Woman-led Stories

Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Dabney Coleman in a promotional photo for "9 to 5"; photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

‘9 to 5’ exposed sexism, toxic gender roles at work; 40 years later, has much changed beyond the price of a cup of ambition?

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. The minds of women and marginalized employees are still being used without credit more than 40 years after Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda starred in a…

David Biga, Particle Space; Shelley Cooper, Diversity TeleHealth; Tyler Bolz and Will Strout, DataSource; and Nikil Ragav, inventXYZ

11 emerging KC startups hit the road for Omaha pitch; one winner drives home with $25K

Editor’s note: Husch Blackwell is a financial sponsor of Startland News, though this report was produced independently by the nonprofit newsroom. More than a third of competitors at the coming Get Started Omaha premier pitch event are expected to represent Kansas City innovation on stage April 6 — vying for $25,000 in prize money against…

Penny Dale-McCant and Myron McCant, KD Academy

$4M dream childcare center opened on Prospect as planned; why the 24/7 KD Academy is struggling to fill its beds

Penny Dale-McCant built a childcare model — and a $4 million expansion of her KD Academy brand with her husband, Myron McCant — unlike anything else in the region, she said. Today, however, the center serves only a third of its intended capacity: a product of pandemic trends that have limited staffing. “I’m just proud…

Dreamgirl hits the start button at SXSW; why the KC band tells its peers to break out of the Midwest

Editor’s note: The following story is part of Startland News’ coverage of the SXSW conference in Austin. Click here to read more stories from the 2022 trip. AUSTIN — Dreamgirl describes itself as a family — a bit dysfunctional at times, but nonetheless family, members of the Kansas City-based band shared, laughing the morning before their…

Alex Krause Matlack, Sit Foundry

Sit Foundry takes a stand for ‘lost art’ of upholstery amid fast furniture’s climate threat

Alex Krause Matlack is bringing what she teaches in the classroom to Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as she pursues Sit Foundry — an all-inclusive reupholstery design studio.  “In the first week of my Intro to Entrepreneurship class, I tell my students to go out into the world and take notice of the problems they face….