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Minority-owned businesses have the potential to reinvigorate economies, build up local communities, create jobs and opportunities, and close the racial wage gap. To this end, NetWork Kansas launched the Empower WYCO Fund. The Empower Fund was created to support entrepreneurs in Wyandotte...

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Empresarios de comunidades minoritarias tienen el potencial de revitalizar las economías, fortalecer las comunidades locales, crear empleos y oportunidades, y cerrar las deficiencias en los salarios de minorías raciales. Con este fin, NetWork Kansas lanzó Empower WYCO Fund. El Empower Fund se...

Numerous technical and high-paying jobs go unfilled each year simply because the modern manufacturing industry sector is misunderstood. When companies throw open their doors and unfurl the welcome mats for tours, it goes a long way to dispel negative impressions. Wyandotte Economic Development Council (WYEDC) embraces student tours as...

TOPEKA – As 2022 ends, the Kelly administration highlights promises made and kept over the past year.
“This year, we got Kansas back on track by working across the aisle to attract jobs, strengthen our roads and bridges, and fully fund education,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “2023 is looking bright!”
ECONOMY...

A pair of studies shows the U.S. at the top of the rankings for foreign direct investment (FDI) behind a surge of Asian and European investment in technology, chemicals, information and communication, and financial services.
According to Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council’s 2022 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index and...

Huge spikes in demand for retail products, while food service demand virtually disappeared…supply chain disruptions that revealed previously unknown weaknesses in the flow of ingredients and materials…already existing labor shortages exacerbated by COVID outbreaks and shutdowns, as well as existing staff missing time due to illness, caring for family members,...

Fixing the Supply Chain with AI and Robotics
Dec 21 2022One of the many lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was just how fragile the global supply chain is. For decades, much energy has been spent streamlining the supply chain, building efficiencies, and finding low-cost options — but the result has been an increased vulnerability to shutdowns, labor shortages, and...

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today that since her administration took office in 2019, Kansas has attracted more than $15 billion in private sector investment. This significant economic development milestone has resulted in more than 53,000 jobs created or retained.
“My administration has made Kansas a state where businesses have...

Governor Laura Kelly Congratulates Recipients of Annual Minority and Women Business Awards
Nov 18 2022TOPEKA – Minority- and woman-owned businesses were honored this week as part of Kansas Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week. The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Minority and Women Business Development hosted its 37th Annual Minority and Women Business Awards Luncheon at the Hotel Topeka at City Center. The awards luncheon recognized...

Over 250 manufacturers across more than 15 industries call Wyandotte County, Kansas, home. Since October was Manufacturing Month, it was the perfect time for Wyandotte Economic Development Council (WYEDC) to continue our commitment to workforce development by releasing the Industry-Driven Career Guide focusing on the sector. The guide was funded...

Gov. Laura Kelly cut the ribbon for URBN’s new 1.5-million-square-foot omni-channel fulfillment center in Kansas City, Kansas, on Wednesday.
Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are among those who will be using the $403 million facility bringing 2,000 new jobs in Kansas City, Kansas, by June 2023. The new facility is...

The race is on to lead the auto industry’s electric vehicle (EV) transformation. Today, Tesla holds a sizable lead in production capability, technology, and market share, but legacy manufacturers like Ford, Volkswagen, and General Motors are gaining ground with aggressive efforts to prepare for mass production of new EV models...

The New Industrial Ecosystem
Oct 20 2022Far beyond ports, hubs, and transportation networks, the new industrial ecosystem requires a cross-section of executive decision-makers to take a proactive data-driven stance on location strategies and logistics planning. Shifts across complex, geopolitical and socio-economic systems are happening too quickly, and the costs are too high not to rely on...

The Role of Education in Talent Attraction
Sep 19 2022“Education is now the #1 economic priority,” according to Don Gilman, CEO of Ignite College and Career Academy in Georgia. In the past, most economic development organizations focused their efforts on creating jobs and capital investment. Today, the pandemic’s “Great Resignation,” coupled with the high level of Baby Boomers retiring,...

TOPEKA – During a state visit from a Taiwanese delegation, officials from the east Asian country agreed to purchase 66 million bushels of wheat from U.S. farmers over the next two years. The grain deal, which is worth approximately $576 million, will be fulfilled significantly by Kansas wheat farms. ...

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly announced today that since she took office in January 2019, her administration has worked with private-sector businesses in creating and retaining more than 50,000 jobs in Kansas. This milestone continues the record-breaking economic development success the state has experienced under the Kelly Administration.
The...

TOPEKA – Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland today announced a second round of Historic Economic Asset Lifeline (HEAL) grants intended for revitalizing downtown buildings in small communities across the state. The HEAL program, which is funded by the Department of Commerce and the Patterson Family Foundation, will...

TOPEKA – Today, on the heels of Labor Day, Governor Laura Kelly signed Executive Order #22-07 establishing the Office of Registered Apprenticeship within the Kansas Department of Commerce. The Office will dramatically scale up the Kelly Administration’s efforts to meet the talent needs of Kansas businesses, give workers the skills...

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will receive a $2 million grant for construction of a new electrical distribution feeder in support of a new business under development, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced recently that the department’s...

The Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will receive a $2 million grant for construction of a new electrical distribution feeder in support of a new business under development, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced recently that the department’s...

Tory Burch store expands at Legends Outlets
Aug 17 2022Kansas City’s first and only Tory Burch storefront in the metro is relocating to double in size in a larger, permanent space at Legends Outlets on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at 1843 Village West Parkway, Suite C-117, combining two current spaces.
The new location will feature a broader product line,...

Five Truths About How The Inflation Reduction Act Will Help Small Business And Working Families
Aug 15 2022As it was making its way through Congress, I wrote a piece on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that showed economic benefits from economists, policy experts and small business advocates. Last week, the Senate passed the IRA and on Friday, the House of Representatives passed it, sending it to President...