News Stories

Jeff Simon, Husch Blackwell

Business, civic leader: Chains of slavery were built for profit (then and now) — together we must dismantle them

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Jeff Simon is managing partner of Husch Blackwell’s Kansas City office. Simon is currently on the board of STARTLAND, the parent organization of Startland News, and previously served as president of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, chair of the Kansas City…

Kyle Steppe, KC Hemp Co.

Milkman of CBD: How closing KC Hemp Co’s storefront helped deliver a 600-percent sales increase 

A new strain of strategy has KC Hemp Co. going all in on eCommerce, its owners said, announcing the company has permanently closed its downtown Overland Park retail space — transitioning to online sales and limited same-day delivery.  “We’ve been able to cut over 80 percent of our overhead,” explained Kyle Steppe, who owns KC…

Chris Whited and Lindsay Smith, Merry Outlaw

Donations drop as KC reopens — but need for help outlasts COVID’s peak, says Merry Outlaw

Merry Outlaw’s quick pivot to a COVID-19 Mutual Aid app raised $11,000 in a little over a month — but donations slowed as people turned their eyes back to “normal life,” said Lindsay Smith.  “Our first month we hit $10,000 — and you don’t want to get discouraged about this — but in the beginning,…

Neelima Parasker, SnapIT Solutions

Neelima Parasker planned for snow days — COVID came instead; How SnapIT is weathering the pandemic in a new space

More than 20,000 square feet of silence greeted Neelima Parasker as she returned to work this week after Stay at Home orders lifted.  “Monday we opened up, but really, to very few people,” Parasker, CEO of SnapIT Solutions, said of the startup’s reentry to the traditional workforce — this time, inside a new office space…

Kashif Hasnie, Air Traffic Awareness

Startup veteran pilots Air Traffic Awareness, wants ‘Silicon Valley of Aviation’ to truly take flight

A climbing Kansas City startup could save lives by bridging technology gaps in air travel, said Kashif Hasnie.  “Collisions are among the top causes of aircraft accidents in the world,” explained Hasnie, CEO of Air Traffic Awareness.  First launched as a class project at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Air Traffic Awareness has developed patent-pending,…