Latest Stories

DJ Stewart, Journey Pro Wrestling

Put a ring in it: Journey Pro enters the ‘Era of Agnes’ with new location on KC’s East Side

Founder combines passion for wrestling, fighting cancer in latest show Every window was broken. A solid foot of trash covered the floor. And there was a strange smell coming from the bathrooms. Yet, DJ Stewart stepped into the abandoned section of the Agnes Arts Center and knew it was going to be the perfect home…

Norman Kump, Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC); Simon Williams; and Venita Thurman, Grandview High School

Real-world ready: Honeywell partners with local high schools, offering full-time careers to Grandview graduates

Simon Williams wasn’t interested in college; he instead saw a professional path after high school that avoided costly and time-wasting diversions. “I just didn’t want to start my career four years later, with almost $100,000 in the hole,” said the recent Grandview graduate and new hire at Honeywell as an assembler adjuster. The U.S. Department…

Customers line up for an early release of bourbon at Holladay Distillery

Thirsty fans line up as Weston distillery resurrects pre-Civil War Missouri bourbon

Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by Flatland, the digital magazine of Kansas City PBS and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly Flatland email newsletter. This is a historic moment for the folks at Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri, and also a big deal…

Chef Zaid Renato Consuegra Sauza of Pirate’s Bone Burgers pivoted in the face of the pandemic, turning his original dine-in concept into a carryout-only model; photo courtesy of Pirate's Bone Burgers

Survival rates for new biz in MO, KS lag national average; What’s getting in their way?

Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by Flatland, the digital magazine of Kansas City PBS and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the weekly Flatland email newsletter. Colorful balloons, ribbons, unlimited drinks, food and of course music. There was everything at the ribbon cutting…

Startup pitch at a 2021 NMotion Venture Studio event

NMotion adds ‘concierge’ investment accelerator for early-stage founders; applications close May 30

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by the NMotion startup accelerator, but was independently produced by Startland News. Following NMotion Venture Studio’s successful launch in 2020, Nebraska’s largest and only startup accelerator is adding a new high-touch opportunity to its lineup: NMotion Growth Accelerator.  “Five out of the 10 companies that came through the NMotion…

Santosh George, Grace George, Meredith George, and Mary Ann George at the dedication of Studio 3030 at Operation Breakthrough's Ignition Lab

Donations honoring late podcast host, comedian fund ‘place of peace’ for young creators; recording studio dedicated to Mathew George

Friends and family of the late podcast host Mathew George gathered to celebrate the dedication of Operations Breakthrough’s newly-debuted recording studio on what would have been Mathew’s 27th birthday. “What could have been a really depressing day was more celebratory, like it would have been if he were still here,” shared Mary Ann George, mother…

Melissa Vincent, Pipeline Entrepreneurs, and Donald Hawkins, Kinly, at the 2022 Pipeline Innovators gala

Pipeline Innovators gala adds glamour, top honors back into the mix for celebration of fellows 

A remixed Pipeline Innovators gala honored veteran and emerging fellows from within the elite startup founder network Friday — returning the full live celebration to a stage in Kansas City for the first time since 2018 and crowning two new Innovator of the Year recipients. Marking the first Innovators gala for Pipeline executive director Melissa…

Saroj Gupta, MyDigiRecords, pitching at the Futures Group during the Comeback KC Ventures Innovation Showcase

When a global health crisis exposed ‘broken’ systems, these KC startups jabbed back

Patients need easier access to their medical records, said Saroj Gupta, stressing the life-threatening outcomes for individuals who might miss important vaccinations — or erroneously obtain multiple doses — because of poor or hard-to-find documentation. “We call ourselves a developed country, but our healthcare system is so broken,” said Saroj Gupta, the founder and CEO…

Clarence Tan and Edna Martinson, Boddle Learning

AT&T deal brings head-to-head ‘Pet Battles’ to Boddle in a first for the KC-made edtech app

A new collaboration between Boddle Learning and AT&T hopes to keep students plugged into learning long after they’ve unplugged from the classroom.  “With summer break quickly approaching, it’s important to help kids maintain knowledge outside of the classroom,” AT&T said in a release announcing its teamed up with Tulsa-based, Kansas City-born Boddle to introduce new…

Gov. Mike Parson, R-Missouri, speaks at Union Station during the announcement of Meta's new $800 million data center in Kansas City

Budget bump to $31M would help MTC attack its 16-point plan for Missouri entrepreneurs; funding fate rests with governor

A key funder of initiatives like Digital Sandbox KC and LaunchKC could see its own fortunes rise if Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signs a budget that includes $31 million to boost technology, entrepreneurship and innovation efforts in the state. The Missouri legislature last week passed a budget that would dramatically up the Missouri Technology Corporation’s…