News

February new home sales drop 18 percent from month prior

In the month of February, a report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that new home sales fell 18.2 percent from January. However, sales were up 8.2 percent from a year prior, in February 2020. The median sales price of… more

Long-time Denny’s location downtown to soon be razed

The now-empty building located at a highly-visible corner on Broadway in downtown Kansas City will soon see demolition day. Constructed in 1971, the 30-year-old-building once home to a Denny’s restaurant was vacated in November 2020. On Tuesday, March 23, a… more

Q&A with Todd Winnerman

We had a pretty good winter until the middle of last month—how has weather this season affected progress on your progress, given the national scope of this freeze? During the extreme weather in February, we lost about two weeks of… more

Kansas small businesses receive $57M in grants

Roughly $57 million in aid has reached around 3,000 small businesses in Kansas in Small Business Working Capital (SBWC) grants. Funding for the grants was drawn out from the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF), which sent monetary aid to businesses… more

KC area shows total nonfarm job loss of 46,500 in one year

The Kansas City metropolitan area is down more than 46,000 jobs in one year, according to a recent report from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. Kansas City counted 1.06 million nonfarm jobs in February, off from 1.11 million… more

Approval of streetcar Riverfront route extension advances

Full approval is nearly complete for the KC Streetcar Riverfront Extension project. Estimated to cost $20.2 million, the project will extend the streetcar route three-quarters of a mile to Berkeley Riverfront Park. The line currently ends Third Street Grand Boulevard.… more

Suggested revision to Buck O’Neil Bridge design aims for preservation of structure, green space

A strong divide in the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT) design plan for the new Buck O’Neil Bridge has members of the community, and some city officials, hoping for a revised design that will allow the bridge to be updated… more

U.S. small business revenue up

Responses pooled from small businesses nationwide by the U.S. Census Bureau show that in the second week of March, most businesses saw a healthy increase in revenue and sales. Data was collected March 8 through March 14 for the Census… more

New order establishes Kansas workforce improvement council

On Monday, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed Executive Order 21-08, establishing the Advantage Kansas Coordinating Council (AKCC). The council was created to improve Kansas’s workforce and is comprised of education and business leaders across the state. The AKCC will align… more

UMKC Forward plan to invest up to $60M

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) rolled out its UMKC Forward plan, pledging to invest more than $50 million to $60 million over the next five years in five key investments. Investments are designed to achieve growth and excellence for… more