Whitney Burke
Recent Articles by Whitney Burke
Tom Corbin Continued: Famed KC sculptor shapes decades of creativity into a work of art
Like many in the entrepreneur community, nationally renowned sculptor and painter Tom Corbin didn’t truly embrace his calling until hitting a wall at his uninspiring day job. “I was selling corrugated boxes, of all things, for a big corporation,” Corbin said of his first gig out of college — a “non-artful” diversion that nevertheless got him…
Music no, murals a go: Your fall events calendar won’t look the same as festivals grapple with COVID reality
With summer winding to an anticlimactic end amid COVID-19 restrictions, outdoor festivals aren’t immune to the pandemic’s impact, organizers said, noting high-profile changes and cancelations for Kansas City’s annual fall events lineup. Among the 2020 festivals going silent: the original PorchFestKC. “I dragged my feet saying it out loud just because I hated that it…
Kauffman-backed Skilled KC launching trio of tech training pilots as KC sees unfilled jobs
Editor’s note: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a financial sponsor of Startland News. This report was produced independently by Startland News’ nonprofit newsroom. Opportunity to jump into the tech workforce isn’t capped at age 18, said Jeff Barratt — nor does it require a two- or four-year degree. And the careers are waiting, added…
Smart doorway could detect high temp, neutralize COVID on clothing, KC tech pioneer says
Blockchain might be the future, but eliminating exposure to COVID-19 is the now, said serial entrepreneur Shekhar Gupta as he takes an intelligent disinfecting doorway to market. “When you go to the airport you have to go through the X-Ray machines, right? So we developed a similar structure, but to detect COVID-19 and neutralize it…
‘Humans are the real technology,’ mother-daughter holistic health duo says
Balancing health tech with holistic and Taoist perspectives keeps the most important startup element — humans — top of mind, said Stacy Tucker. “Being in the tech space, we have these amazing advances in medical technology, yet we have gotten further and further away from humans as the real technology,” said Tucker, co-founder of Kansas…
CAPS goes international with latest affiliate; builds new student connections with Summer Bash
A Johnson County-born professional studies program for teenagers is going international, said Corey Mohn, announcing CAPS’ new partnership with Holy Trinity School in Ontario, Canada. “I feel like we can learn from working with a different system and with students from a different culture,” said Mohn, executive director of the Blue Valley School District Center…
Repairing weapons to crocheting dolls: Soldier deploys maker skills to craft Daya & Me
Armed with a crochet hook — one more tool than the standard-issue weapons cache of her fellow soldiers — Daya Johnson was in a battle against time. Typically less than nine months. “In the middle of Kuwait, I had a huge tough box that was full of yarn that I had my sister send me…
KC Crew dives into virtual entertainment, surviving long enough to reopen summer sports
When COVID-19 shut down organized sports across the city, Luke and Katy Wade went back to the basics to keep KC Crew active — putting a virtual spin on classic entertainment options. “Who would have thought bingo you know?” Luke Wade said, referencing his first experiment in finding an alternative diversion for a newly online-only…
Westport facing dwindling foot traffic: Online sales will only get us so far, resilient entrepreneur says
Matt Bramlette is stretched thin, bouncing between his two retail shops as Westport storefronts struggle to reopen after a pandemic-induced shutdown, protests that disrupted business and other unexpected challenges. “We rely on tourists and foot traffic — two things that are few and far between right now,” said Bramlette, owner of brick-and-mortar Mid Coast Modern and…