Latest Stories

Book lovers can finally go down The Rabbit Hole at a new North KC children’s literature museum

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. The new museum in North Kansas City’s Iron District is dedicated to immersing kids and their parents in the world of…

How the Kauffman Foundation is tripling down on its KC-focused strategy with trio of high-profile hires

Three new executives are joining the leadership team at one of Kansas City’s most-impactful foundations — a move meant to deepen connections to the city and drive a renewed approach to its mission of economic stability, mobility and prosperity for all.  The trio — two Kansas City natives who became experts in their fields and a…

Food bank leases Lawrence restaurant to provide fresh eats for Kansans in need

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Kansas City PBS/Flatland, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, The Kansas City Beacon, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story. Lawrence, Kansas — Nearly a year after the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration ended…

A Topeka program pays cash to new residents; Now it’s focusing on Latino immigrants

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. Interest in Choose Topeka’s relocation incentive has spiked among first-generation Latino immigrants; Program officials say the city’s established Spanish-speaking community is…

Economists: Tax dollars don’t make a stadium possible; they fund a gold-plated vision for major league sports

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a member of the KC Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and Missouri Business Alert. Click here to read the original story from The Kansas City Beacon, an online news outlet focused on local, in-depth journalism…

Deep fake election ahead: Prepare for AI-generated misinformation arms race, warn KC experts

With the deployment of AI-generated content rapidly advancing just as the U.S. hurtles toward one of the most divisive election seasons in its history, developer Michelle Frost offered two words of advice: buckle in. “It’s gonna be a shit show of a year as an election cycle,” the Johns Hopkins artificial intelligence grad student told…

Tomorrow is today: Internship intros students to a world where they’re already the social changemakers

Editor’s note: Startland Education is a sister program of Startland News within the broader nonprofit organization Startland. Angela Gonzalez-Casas emphasized the value of exposure and network building as the Van Horn High School freshman reflected Tuesday on the impact of her just-wrapped Social Change Internship and the opportunity to engage with audiences she’d never before…

These brothers SMOAK’d gameday concepts at Kauffman, Arrowhead; now their craft BBQ, burritos are delivering downtown

A popup business that launched stadium-based concepts alongside two of Kansas City’s biggest sports teams will now be serving its popular handcrafted barbecue and burritos from an East Crossroads-based hub for ghost kitchens. SMOAK Burritos and SMOAK To-Go — the latest ventures from brothers Cade and Seth Colson’s SMOAK Craft Barbecue+ — open today at…

Report: Missouri startups continue hiring surge, creating 40K+ jobs in every corner of the state

Editor’s note: KCSourceLink and MOSourceLink are non-financial, community partners of Startland News. Missouri startups across the state created 40,169 jobs in 2022, according to the latest data, nearly matching the surge in the number of jobs they generated in 2021. Taking into consideration the number of employees these same firms hired in 2018 and in…

Vytelle expands hoofprint for its cattle IVF tech ‘closer to home,’ opening lab in Kearney, Nebraska

A new lab space for Kansas City-based Vytelle is expected to help the precision livestock startup increase regional accessibility to modern reproduction technology and enable the possibility of fresh embryo transfers for producers across the Midwest, said Kerryann Kocher. Vytelle — the fastest-growing in vitro fertilization (IVF) company — on Monday announced the opening of…