News Stories

How a Missouri native’s high-tech, faith-based bracelet company found inner peace in California

The emotional rollercoaster of social media can take a toll on mental health, said Gary Rakes, a Raymore, Missouri, native who saw an opportunity to create a digital safe space — one that lives on a user’s wrist.  His business, Free Luma, offers a line of RFID-enabled bracelets designed to connect others through positivity and…

Mayo Clinic research: Missouri startup’s VR tech can help calm patients’ pre-surgery jitters

A recent study from the renowned researchers at the Mayo Clinic suggests a dose of virtual reality can help reduce pre-op anxiety in older patients undergoing their first open-heart surgery — and their findings come after testing with technology from Columbia, Missouri-based Healium. “While much of the research to date using VR involved younger patient…

City Market eats: Master roaster hopes hungry Kansas Citians will flock to Murmuration 

A new eatery and cocktail bar that now shares a space with the popular City Market Coffee Roasters is designed to reflect a vision of bringing people together, fostering connection, and embracing the diversity that makes the City Market so special, said master roaster Nikole Ammer. Plus, the people are hungry — from day to…

Chamber showcase fills Union Station with real-life social networking for small biz owners

Entrepreneur Dane Moss likes to do things a little over the top, he shared Wednesday from inside the Grand Hall at Union Station, noting that simply handing out T-shirts and koozies to event attendees simply doesn’t fit his style. So for his first KC Chamber Small Business Celebration Candidates’ Showcase, Moss and his team from…

1 Million Cups relocating back to Kauffman Foundation, renewing weekly meetup’s energy, sense of purpose

After more than six years connecting entrepreneurs in Midtown, 1 Million Cups Kansas City is returning to its roots — relocating the weekly event series April 9 to the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center where the now-coast-to-coast morning meetup series first percolated.  Changing the brew for the Wednesday entrepreneur pitch showcase came from the same voices…