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Kansas City Business Journal
Bank sues to avoid sharing rooftop signage space with new tenant
Bank Midwest has sued the owners of Kansas City's largest multitenant office tower to avoid sharing rooftop signage space with a big new tenant.<\p> Last week, the division of Colorado-based NBH Bank filed for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in Jackson County Circuit Court against Town Pavilion Holdings LLC, which owns the 1111 Main building in Downtown. The bank seeks to bar the group from installing new signage for HNTB Corp. alongside Bank Midwest's on the 38-story tower's rooftop; the infrastructure firm plans to move its local headquarters there by the end of 2025. <\p>
Meet this year's Women Who Mean Business
More than 240 women applied for the Kansas City Business Journal’s 2024 Women Who Mean Business awards program, now in its 25th year.<\p> The 2024 class, like previous years, represents what Kansas City should be, including diversity in industries and backgrounds. To narrow the pack, our six judges took a closer look at aspects such as seniority and influence within a company, career accomplishments and how they’ve mentored other women.<\p>
The AI boom is coming for these at-risk manager roles
For years, front-line workers have worried about automation taking their jobs. It may end up being middle managers who are most in danger.<\p> Companies are gaining access to new artificial-intelligence tools and capabilities at the same time many are re-assessing their operations in a challenging post-pandemic economic environment. That combination of potential new efficiencies and a desire for cost savings is putting management-level employees in the crosshairs.<\p>
These are the metro's fastest-growing cities
Gardner is the fastest-growing city in the Kansas City metro with a population of at least 20,000, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.<\p> In the year ended July 1, 2023, the Johnson County suburb added 4.89% to its population. That made it the 62nd fast-growing city by percentage change in the nation.<\p>
KC business makes Yelp's top 100 list
One Kansas City company has landed a spot on Yelp's list of "Top 100 Local Businesses in the U.S." in 2024.<\p> KC Autowork, 505 Southwest Blvd., ranked among the top 10 businesses in the nation in the automotive category. The full-service auto repair shop was founded in 2011 by Patrick Cox.<\p>
More construction will start soon in JoCo industrial park
The Johnson County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved plans to support the next wave of development at a major industrial hub in Johnson County. <\p> The move gives the green light for master developer VanTrust Real Estate to start infrastructure work for phase two of construction at New Century Commerce Center. <\p>
NFL punts on private equity stakes — for now
The National Football League is the only major-league sport in the U.S. without a policy allowing private equity ownership in its teams, and that's not going to change for now.<\p> Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has been ex officio chairman of a special NFL committee on ownership policy since August 2023. The committee has been studying allowing private equity to buy minority ownership stakes in NFL teams. It presented a proposal to owners during their spring meetings, but no vote was taken. <\p>
Real estate commissions shakeup will require more agent scrutiny
The National Association of Realtors and several brokerages have struck big money deals to settle an array of class-action lawsuits around real estate commissions.<\p> It might become harder for homebuyers to figure out how to pick the right agent to work with in the wake of the settlements. That's because the settlements, which now add up to hundreds of millions of dollars, will also bring with them changes in how buying agents are paid, how homes are listed and may require more buyers to pay for an agent directly when buying a home. And if buyers potentially shell out thousands of dollars or more, they will have to do their own due diligence.<\p>
KC woman pleads guilty in $241,000 email scam of NY business
A Kansas City woman pleaded guilty to an email scam that stole $240,926 from a Brooklyn business.<\p> ETS Contracting Inc. was finalizing a deal with a vendor when it received an email with instructions for payment. The company thought it was legitimate and wired money, but the email’s source actually was Brianna S. Graves, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.<\p>
KCK manufacturer lands in 500-plus Walmart stores
Walmart started noticing its competitors had something it didn’t: Spicin Foods’ products. <\p> A Walmart buyer stopped by the Kansas City, Kansas, company’s booth at a California trade show event in March 2022 and asked: “How come we’re not doing business with you?” <\p>
Former KC union exec pleads guilty to racketeering charge
A former International Brotherhood of Boilermakers executive pleaded guilty in federal court to misappropriating union funds.<\p> Tyler Brown of Kansas City formerly was chief of staff for the Boilermakers, based in Kansas City. Federal prosecutors alleged that for 10 years, Brown reported to the union president and carried out his directives, including inappropriate spending, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.<\p>
What employers need to know about the crushing childcare costs
In the coming weeks, schools around the nation will be out, and many employees will find themselves scrambling for child-care options. <\p> But child-care costs are soaring, thanks to the child-care cliff, a lack of new child-care centers and workforce shortages in the industry, among other factors. <\p>
KC-area bank restructures to make M&A easier
Already the largest independent depositor-owned community bank headquartered in the metro area, First Federal Bank of Kansas City reorganized its corporate structure to help it grow even bigger. <\p> The Leawood-based mutual savings bank formed a mutual holding company called Cosperity Bancorp Inc. Depositors approved the change during a special meeting in March, and it now has received approval from state and federal regulators. <\p>
Organization takes over foster care management in KC
KVC Missouri, which provides children's mental health care and services across Missouri, won a contract with the Missouri Department of Social Services to manage the recruitment, training, licensing and support of foster parents across Kansas City and Northwest Missouri. <\p> Cornerstones of Care previously held the contract for the past decade, which KVC took over on May 1. KVC will oversee about 500 foster homes. <\p>
40-year retailer in Crown Center will close
After 47 years, retailer Function Junction, which sold eclectic cooking utensils, will close at the end of June. <\p> Function Junction was once a chain with 17 locations, but the retailer now has one remaining store, on the second floor of the Crown Center Shops. All its merchandise is discounted between 20-70%. <\p>
KC employers consider whether to cover Ozempic, Wegovy
Since the middle of 2023, Jeff Long has been fielding insurance questions from friends and family about GLP-1s, medications used to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes. <\p> “It went from something that I was talking about at work that nobody knew, to my friends and family saying, 'What do you know about GLP-1s?'” said Long, Kansas City-based vice president of health actuarial services at Lockton Cos. “I’m sitting there like, wait, you know the term, GLP-1?” <\p>
Compass Minerals faces a slew of messy challenges
By just about any measure, Compass Minerals International is not having good year. <\p> Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP) has shut down one promising business line, faced serious challenges in another, seen a $48 million net loss in the first quarter and become the target of litigation.<\p>
A Covid-era option for bankruptcy filings is about to expire
Small businesses will be left without a useful Covid-era bankruptcy tool when it expires in the coming weeks — a development occurring just as bankruptcies are on the rise.<\p> The program, called Subchapter V, was created to enable businesses with less than $2.75 million in debt to go through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process in a streamlined way. In March 2020, as the pandemic took hold across the country and worldwide, Congress raised that benchmark to $7.5 million, allowing many more businesses to use the Subchapter V option. <\p>
Lenexa OKs first phase of massive apartment project along K-7
The Lenexa City Council on Tuesday approved a final construction plan for the first phase of a 529-apartment complex near Kansas Highway 7. <\p> In the project's first phase, developer Oak IQ Investments intends to build 289 apartment units across eight buildings at the northwest corner of 89th Street and Woodsonia Drive. <\p>
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