Government Stories
Topeka approves $5.9M for innovation campus, locking in key funding for animal health, ag hub
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. Plans…
A high-tech funder planted seeds in 135+ Missouri startups; three bloomed into $1B+ unicorns in the past six months
When news broke this week that St. Louis-based plant tech firm Benson Hill reached a $2 billion valuation, it marked the third “unicorn” minted among MTC-funded companies in the past six months, said Jack Scatizzi. “Early-stage investing takes patience and the results can’t be rushed,” said Scatizzi, executive director of the Missouri Technology Corporation, noting…
Missouri House advances pro-entrepreneur bill that would lower taxes on self-starters
A vision to make Missouri more entrepreneur-friendly moved closer to reality Monday as state legislators passed a first-in-the-nation Right To Start Act, advancing the bill to the Senate on an 85-69 vote. “We made progress today to make Missouri a state that welcomes risk takers, the crazy ones, who want to build the next generation…
Overland Park startup secures $41M as infrastructure gets new focus amid COVID, Biden presidency
A massive round of Series B funding will boost Replica’s data platform as it changes how cities are planned and operated — especially in the wake of a global pandemic and a renewed emphasis on infrastructure spending from the federal level down, said Nick Bowden. The $41 million round was led by Founders Fund and…
Mayor announces 500 paid summer internships for at-risk KC youth; employers urged to signup
An effort backed by Kansas City’s mayor and a coalition of nonprofit groups hopes to reduce violence impacting KCMO’s at-risk teens by expanding employment opportunities. The “Working for Youth” formula announced Thursday: 500 paid summer internships to grow the city’s capacity to train, coach and employ young people — specifically focusing on 10 percent of…
