Government Stories

Shawnee passes tax measure to attract startups

A tax incentive program that aims to attract high-growth startups to the City of Shawnee unanimously passed a city vote, paving the way for firms to tap a variety of benefits to alleviate initial costs. The city council voted 8-0 on the “Startup Workforce Relocation and Expansion Program,” which aims to encourage job growth and…

‘I’ve been breaking bureaucracies for 24 years’ Kansas City’s new CIO opens up

There’s a new hand at the helm of Kansas City innovation, and it belongs to that of Bob Bennett. A 24-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Bennett kicked off his tenure as the second-ever chief innovation officer of the City of Kansas City, Mo. on Jan. 1, taking the lead on an array of civic…

Crowdfunding law has changed, here’s what you need to know

Editors note: This piece was originally published Jan. 7, 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s expanded rules for equity crowdfunding went into effect May 16.    This past October, the SEC unveiled its final equity crowdfunding regulations set to take effect May 16. For the first time in the U.S., entrepreneurs will be able to…

Deacon: Kansas City evolving into a digital laboratory

Cities have become veritable technology ecosystems where data is amassed from almost everything, from air quality and rainfall patterns to traffic flow and the availability of parking spaces. As we become more familiar with the all-encompassing term “smart city,” we can begin to experiment with the futuristic-but-practical applications for all this data, creating the concept of…

Smart City board discusses data privacy concerns, kiosks’ content

Creating value for citizens and openness to adaptive but privacy-conscious data policies were at the forefront of Kansas City’s Smart City board meeting Monday morning. About 20 people attended the year’s final meeting of the Smart City Advisory Board, which was formed in August to guide the $15.7 million, public-private tech project in downtown Kansas…