Blog

Challenging Recovery and Hope for Future Support

Jun 3, 2026
I sit down to write this month’s column after a series of sleepless nights and back-to-back major building fires at our Lake of the Ozarks restaurant, Pebble Bay Club Grill. More about this catastrophic experience in a moment. This column,… more

Should We Start Stacking?

Jun 3, 2026
Kansas City sits astride more than a state line. It straddles a century-old economic and political divide that has shaped nearly every major development decision in the region. The Missouri–Kansas “Border War” over economic incentives and corporate relocations has often… more

Pay for Talent—or Develop It?

Jun 3, 2026
For years, college coaches competed to recruit student-athletes to their sports programs. Today, bizarrely, the real challenge for many coaches is retention. More precisely, “employee retention,” and yes, the “employees” in question are the alleged student athletes. It seems like… more

Refilling the Leadership Pipeline

Apr 29, 2026
For a region that has long prided itself on punching above its weight, Kansas City finds itself in an unusual moment—one defined as much by absence as by opportunity. Over the past several years, we’ve watched a generation of civic… more

The High Price of Waiting for ‘Normal’

Apr 29, 2026
There’s a question making the rounds in boardrooms, break rooms and budgeting sessions across the Kansas City region: When will things get back to normal with input pricing? It’s usually asked in the context of grocery bills, supply invoices, wage… more

Wheels Up at KCI

Apr 29, 2026
When watching older movies, I pay particular attention to airport scenes. My prime focus is the suitcase. My goal is to discern how many years after we first put a man on the moon, did we put wheels on a… more

Our Moment Is Here

Mar 31, 2026
There are moments when a city’s self-image is tested not by what it says about itself, but by what it’s asked to do when the world is watching. For Kansas City, that moment is no longer approaching—it has arrived. In… more

From Corporate America to KC

Mar 31, 2026
As a business publication with a regional focus, Ingram’s generally avoids national or international developments unless they bear directly on business here. Call that parochial, or to be kind, hyper-local. Occasionally, however, decisions in distant boardrooms send consequences rippling straight… more

Good Gosh! I Could Have a Republican Congressman

Mar 31, 2026
About a dozen or so years ago, I heard on the news that Missouri state Rep. Jeremy Lafaver was busted during a traffic stop for possession of marijuana and a pipe to smoke it in. On hearing the report, I… more

Self-Inflicted Wounds and Decades of Setbacks

Mar 6, 2026
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 2026 The Kansas City metro area should be a Midwest powerhouse. Missouri ranks a respectable 12th in the Tax Foundation’s 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index—strong on corporate and property taxes, low overall burden. Yet inside Kansas City, Mo.,… more