significance” in Kansas. Mary Beth Jarvis, who joined Wichita-based NXTUS as executive director in August 2019,…

KC restaurants await flyers at the new terminal; here’s what it took to get ready

By Tommy Felts / February 27, 2023

Editor’s note: The following story was originally 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. When the new Kansas City International Airport terminal opens Tuesday, it’ll be a new chapter for more than 20 local businesses who…

Novel Capital, Pipeline join forces to help members gain easier access to evasive non-dilutive capital

By Tommy Felts / February 27, 2023

A fintech startup launched by two veteran founders is extending its services to members of the elite Pipeline network in a bid to make non-dilutive capital more accessible to startups across the region. Novel Capital, an Overland Park-based fintech growth platform that helps B2B businesses accelerate their growth, recently announced plans to help companies led…