Your Clay County EDC has organized a transportation summit to be held at the Yates-Gill Union 221-222 on the campus of William Jewell College in Liberty for Monday, November 22nd from 2-3 PM. Congressman Sam Graves has agreed to attend. If he is in town (it is Thanksgiving week), MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna said he would attend. If he cannot then he will make sure MoDOT is well-represented. The initial thought is to have a panel discussion with federal, state and local officials to explain what we need to be doing to take advantage of a potential federal infrastructure bill along with the increase in the Missouri fuel tax. Your EDC, the Northland Regional Chamber and the Platte EDC have been meeting with transportation leaders to prioritize projects in the Northland. Please save the date. Congressman Graves is the Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Mike Kellam, First District, VP for Business Development, McClure and Martin Rucker, Second District, Construction Industry Owner, Martin T. Rucker Development have done an outstanding job representing the Northland during the Kansas City redistricting process. Unfortunately they have a new hurdle as the Mayor’s office wants to divide the Northland districts horizontally instead of vertically as they currently exist. There are a lot of problems with the suggested mapping unless you want to divide the Northland. And please don’t think that Stephenie Smith, First District At-Large and Chair of the committee was recommended by an involved Northlander. Except for the school districts who have hired her firm for diversity and equity training, no one that we know knew of her. There are two public hearings remaining tomorrow at noon and Monday at 6:00. You can get the details here. While we would love to have you attend, we understand that it is much easier to sit back, do nothing and complain.
Less than seven months ago Kearney asked their voters to pass a use tax which simply levels the playing field for companies who have made an investment in their city while hiring their residents, with companies that operate over the internet. The ballot measure failed by nearly two to one. Knowing that passing the tax was simply a matter of educating the voters, Mayor Randy Pogue and the Kearney Board of Aldermen put the measure back on the ballot for this week with Shawna Searcy, the Executive Director of the Kearney Area Development Council, leading the charge. Shawna put together a team, including your EDC, that met weekly for a couple of months. The result was a 52-48% victory. The request to extend the 1/8 cent sales tax to fund about 25% of the Clay County Sheriffs Office passed with a robust 77%. While this was expected due to the support Clay County residents give law enforcement, it was great to see so many other cities vote out candidates who supported defunding those who protect us.
Hold the date for December 15th as we will have our Keystone Awards luncheon.
Our partners at the Missouri Department of Economic Development want to make you are aware of the services provided by KCSourceLink during Global Enterprise Week. Virtual classes will be offered all next week. Get more information by clicking here.
Your EDC spends a lot of time working with our area high schools and colleges to help them develop tomorrow’s workforce. Here is an opportunity for you to help. Liberty High School will be hosting virtual mock interviews November 18th. If you are available, please click here to sign up.
Construction of a new North Oak Mid-Continent Public Library Branch will begin at the end of November. As part of MCPL’s Capital Improvement Plan, the existing branch will be razed and a new 17,000-square-foot building will be constructed on the same site. The new building is slated to open in winter 2023 and will include a community room and two smaller meeting rooms, areas for children and teens, reading stairs and new public computers, printers, and upgraded Wi-Fi. The current branch and its book drop will close at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 28.
If you have a student or friend in grades 8-11 who is interested in a career in skilled trades you may want to have them attend the Northland Career Center’s open house November 11th between 4:30 and 7:30. A partner of your EDC, the NCC event will be an opportunity for families to find out more about their 12 programs by speaking with instructors and current students and touring the facility. Click here for more information.
The next Northland Education and Business Alliance Career Series event will be November 16th with sessions at 8:00 and 9:00AM, noon and 1:00PM. The career areas will include architecture and construction, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Additional information and registration are available here.
The Northland CAPS program is looking for possible opportunities for their student associates for Spring 2022. Internship experience will take place during normal Northland CAPS class time, 7:30 am – 10:00 am (some AM companies have an 8:00 am start time due to the starting time for their company) for AM associates and 12:00 pm – 2:30 pm for PM associates. These will be unpaid internships for the spring semester. Northland CAPS internships meet IRS guidelines for unpaid internships. Fifty percent of these unpaid internships have been converted to paid opportunities with companies, proving to be a powerful tool in workforce development. These opportunities for Spring 2022 would be from January 18th – May 6th, Tuesday – Friday each week, all students report back to their classrooms on Mondays. We post all available positions by late October, so students can apply in early November and interview with companies in December. These opportunities would be in-person with businesses at their site, students provide their own transportation to locations. If you would like to offer an opportunity just complete this request: www.northlandcaps.org/internship and they will follow up with you on next steps.
Missouri’s Department of Economic Development is asking small business owners to provide their feedback on how the State of Missouri can provide more supportive economic tools and how the state can encourage participation with more minority businesses. The link for submittal can be found here.:
Northland CAPS is organizing an interview session for their student associates for Monday, November 15th. They will be rotating students through interviewers with 10-minute sessions and three rotations. This event will be hosted at Harrah’s -Voodoo Lounge – 1 Riverboat Drive – North Kansas City, MO. They hope that through this experience we will help their student associates to be better prepared for their internship interviews that will be in December. They will be having two sessions – AM from 7:30 am – 9:30 am and PM from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm If you would be available and willing to assist, please click on the link that works best for you to sign up.
The Mid-Continent Public Library has upcoming Square One classes for Scaling Your Business – Program Options in KCNovember 17th. More classes begin November 10th with Small Biz Support Group—Reading Rainbow Edition, Create Your Customer Avatarand Business Model Canvas Workshop and Veterans Entrepreneurship Celebration on November 11th.
Your EDC wants to make sure you know of the great resources provided by our state that address job seekers, employers and our community. The information provided at https://jobs.mo.gov/is both relevant and timely. You can also reach them at 1-888-728-JOBS (5627).
Are you tired of having to get permission to hunt on someone else’s land? Want some acreage and a hunting lodge or event center near Chillicothe? Your EDC is working with Whitetail Properties to sell a piece of property that currently belongs to us. Take a look here.
Did you know that your EDC provides small business loans through our partnership with Midwest Small Business Financing? We want to put your business into buildings and purchase the required fixed assets. Our rates include the Small Business Administration fees and are currently 3.245% for ten years, 3.483% for 20 years and 3.601 for 25 years. Please contact us with any questions. You can read about upcoming SBA trainings and get more information about the SBA’s Resource Partner Training here.
Your EDC helps to sponsor weekly educational programs designed to engage, educate and accelerate communities of entrepreneurs and small business owners. Hosted in-person by iWerx, 1520 Clay Street, North Kansas City, MO 64116, Coffee Connect starts at 7:45 and the program begins at 8. To sign up or for more information click here.
Your EDC’s Friday Facts is your go-to read to see what is happening in our County. We want you to see Clay County while spending your disposable income right here:
This weekend William Jewell College presents the Learned Ladies by Moliere
Tonight North Kansas City’s Ladies Night Out November 5th from 5:30 – 8:00 PM
Tonight Craig Davis at the Corbin Theatre November 5th at 6:00PM
Tonight Monster Jam Thunder Alley through November 21 at Worlds of Fun
Tomorrow Steven Wolcott at the Corbin Theatre November 6th at 6:00PM
This week Northland Regional Chamber’s Annual Auction November 10th 5:00-8:00
Liberty North High School presents Mamma Mia November 11-13th
Oak Park High School presents Bring It OnNovember 11-13th
Excelsior Springs’ Second Weekend November 12-14
Mid-Continent Public Library has five special engagement performances by Gerald Dickens Nov 12-14
Smithville Main Street District’s Wine Walk November 13th 3-7
Liberty High School presents Oklahoma November 18-20th
Level Up Kids 20th anniversary open house November 19th 8-10AM 5416 NE Antioch Rd.
North Kansas City Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting November 19th 6-8
North Kansas City Business Council’s BIG EventDecember 2nd 5:30-7:30
Smithville’s Candyland Christmas December 4th noon – 5:30
Click on the school of your choice to see their calendar of events. Excelsior Springs, Kearney, Smithville, Liberty, Liberty North, North Kansas City, Winnetonka, Oak Park, Staley, St. Pius, Kansas City Christian and Platte County R-3 (yes, part of their district is in Clay County).
The Northland Education and Business Alliance now has its own YouTube channel. This organization just continues to grow and get things right and your EDC is proud to be a part of it. Feel free to view the dozens of videos from various career opportunities right here in Clay County.
