National News

NCAA to keep March Madness games close to Indiana base

The National Collegiate Athletic Association has announced that it will stage the entire 2021 men’s basketball championship in Indiana. All 67 games of March Madness will take place in the Hoosier state in 2021, with the majority of the games… more

Garmin acquires tech provider GEOS Worldwide

Garmin Ltd. acquired a Houston-area company that provides emergency monitoring and incident response services, including to its inReach personal satellite communicators. Garmin said Tuesday that it had purchased substantially all the assets of GEOS Worldwide Ltd. and its subsidiaries for… more

COVID-19 reveals fast-growing careers, emerging remote jobs

A variety of remote jobs emerged in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. The website FlexJobs analyzed over 50 career categories, finding 10 offering remote jobs that have grown at a high rate since the pandemic started. The 10 categories… more

U.S. stocks finish year with record gain over 16 percent

U.S. stocks finished 2020 with a gain of more than 16 percent after a technology sector-led rally pulled Wall Street back from a brief bear market to set a record high in defiance of pandemic, recession and political upheaval. The… more

AMC to sell 50 million more shares, avoid bankruptcy filing

Leawood-based AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. plans to sell up to 50 million more shares as it tries to prevent a bankruptcy filing. The movie theater chain said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to offer… more

Missouri-based Centene acquires healthcare company for $2.2B

Centene will buy Magellan for $95 per share in a cash deal that values the Phoenix-based behavioral health provider at $2.2 billion.  The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. It will make Centene one… more

Coping with COVID: FDA to potentially begin delivering half-doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

The FDA is meeting this week to consider giving half-doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to people ages 18 to 55. The head of Operation Warp Speed says clinical data shows the vaccine can be just as effective at half-doses in… more

Main Street Lending Program expiration extended

The Main Street Lending Program - utilized by small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. – has granted an extension on its expiration date. The termination date on its facilities was pushed back, a decision made by the Board of… more

Blue KC makes investment, takes minority stake in Connecticut performance management company

Nearly a year after announcing their partnership, Blue KC has taken a minority stake in Connecticut health care performance management company, Cedar Gate Technologies. The partnership announcement revealed in January 2020 was made to increase the insurer’s analytical capabilities and its… more

Isolation expected to continue for nursing home residents

Tens of thousands of workers and residents at Kansas long-term care facilities will get vaccinated over the next three months. But families aching to visit after such a long separation may not have easy access to their loved ones for… more