News In Brief:

• Ford Motor Co.’s Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo is among those that will benefit from a $5.9 billion loan Ford accepted recently from the U.S. Department of Energy. The loan is part of the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which is designed to help transform Ford factories produce more fuel-efficient models. The plant, Clay County's largest employer, also added another shift recently to respond to demand, in part due to the Cash for Clunkers program.

• Longtime president and CEO of Hunt Midwest Enterprises Inc. Lee Derrough has announced plans to retire from the company at the end of the year. Derrough has worked with the Hunt family for more than 40 years. Kansas City-based Hunt Midwest Enterprises comprises two wholly owned subsidiaries: Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development Inc. and Hunt Midwest Mining Inc. Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development has developed more than 6,000 acres of commercial, retail, industrial and residential property. It is the developer and owner of SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex in Clay County. As part of an expansion project, additional access will be added to the subterranean business complex via extensions of Parvin Road and Arlington Avenue and a new stretch of road, named Derrough Drive after Lee Derrough.

• The EDC's new logo and branding efforts received outstanding coverage recently in the Sun-Tribune Newspapers. Editor Ray Weikal outlined the organizations new logo and its background, along with details on the EDC's efforts to promote area business nationally. The complete article is on the publication's Web site.