Minority-Led Stories

Kansas City, Missouri, street and infrastructure improvements; photo courtesy of KCMO

Invest in small biz infrastructure, group urges city; They want $11M in KCMO budget for entrepreneur funding

Three years of working and waiting might be headed to an impasse for entrepreneur support advocates who’ve been lobbying the City of Kansas City, Missouri, for renewed — and dramatically enhanced — funding to boost startups and small businesses battered by the pandemic. “Everywhere we go, we’re asked ‘Kansas City is supposed to be the…

De-risking a dangerous job: How a window washing startup is raising the bar (and hose) with drones

It’s a nightmare to clean the windows of multi-story buildings, said Andrew Brain. “It’s incredibly unsafe for folks to be hanging on the side of buildings — and it’s incredibly expensive for them to be there. Insurance liability has gone up 300 to 400 percent. … I was thinking that there’s got to be a…

Wingman Kitchen

Wingman’s twice-fried chicken flies south, finding its sweet spot in Johnson County

A pandemic-battered, Westport fried chicken restaurant is on the move, chasing new opportunities in Overland Park and frying up a second chance that could be the secret ingredient to franchise expansion, its owner said.  “Wingman is the food provider for the entire district,” said Duane Jordan, owner of a Wingman Kitchen franchise, detailing the restaurant’s…

2534 Prospect Avenue, a city-owned space housing WeCode KC

She’s bringing tech to urban core teens; why KCMO says Tammy Buckner needs to pay ‘fair market value’ or get out

One of KC’s leading Black women in tech leased a vacant city building for $1 and made $20K+ in improvements for her workforce development program — now the city wants to sell it, kicking WeCode KC to the curb A local nonprofit is asking for community support as the KCMO city council makes a move…

Panelists Kavya Shankar, Sam De Jong, and Jacob Wagner at the C3KC "Future of Neighborhoods" session

One-size-fits-all neighborhoods are a blueprint for development failure, C3KC panel says

Editor’s note: Startland News is a non-financial media sponsor of the 3CKC conference organized by the Junior League of Kansas City, Missouri. The formula for creating a vibrant neighborhood might seem simple, but replicating it between variable demographics, geographies and economies is more challenging than many planners think, said Kavya Shankar. “The strength of the…