Government Stories

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, 2021 State of the State Address, photo courtesy of the State of Missouri

Missouri could put $1M back into startup support after COVID killed most-recent funding

A budget plan released this week by Gov. Mike Parson includes a $1 million allocation for the Missouri Technology Corporation — a popular public-private initiative boosting startups that saw its investment efforts defunded last year because of COVID-19-related shortfalls. “It is important that we continue to follow through on key investments in workforce development and infrastructure,”…

U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri

KC Tech Council’s apprenticeship program launches with job growth hopes from Davids, Cleaver

A freshly launched partnership between KC Tech Council and Apprenti — designed to cultivate tech skills and offer first-hand experience for apprentices — is a solid fit for Kansas City’s talent needs, two members of the metro’s U.S. congressional delegation agreed. “I truly believe that entrepreneurship is baked into the DNA of our region,” U.S….

Austin Wilson, GovTech Labs

He came to KC for remote work and low-cost living; he stayed to found his own GovTech company

When remote work opportunities brought Austin Wilson to Kansas City in 2019, playing the role of founder wasn’t yet on his mind — until he met a community of starters willing to do anything it took to make their city in the image of innovation, he recalled. “There’s no better time for innovation than in a…

Brian Platt, KCMO city manager

How Brian Platt’s innovation past unmasks KC’s potential for newly arrived city manager

Kansas City’s open spaces — and open mindset — quickly expose the region’s potential, said Brian Platt, eagerly rolling up his sleeves as the new KCMO city manager. “In a sense, it reminds me a lot of downtown Jersey City from a decade ago, give or take, in that there are plenty of new developments — tall…

Quinton Lucas, KCMO mayor

KCMO mayor: New ‘slowdown’ rules for businesses as COVID intensifies across metro

Kansas City residents and workers are safer at home, Mayor Quinton Lucas said Monday, announcing new KCMO guidelines aimed at mitigating the spread of the Coronavirus and decreasing the strain on the region’s hospitals and health care workers. Lucas also urged families to cancel “the normal version of their Thanksgiving plans.” “Like many, I have…