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Kansas City Business Journal
Grain Valley CEO's bankruptcy hearing: more questions, fewer answers
As creditors and court officials heavily scrutinized the finances of a Grain Valley-based holding company called Empirical Prime, business owner Brad Carlson's most popular answer was “I don’t know.” <\p> Creditors, trustees and a receiver used what's called a 341 hearing to grill Carlson about his assets, financial papers he signed and money that flowed between the businesses and his personal accounts. These hearings typically last about 15 minutes. Carlson’s hearing started on April 30 and still wasn't done after five hours, so it was continued until May 31. During the second hearing, Trustee Jill Olsen and an attorney for Carlson's bank dug into his finances.<\p>
Prominent KC developer dies at 85
Prominent Kansas City developer, entrepreneur and rancher Bill Haw Sr. died Thursday at 85. His decades-long career is widely recognized for shaping the trajectories of Kansas City's West Bottoms and Kansas' Flint Hills.<\p> Haw Sr. was born in Bonne Terre, Missouri. He majored in English literature at the University of Missouri and served two years as an officer in the Army after college, before starting work toward a master's in finance, according to The Wichita Eagle. <\p>
See which celebs suited up for the Big Slick softball game [PHOTOS]
Now in its 15th year, Big Slick Celebrity Weekend was another record-breaking event, raising a little more than $3.9 million for Children's Mercy. <\p> The event began in 2010 as a poker tournament hosted by Kansas City-area natives Rob Riggle, Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis. Eric Stonestreet, David Koechner and Heidi Gardner joined over the years as hosts, along with a variety of other celebrities as guests. <\p>
Apartments on Country Club Plaza go into receivership
The second of a Michigan apartment developer's two Kansas City complexes — a major multibuilding community on the Country Club Plaza — now is under a third-party receiver's control after multiple reported financial defaults.<\p> The Plaza Club City Apartments, 4621 Jefferson St., went under a limited receivership in mid-May after previous owner Plaza Club City Apartments LLC of Farmington Hills told Freddie Mac that it no longer could operate them. Freddie Mac holds a $26 million loan secured by the property, originated by Berkadia in April 2015 in connection with the developer's purchase of the apartments from Fowler Property Acquisitions.<\p>
Golf venue temporarily closes for renovations
Topgolf temporarily closed its only metro-area location for renovations. <\p> The entertainment venue at 10611 Nall Ave. in Overland Park closed on Monday. In an email newsletter, Topgolf said it planned to reopen later in June or in July. <\p>
TreviPay brings major fintech conference to Kansas City
Kansas City hasn’t hosted a major event to attract fintech companies. Now, it will, Brandon Spear, CEO of TreviPay, said Thursday.<\p> The Overland Park-based company will host TreviPay Crossroads this fall — a two-day event organizers hope will attract 250 people to focus on the B2B payments industry. A lineup includes more than 30 main stage and breakout sessions, along with displays of the latest B2B technologies, according to a release.<\p>
Olathe biotech's CEO pursues more 'lucrative' human market
An Olathe-based biotech company’s new CEO is pivoting its focus from animal health to the more “lucrative” human health market.<\p> While Phoreus Biotech Inc. still will collaborate with animal health companies, CEO David Schaefer, who stepped into the role in January, said the company’s No. 1 focus will be leveraging its drug-delivery technology for products in the pharmaceutical industry. <\p>
Small-business grants you can apply for this month
Despite the seemingly endless number of challenges that come along with being a small-business owner, the vast majority of entrepreneurs recommend it. <\p> A survey of employed adults and small-business owners by Justworks and The Harris Poll earlier this year revealed that 93% of small-business owners would recommend business ownership to others, with 59% saying it was easier than they had anticipated. <\p>
Fortune 50 company lines up Port KC incentive for move to Northland
A Fortune 50 medical supplies and pharmaceuticals distributor will use incentives from a local agency, rather than the city itself, for a $108 million facility in the Northland.<\p> Port Authority of Kansas City commissioners this week signaled their intent to provide a partial personal property tax exemption for McKesson Medical-Surgical Inc., covering about $50 million in equipment in a new distribution center the company plans south of 48th Street. <\p>
Leawood fintech’s acquisition expands Southeast Asia presence
Euronet Worldwide Inc., a multibillion-dollar business headquartered in Leawood, is expanding its operations in Malaysia with its latest acquisition. <\p> The company (Nasdaq: EEFT) paid an undisclosed amount to acquire about 800 ATM terminals from Payments Network Malaysia (Paynet), a national payments network and financial institution that covers nearly the entire country. <\p>
CBRE adds retail leasing expert in KC
Lindy Beyer will rejoin CBRE Inc. in Kansas City, where she worked from 2013 to 2016, as a vice president focusing on retail leasing. <\p> In her role, she will assist retail tenants and landlords in Kansas City with leasing. <\p>
More workers are staying with their current employer in 2024
Most U.S. employees are now choosing to stay with their jobs instead of looking for new ones, a sharp turnaround from the job reshuffling that was common during the Covid-19 pandemic. <\p> A new survey by global advisory firm WTW found 72% of employees are choosing to stay with their employer — up substantially from the 53% who said the same thing in 2022. Back then, about 25% of workers were open to job offers, compared to just 11% now.<\p>
Prospective homebuyers are missing out as sellers cut their prices
The chronically troublesome housing market is seeing more price drops, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into relief for homebuyers.<\p> Data from real estate firm Redfin Corp. shows 6.4% of active listings on the platform had a price drop through the week ending May 26. While that's not a massive portion of listings, the percentage is substantially higher than the 4.4% of listings with price drops recorded during the same time in 2023.<\p>
A rising cost for companies and employees takes hold as summer arrives
Editor's Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business and career. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. <\p> In the coming weeks, schools around the nation will be out, and many employees will find themselves scrambling for child care options.<\p>
Lenexa livestock company corrals new lab in Australia
Vytelle will open its 21st global bovine in vitro lab in the third quarter in Melbourne, Australia.<\p> The Lenexa company calls itself a precision livestock operation, deploying its technologies and tools to optimize herds. This includes using in vitro fertilization (IVF) to perpetuate elite performing animals and monitoring food intake and weight gain to identify animals that eat the least but gain the most. Vytelle describes its business as an effort to continue to sustainably provide dairy and meat for future generations.<\p>
KC energy company will emerge from bankruptcy with new CEO, HQ
CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust won approval for its reorganization plan from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Kansas City, but it will be leaving the metro area.<\p> In addition to changes for shareholders, the Kansas City-based company (OTC: CORRQ) will move its headquarters to Denver, replace CEO Dave Schulte with President and CFO Robert Waldron, and seat a new board of directors. Schulte also was chairman.<\p>
KC engineering firm expands with a focus on sustainability
Black & Veatch has expanded its operations with a new focus on sustainability. <\p> The Overland Park-based engineering firm added five new client-facing enterprises focused on supporting the growing demand for sustainable infrastructure: <\p>
KCBJ extends deadline for Best Places to Work Awards
Want to give your company some extra bragging rights and a recruitment tool? Nominate it for our Best Places to Work awards program.<\p> And there’s even better news: We’ve extended the nomination deadline by two weeks to June 14. <\p>
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