Joyce Smith

Recent Articles by Joyce Smith

Black Feast Week returns to feed restaurants new diners, combat hunger in Kansas City

October 8, 2025

Opening Black Feast Week — designed to promote Black-owned restaurants, chefs, and culinary creativity — by feeding 150 single Black mothers for free was an intentional act of community care, said Joshua “JT” Taylor. “We’ve always tried to prioritize helping people who are most marginalized,” said Taylor, senior content producer and chief administrative officer at…

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‘Night Without Borders’ opens coffee house doors to honor heritage through harmony

October 7, 2025

Culture transcends borders, said Danny Soriano, surrounded Friday night in a popular Crossroads coffee shop by music, dance, art, food, and drinks that all shared a common link: Latino flavor. “Whether it’s Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Argentina, we all come together as Latinos, as Hispanics, and celebrate our heritage,” said Soriano, who organized a…

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KC GIFT orders a full meal with $100K Wah Gwan grant: Job creation (with a side of inspiration)

October 7, 2025

Young people on Kansas City’s east side need to see examples of what can be achieved when someone who looks like them works hard — and wins, said Tanyech Yarbrough, pledging to use her recent grant funding from KC G.I.F.T. to mirror entrepreneurship to her community, as well as expand her Troost eatery. Yarbrough’s Wah…

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GEWKC returning to familiar venue (but its new destinations might surprise ticket holders)

October 7, 2025

When Global Entrepreneurship Week pulls into the station later this fall, Kansas City participants can expect a fresh experience inside one of the region’s most iconic landmarks, said Callie England, noting an intentional effort behind the scenes should help reroute the “best of the best” events onto custom agendas. “While you’ll see a few familiar…

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Wichita program drives highway of resources to more KC startups; founders tout who they met along the way

October 6, 2025

Opening its doors to Midwest companies outside Kansas for the first time, a Wichita-based program that connects startups with the tools to better engage enterprise partners offered an added benefit to Kansas City entrepreneurs: a new ecosystem of support just a few hours from home. “The program’s Wichita location inspired us to broaden our outreach…

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Report: Tech drives nearly a 10th of Kansas City’s economy (and those employers are hiring)

October 6, 2025

Advocates tout KC for top-tier tech talent; a new report affirms its status as an emerging market with potential for big impact A combination of economic stability, depth and skill of talent, and operational efficiency creates conditions for companies to grow and succeed in Kansas City, said Kara Lowe, detailing new data that suggests the…

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InvestMidwest back in KC ahead of World Cup rush; four new leaders join board roster

October 6, 2025

A powerhouse quartet of venture experts are on board for the next wave of InvestMidwest impact, said Claire Kinlaw, announcing plans for the two-day summit’s bounce back to Kansas City this spring as organizers push to boost deal flow in a region outside the startup-dense coasts. New to InvestMidwest’s board as planning gets under way…

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Fan favorite vote: AltCap Your Biz launches crowd-sourced contest as pitch event nears

October 3, 2025

One of 10 finalists in a popular fall pitch event for small businesses is expected to win $5,000 based solely on community votes, leaders at AltCap announced Friday, launching this year’s voting portal ahead of mid-November competition at Union Station. “The Fan Favorite Contest invites the community to discover amazing local businesses, to learn about…

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This Dirt Beast works the soil for $2 an hour; why harvesting joy from his urban farm fills the bag

October 3, 2025

Rows of peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and other vegetables now grow where more than a dozen Kansas City lots once sat vacant. The essence of Dirt Beast Farm is seeded in this soil, creating the ecosystem through which Jameson Hubbard has spent nearly a decade turning open land into food, flowers, and a space for neighbors…

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