News Stories

Connecting for Good; photos courtesy of Tom Esselman

PCs for People: Connecting for Good upgrades amid ‘full-blown explosion of tech need’

A Kansas City-built nonprofit hoping to refurbish the metro’s perception of digital inclusivity is now an affiliate of PCs for People — a nationwide network with a shared goal. “Digital inclusion is ensuring that everybody — regardless of their income or where they live — has access to at least three things: affordable internet, affordable…

More than statues: 3D printer on the Plaza showcases Urban TEC opportunity amid BLM movement

Just a couple blocks west of Mill Creek Park — the center of recent Black Lives Matter protests near the Country Club Plaza — 3DHQ hopes youth tech outreach now can build a more inclusive future for creative problem solvers in Kansas City’s Black and urban communities, said Fabian Conde. “We want to be more intentional…

Lisa Ragan family, Safely Delicious

OP-baked Safely Delicious takes big bites of allergy-free snack market amid pandemic

Some of the most unconventional entrepreneur stories offer the sweetest flavors, said Lisa Ragan, detailing how diet restrictions and divorce combined to drive her deliciously disruptive Overland Park-based company forward. “You can’t have one foot in, one foot out,” Ragan, founder of Safely Delicious, said of what it’s taken to scale the allergy-friendly snack line…

Grab me a stick of butter too? How a KC-built group shopping app could eliminate needless grocery runs

The COVID-19 pandemic clearly isn’t going anywhere until the arguing stops, said Jason Wadsworth.  “Mask-wearing has become political and that’s just so disheartening,” said Wadsworth, vice president of engineering at MobileUp Software. “These times are unprecedented and I really hope that as a community, we can stop arguing and just come together to work it…

Soulcentricitea on Troost

Tea shop on Troost finds its flavor at the intersection of herbal serenity, cultural activism

Kansas City’s air is thick with revolution and restoration, contemplated Nika Cotton.  “In the social and cultural climate, it’s really a time that people are rising up. The systems are changing. We’re talking about the abolition of police departments, the abolition of the industrial prison system — really exciting things,” Cotton said amid a flurry of…