Local News

CBRE: KC Office Vacancy Holds Tight During Q1 

Office vacancy rates in the Kansas City area remained at 12.9 percent during the first quarter, unchanged from the fourth quarter, says commercial real estate services firm CBRE. Read the full CBRE report here. more

Hallmark CEO Takes Pay Cut, HQ Hours Reduced

Hallmark CEO Mike Perry will reportedly take a 20 percent pay cut as the company grapples with the impact of COVID-19, as will other executives at the global Kansas City-based company. At the same time, workers' hours have been cut at… more

UMKC Having Virtual Graduation

The University of Missouri-Kansas City students will still graduate in May, but the commencement survey will be virtual. The decision was made after a survey was taken with students and parents. All four University of Missouri schools have postponed their… more

Q&A with: Clyde McQueen, Full Employment Council

“I think lot of innovation will come out of this,” says Clyde McQueen, CEO of the Full Employment Council in Kansas City. Until then, business will continue to feel unprecedented pain, he says, but he cautions against taking short-term actions… more

KU School of Medicine Sending Reinforcements

         The University of Kansas School of Medicine is joining the ranks of institutions like Harvard University and New York University to muster additional health-care workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.     More than 50 senior students from… more

Blue KC Waves Co-Pays, Takes Other Measures

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, which provides insurance services to more than 1 million people in the greater Kansas City area, announced it is waiving all member cost sharing and copayments for inpatient hospital admissions due to… more

Employment Falls By 700,000 in March

Total payroll employment in March fell by 701,000 primarily due to COVID-19, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report, and the unemployment rate hit 4.4 percent, up 0.9 percent from the previous month. That marks the biggest… more

KU Health Says COVID-19 Census Steady

The University of Kansas Health System reported this morning that its inpatient census of COVID-19 was unchanged since Friday, at 33, a hopeful sign that efforts to contain the spread were paying off. Three of the physicans at the main… more

Banks Cleared to Make Relief Loans

Federal relief for small businesses slammed with cash-flow challenges during the COVID-19 recession has begun flowing, as banks have the green light to begin making loans under the CARES Act’s Paycheck Protection Program. PPP has set aside $349 billion for… more

KC Housing Listings Drop Dramatically

Much as they have nationwide, home listings in the Kansas City area have dropped dramatically due to the COVID-19 outbreak. A report by Realtor.com says that home listings in the metro have dropped by 24.6 percent. That makes places it… more