Austin Barnes
Recent Articles by Austin Barnes
A visit from a top federal economic development leader early this month offered regional leaders an opportunity to showcase and build upon Kansas City’s strategy to increase domestic production of life-saving vaccines within the footprint of the newly established KC BioHub. Maryam Janani-Flores, chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration…
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Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. BARR Advisory, which has offices in Kansas City, is a cloud-based security and compliance solutions provider, specializing in cybersecurity, is a financial partner of Startland News. Click here to check out more from this Cybersecurity Month series from BARR Advisory. [divide] In today’s…
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Navigating the path ahead starts with filling state’s workforce with tech innovators who can reshape Kansas to match its wildly disruptive potential, leaders say WICHITA, Kansas — The Sunflower State is seeing the seeds of tech momentum beginning to bloom, but Kansas has a long way to go before its time for harvest, said leaders…
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The strategic acquisition of a 70-year-old Grandview company that has become a household name for its novelty toys is expected to fuel its new owner’s ability to meet the evolving needs of modern-day customers. Chicago-based Windy City Novelties, Inc. announced the deal with US Toy this week, though financial details were not disclosed. Founded in…
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C2FO would’ve been profitable in the US alone, CEO says; how solving for global needs made it an even stronger fintech leader The impact of one Kansas City-built fintech company is being felt far beyond the borders of the U.S., said Sandy Kemper, detailing how C2FO’s strategy to go global is creating hundreds of thousands…
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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. [divide] The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is launching an ambitious expansion project that will transform its Midtown campus with a dynamic,…
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A new “adult high school” offering free, onsite childcare to Missourians 21 and older is planned in Kansas City. Organizers are eyeing a fall 2025 opening and a first-year enrollment of 250 students. The project — dubbed The Excel Center — follows a model operated across the country in other communities for the past 10 years,…
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Kansas City-built Storytailor has a new pitch for parents facing a world of screen time: using its tech platform as a key resource for children’s mental health via therapeutic storytelling. “As adults, we often turn to comedy, satire, or metaphorical fiction to process our emotions,” shared JQ Sirls, founder and CEO of Storytailor. “Children do…
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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. [divide] The Kansas City Royals are back in the Major League Baseball postseason…
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Joining the third cohort of LaunchKC’s Social Venture Studio forced Jacob Canyon to get out of the day-to-day operations of Good Oak — even if for just one day a week — and instead focus on building the business, he shared. “Having that time set aside to do the long-term thinking and strategic stuff has…
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