News

$4M dream childcare center opened on Prospect as planned; why the 24/7 KD Academy is struggling to fill its beds

By Tommy Felts / March 23, 2022

Penny Dale-McCant built a childcare model — and a $4 million expansion of her KD Academy brand with her husband, Myron McCant — unlike anything else in the region, she said. Today, however, the center serves only a third of its intended capacity: a product of pandemic trends that have limited staffing. “I’m just proud…

NetWork Kansas gets $3M Kauffman boost to build inclusive ecosystems across state

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

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. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. WICHITA…

LaunchKC grants competition gets boost toward relaunch with newly announced funding, MTC says

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

A popular grants competition that helped raise the profiles — and buoy the bank accounts — of dozens of Kansas City startups could be relaunching with renewed funding from the Missouri Technology Corporation, the agency announced Tuesday. LaunchKC was named one of seven organizations to together receive more than $1 million in grant funding to support…

Invest in small biz infrastructure, group urges city; They want $11M in KCMO budget for entrepreneur funding

By Tommy Felts / March 22, 2022

Three years of working and waiting might be headed to an impasse for entrepreneur support advocates who’ve been lobbying the City of Kansas City, Missouri, for renewed — and dramatically enhanced — funding to boost startups and small businesses battered by the pandemic. “Everywhere we go, we’re asked ‘Kansas City is supposed to be the…

Celebrity crypto critic: Overhyped NFTs are just the free drink to lure you into the casino

By Tommy Felts / March 19, 2022

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — TV star and economist Ben McKenzie balked at the prospect of downloading a “free” NFT promoted by a vendor this week at SXSW — one of…