Ingram's Magazine July 2022

I N T H E N E W S

Tidbits of Business News from Around the Region

MISSOURI BUCHANAN COUNTY UMKC-St. Joseph Growth

KANSAS DOUGLAS COUNTY

PLATTE COUNTY KCI Land Eyed for Solar

A Kansas City feasibility study suggests that a solar array built on 3,100 acres near Kansas City International Airport could yield 500 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 70,000 typical homes, average size homes. That would be one of the largest solar projects in the country. The study calls for multiple phases of construction, with an initial installation of solar panels on 136 acres. Next up in the process, the city will issue a request for proposals to seek a private-sector partner for construction.

Lawrence Annexes for Growth The Lawrence City Commission has approved annexation of roughly 60 acres of land on the northwest corner of the city, setting the stage for a residential construction project that could add 200 homes and room for a new school. Plan 2040, the city’s comprehensive vision for managing growth, identified that area as an annexation target. $10 Million Gift for LMH A Lawrence man has pledged $10 million—half now, half due within several

Armed with a fresh tranche of federal funding—$15.5 million to help improve rural health care—the University of Missouri-Kansas City is moving ahead with plans to expand the St. Joseph campus, which is halfway to its enrollment goal of 80 students since it opened in 2020. UMKC is working in tandem with Mosaic Life Care to produce healthcare professionals who will work in under-served rural areas of the state. JACKSON COUNTY $100MM Health Building Set The University of Missouri-Kansas City has unveiled plans for a $100 million health sciences building in its Downtown health sciences district, a project that will add teaching facilities for the schools of medicine and dentistry. It will also house the Data Science and Analytics Innovation Center and the Biomedical Engineering program, and will allow the district to improve access to care in the urban core, as well as sparking development to turn the campus into a regional draw. Officials say it will prompt entrepreneurship and economic growth across the region. The State Fair Community College Foundation has received a $100,000 donation from Alro Steel in its capital campaign for the new Olen Howard Workforce Innovation Center, which opened in June on the Sedalia campus. The center is tasked with expanding SFCC’s capacity to meet the growing demand for technical work-force training and strengthen the communities it serves. Alro Steel distributes metals, industrial supplies, and engineering plastics to more than 50,000 customers in North America. PETTIS COUNTY Alro Steel Steps Up

Correspondent News Updates from the Capital cities Washington | Private-Sector Employment Rebound The Labor Department’s most recent employment report showed the economy created 372,000 jobs last month, with the private sector adding 381,000, and propelling the nation past its pre-pandemic employment private-sector jobs. Those additions now have the work force at 140,000 jobs above the totals from February 2020. All of that growth has come on the private side, as the loss of 599,000 local and state government jobs still has overall employment below pre pandemic levels. Jefferson City | Parson, Chamber Team Up on Crime The Missouri Chamber of Commerce brought a special guest to Kansas City earlier this month as Gov. Mike Parson joined chamber CEO Dan Mehan and other public-safety officials to unveil a multi-disciplined approach to crime reduction in the Show-Me State, with a special emphasis on reducing numbers of repeat offenders through job training and assistance with mental health and sub stance abuse. It was one of two stops on their tour, the other being in St. Louis to take the wraps off of the Chamber’s Safer Missouri, Stronger Missouri strategy. It’s hailed as a business-led, statewide approach to reducing crime in a state where the three largest metro areas–Springfield is the third–consistently rank in among the nation’s Top 15 for per-capita violent crime. Topeka | Kansas Ends Fiscal Year Up Big With June tax receipts of $918.8 million, Kansas wrapped up its 2022 fiscal year $438.1 million over its projections, based on total tax revenues of $9.8 billion. Gov. Laura Kelly hailed the fiscal performance as further evidence that “our state’s economy is continuing its forward momentum. Our efforts to be the most fiscally responsible and pro-business administration in Kansas history has helped our state become a hub for economic growth.” Though individual income tax collections for June were nearly 10 percent below estimates, at $40.3 million, the state would have exceeded those estimate by 6.7 percent if not for a one-time, unusually large refund. Corporate income tax collections beat estimates by $148.1 million—48.1 percent overall, and nearly a third more than collected in June 2021.

I n g r a m ’ s 7

Kansas City’s Business Media

July 2022