Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Reporter, Startland News
Nikki brings to Startland News both community journalism and entrepreneurship experience and she loves being able to tell the inspiring stories of fellow creatives and risk-takers.
Before joining Startland News, she worked for over 10 years writing and editing for daily newspapers in Lawrence, Topeka, Duluth, Minnesota, and Park Hills, Missouri. She took a short hiatus from journalism to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef and starting her own baking business.
Recent Stories by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
It’s easy for small biz to get lost in the shuffle; How ECJC offers a lifeline to Main Street, startup entrepreneurs
The Enterprise Center in Johnson County is on a mission to prove the Kansas City metro remains a place where small businesses can grow and thrive, shared CEO Jeff Shackelford. ECJC — which is home to the Women’s Business Center, the Mid-America Angels and the Women’s Capital Connection angel investment networks, as well as the…
C3KC organizers: Want to bring real social change to Kansas City? Let’s talk about it
The sold-out C3KC — a one-day conference that returns Tuesday, April 2 to Union Station — reflects the Junior League of Kansas City’s mission to bring together leaders for collaborative change in action, shared Ericka Duker. The Junior League — which aims to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration and…
Urban designer behind Royals’ Crossroads ballpark pioneered the modern MLB stadium (and he has the bats to prove it)
It’s difficult to find a Major League Baseball stadium that Earl Santee hasn’t influenced with his philosophy of community-oriented design. Called the “Godfather of ballparks,” Santee — the recently named CEO of Populous and literal architect of the proposed Kansas City Royals ballpark district in the East Crossroads — either designed or renovated two dozen…
Drug side effects could kill you; meet the KS lab team using DNA testing to save patients
A clinical reference laboratory in Olathe is working to make DNA testing for genetically optimized medications more routine and accessible in healthcare, Dr. Ziyan Pessetto shared. Sinochips Diagnostics — founded in 2019 by Dr. Jiawu Song, along with Pessetto and Dr. Andrew Godwin — was conceived with the vision to make pharmacogenomics (PGx) an integral…
Starting a business in KCMO is too expensive, study says; here’s how the city can cut those costs
Entrepreneurs in Kansas City, Missouri, face a higher cost of entry to the world of small business than their peers in St. Louis — or even just across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, said Jennifer McDonald. “We look at things like how expensive it is to start a business, how complicated it is,…
Scoring Google’s $1B data center feels like Super Bowl overtime as KC keeps notching wins, officials say
Kansas City is hitting it out of the ballpark, said Mike Parson, returning from the governor’s office to the region Wednesday for yet another major economic development announcement — this time, a billion-dollar Google data center coming in 2025. “Maybe I should say, ‘You’re hitting it out of the ballpark and scoring touchdowns,” Parson, R-Missouri, told…
He’s touched every ꓘ at The K for 25 years; meet the man who gives mud baths to 200+ balls before each game
Every baseball that crosses home plate at Kauffman Stadium likely received a mud bath from Tom Walsh, he shared. Before every home game — including opening day March 28 — the Kansas City Royals clubhouse and umpire services manager is in charge of preparing 204 balls in line with the strict regulations of Major League…
‘Punching above our weight’: KC requests $75M in federal funds as region’s Tech Hubs effort builds even more momentum
Leaders of Kansas City’s Tech Hubs initiative won’t find out until this summer if the regional effort will receive a new round of federal funding, but there’s already plenty to cheer, shared Dennis Ridenour. “We fully expect to be here — or someplace like this — four or five months from now celebrating our region’s…
Quick studies: These Kansans just left their college careers for $500K (and a crash course in startups)
When a friend encouraged Aditya Joshi and Varun Verma to apply for the Y Combinator accelerator program, the Wichita natives didn’t expect to land an interview, they shared — much less get accepted. “Truly, all we had was this idea and a couple of months under our belt of just talking to different folks,” Joshi…
No ribbon cutting when a business closes, Plowboys founder says: Know how to start (and stop) on your own terms
A year and a half after Todd Johns closed his restaurants to focus instead on Plowboys-branded retail products, Johns would rather leave a legacy that’s felt within the Kansas City barbecue community than be known as a legend, he shared. “I’d rather know that I helped someone here,” the president of Plowboys Foods told attendees…