Author: KansasBizNews

Kansas families and its workforce face shortages of secure and reasonably priced child care services throughout the state. According to Child Care Aware of Kansas, the state needs to fill more than 80,000 child care slots to meet existing demand. Many Kansas business advocacy organizations and lawmakers have expressed concerns that the child care crisis has contributed to the lack of qualified workers in the state. The Kansas Legislature recently passed House Bill 2344 and sent it on to Governor Laura Kelly. If signed by the governor, the bill would implement child care regulatory reforms, offering relief to working families…

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by Elizabeth WaltersThe Heroes MAKE America initiative will host its career fair focused on connecting members of the military and veteran community with potential employers in the manufacturing industry, June 8 in Fort Riley, Kan.The event welcomes service members, veterans, military spouses, and National Guard reservists to register today. Employers from all aspects of the manufacturing industry — including dealers and supply chain partners —highlight positions in a variety of occupational fields at the fair.Highlighted positions at the event include production associates, leadership and operations, material handlers, project engineer, manufacturing process engineer, maintenance technician, service technician, human resources, accounting, sales,…

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Kansas families and its workforce face shortages of secure and reasonably priced child care services throughout the state. According to Child Care Aware of Kansas, the state needs to fill more than 80,000 child care slots to meet existing demand.Many Kansas business advocacy organizations and lawmakers have expressed concerns that the child care crisis has contributed to the lack of qualified workers in the state.The Kansas Legislature recently passed House Bill 2344 and sent it on to Governor Laura Kelly. If signed by the governor, the bill would implement child care regulatory reforms, offering relief to working families throughout the…

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Previous Next Entrepreneurs, small business owners and community leaders from across the state gathered in Wichita for the 2023 Kansas Minority Business Summit, hosted by the Kansas Chamber.Minority-owned businesses play a crucial role in creating successful and strong communities in Kansas. The summit focused on empowering these businesses. The day tackled important strategies for enticing investors, pursuing diverse supplier programming, human resources management and overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship.“At this year’s Kansas Minority Business Summit, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge, networking and context to help expand my business and achieve my business goals,” said Al Gordon, owner of All About…

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Leadership Kansas, one of the country’s oldest and most distinguished statewide leadership programs, on Monday announced its Kansas Emerging Leaders (KEL) Class of 2023. KEL is a statewide program designed to enhance and motivate young leaders from various Kansas communities. Each year, Kansans in their 20s and 30s are nominated to apply for the program. Developed in 2019 based on feedback from the nearly 1,600 Leadership Kansas alumni, LK created KEL to give outstanding young leaders a format to learn more about Kansas and about the opportunities within the state for professional growth. “The 20 individuals selected to participate in the 2023 program…

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The Kansas Retail Council and Kansas Chamber joined 99 other pro-business groups to push back on Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act currently being considered by the U.S. Congress. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) recently sent a letter the U.S. Congress opposing the PRO Act. According to the coalition, the bill would threaten free speech, industrial stability, supply chains, opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, American jobs, and the U.S. economy as whole. The letter states that the bill as written would implement policies that have already been “rejected on a bipartisan basis in Congress, overturned by…

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The Kansas Chamber joined with more than 260 other business advocacy groups on a letter opposing a proposed rule by the Federal Trade Commission that would eliminate noncompete agreements and void existing noncompete contracts. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce continues gathering signatures for its letter opposing a proposed rule. The FTC’s comment period for the rule was initially March 20, but the period was recently extended to April 19, 2023. Letters to the U.S. Congress have raised concerns about the FTC’s competition rulemaking and its blanket ban on noncompete agreements.According to James Spencer, employment law and executive compensation attorney for Hinkle Law:…

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The Kansas Chamber and Kansas Retail Council (KRC) recently testified before the Kansas House of Representatives Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development in support of House Bill 2447. The bill was initially written in response to the City of Wichita attempting to ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores as part of a push from animal rights advocates. The Kansas Chamber and KRC see this as unnecessary overreach from municipalities threatening legally operated businesses. They hold that it should be left up to the states or federal government to determine whether something should or should not…

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by Patrick Baumgartner The Second Chance Risk Reduction Center program by the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission aims to help returning citizens break free from the cycle of poverty and incarceration. After serving sentences in the U.S. prison system, returning citizens often face prejudice. Many have argued that correctional facilities emphasize punishment instead of rehabilitation. Britney Peterson, a member of The Second Chance Risk Reduction Center board, said this attitude affects the mindset of the general public, creating biases towards returning citizens who have served their debt to society. “I think there is still a lot of community stigma around…

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The Kansas Business Hall of Fame (KBHF) recently announced the four winners of its annual statewide essay contest focused on state business leaders. Ninety-six high school students submitted write ups on KBHF honorees of their choosing. “The Kansas Business Hall of Fame is proud to honor these students and their instructors, who, through these essays, help us better understand the rich tradition of entrepreneurship and innovation that our state has fostered,” KBHF Board Chair Dr. James Leiker said. A panel of business professionals and business faculty judged essays from 24 Kansas high schools as well as from home educated 9th-12th-grade…

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