Government Stories

Advocates want a startup-boosting Missouri angel investor tax credit (but they’ll have to beat legislature’s ticking clock)

With about a week left in Missouri’s legislative session, business advocates at NEXT Missouri are making a final push for lawmakers to pass a bill creating a state angel investor tax credit — legislation its backers say could catalyze early-stage business growth and keep entrepreneurial talent and essential startup capital rooted in the state. Jason…

Merck plans $895M expansion for its De Soto biologics site; leaders tout strength of KC animal health corridor

DE SOTO, Kan. — A biopharmaceutical giant plans to invest $895 million to expand its biologics facility in Kansas, notching another win as leaders position Kansas City as a hub for digital and animal health innovation. The 200,000-square-foot expansion project includes an $860 million investment in Merck Animal Health’s existing manufacturing site west of the…

Wrong tool can wreck a neighborhood; Precision development key to avoiding gentrification’s negative impacts, EDCKC says

Editor’s note: The following is the second in a four-part series exploring the verticals and impact of initiatives within the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City through a paid partnership with EDCKC. Leave KC better than you found it: How matching growth to city’s needs is paying off Homegrown startups can redefine KC; they just need…

Push to change Troost’s racially-charged name stalls again, leaving vocal advocates disheartened

Chris Goode stood at the podium Tuesday in council chambers at City Hall, voicing a frustration with the city’s repeated inaction on his proposal to change the name of Troost Avenue — a Kansas City thoroughfare with a legacy rooted in slavery — to Truth Avenue. “I want to keep my head up high, but…