Business and Government


KC’s Stay-At-Home Order Will Likely Extend

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said yesterday that the stay-at-home order put in place last month will likely be extended beyond its original April 24 expiration. Though Lucas said he is considering pushing the order through mid May, he still… more

WHO Leader: COVID-19 Dwarfs 2009 Flu

The COVID-19 pandemic is 10 times deadlier than the flu pandemic of 2009, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, general director of the World Health Organization. "We know that early case-finding, testing, isolating caring for every case and tracing every contact… more

Parson Approves Supplemental Budget

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has signed a supplemental budget passed by the Missouri General Assembly, which will give the state access to federal COVID-19 relief under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “COVID-19 has had an overwhelming… more

Q&A with: Keely Schneider, Workforce Partnership

Keely Schneider is the director of the Workforce Partnership serving Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties for the Kansas Department of Labor. She talked about her views on the current labor market's challenges. Q: After a rough couple of weeks with… more

Sen. Moran: Federal Aid Hitting Rural Hospitals

Federal aid began flowing today to cash-strapped rural hospitals across Kansas, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran said this morning. Although federal aid to business approved in March excluded rural hospitals owned by political subdivisions, Moran said additional federal money was being… more

Johnson County Enacts Furloughs, About $20M in Budget Cuts

Johnson County is furloughing 264 employees and will cut its fiscal year 2020 budget by $18.8 million and deferring another $2.3 million in expenditures for at least a year. The furloughed employees are in Johnson County government, the Johnson County… more

Parson Closes Schools for Remainder of Academic Year

Missouri Governor Mike Parson has closed schools in Missouri for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. The move follows a similar measure by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly back in March. Missouri schools are expected to continue to provide services… more

KCMO Issues $28M in Infrastructure Improvement Bonds

Kansas City has issued just under $27.79 million in improvement bonds  that would make infrastructure repairs to City Hall, Liberty Memorial, street reconstruction in the City Market area and parking garages. A $9.1-million portion would also be used to fund… more

PPP Update

As the nation’s banks continue to fine-tune the Paycheck Protection Program implemented by Congress to help avert layoffs during the COVID-19 crises, today looms as a key date in phase II of the $349 billion program. As of this morning,… more

Beyond PPP

Banks have been quick to respond with customer-driven programs that may be forsaking short-term revenue gain, preserving the longer-term relationships that will be valuable once the recovery begins While the Small Business Administration is forgoing traditional loan structures with banks… more