National


Overland Park-headquartered Netsmart buys Florida health technology company

Overland Park-based Netsmart Technologies Inc. has bought an out-of-state health technology company, Tellus, LLC. Based in Florida, Tellus specializes in electronic visit verification and home health care claims. Other services include appointment scheduling, caregiver check-in and checkout, and more. Prior to… more

St. Louis biotech startup acquired by international pharmaceutical company

Pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly and Company has purchased Disarm Therapeutics, a startup biotechnology firm founded by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Disarm Therapeutics was co-founded by Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD, and Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD, to speed… more

Kansas City, Mo., Lee’s Summit noted among U.S. cities with fastest economic growth

A number of Kansas City-area cities are included in WalletHub's new ranking of the U.S. cities with the fastest economic growth. However, only three local cities ranked in the top half of the 515 municipalities evaluated. Of the three cities, Lee's… more

Coping with COVID: Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer delaying application for vaccine authorization

The drugmaker Pfizer said it will not apply for emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate until at least the third week of November. Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla made the announcement in an open letter published Friday. It… more

KC homicide rate declining; Operation Legend continues

Kansas City police Chief Rick Smith says Kansas City's homicide rate has gone down since Operation Legend began. Before federal agents came to Kansas City, the metro was averaging 5.5 homicides every week. During Operation Legend, that dropped to 4.3. A… more

Single family homeowners receive forbearance extension

On Tuesday, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it is extending the date for single family homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages to request an initial forbearance from their mortgage servicer to forbear their mortgage payments for up to six months. Homeowners… more

September housing starts up after August dip

After a slight retreat in August, the modest improvement in construction activity in September is welcome news, a good but not great report that reflects both soaring builder confidence and also likely some stubborn obstacles preventing the industry from truly finding… more

Supreme Court to hear case on border wall funds

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Trump administration’s appeal of a lower court ruling that it improperly diverted money to build portions of the border wall with Mexico. The high court has previously allowed construction to continue,… more

Survey shows boost in confidence among CEOs for remainder of 2020

The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence in collaboration with The Business Council rose sharply in the final month of Q3, after a moderate increase in the first month of Q3. The measure stands at 64, up from 45. (A reading… more

Universities sue over COVID-19 insurance denials

Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP has filed a new class action lawsuit challenging Zurich’s denial of coverage for COVID-19 losses. On Oct. 16, the firm filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf… more