Author: Biz News Staff

The Kansas Department of Labor [KDOL] is now offering free safety and health consultation services to businesses in Kansas.  Allen Vinyard, KDOL Industrial Safety and Health Division Director said Kansas businesses should consider scheduling a consultation as part of their safety and prevention programs. “[These consultations] prevent workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths, improve the safety and health of your employees, increase productivity and profitability for your business, and can potentially lower your worker’s compensation rates,” Vinyard said. “It will help eliminate safety hazards and unsafe practices that OSHA [U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration]  is looking for in an inspection.”…

TOPEKA, Kan.- -Kansas business conditions dropped slightly to 51 in May, down from 51.5 in April, according to the monthly Business Conditions Index compiled by Creighton University.  The index is the average of individual scores measuring new orders, production or sales, delivery lead time, employment, and inventories. “The overall index, much like the U.S. reading, has vacillated around growth neutral since December of 2023. Additionally, supply managers remained pessimistic regarding the 2023 outlook with approximately 42% expecting slower economic growth for the remainder of 2024,” said Ernie Goss, director of Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group.  Kansas Individual Highlights Components from…

More than 25 animal health and agtech startups demonstrated their ideas and made pitches for funding to investors in Topeka at the 4th Plug and Play EXPO Day June 6. Pitch groups for the event included: diagnostics & monitoring, pet food and ingredients, agrifintech and insurtech, sustainability, Internet of Things & sensoring, robotics, pet marketplaces, precision farming, biotechnology, alternative ingredients, and sustainable packaging. Sharon Tuggle, founder and CEO of 5 Element Food Therapy, said her previous experiences pitching her company at Plug and Play keep her coming back. “I gained access to the titans of the industry that typically I…

Top-ranked accounting firm FORVIS, which has offices in 79 markets in the US, including Wichita and Kansas City, MO., merged with Paris-headquartered professional services firm Mazars, to create a top ten global network called Forvis Mazars.The new network was announced last fall and effective June 1, 2024. Expanded Global Network Steve Webb, Managing Partner at Forvis Mazars, Wichita, which has about 70 employees, said the new global network will benefit clients in many ways.“Our new global network will enable us to bring additional resources and more innovative ideas to our clients; especially those who decide establishing international operations is a…

TOPEKA, Kan. – -Recent changes to unemployment insurance law in Kansas provides an annual write-off for employers who owe more than they’ve contributed to the unemployment trust fund and help to negative account balance employers, along with other updates. Unemployment insurance in Kansas provides financial support for job-seekers who lost work through no fault of their own. “I think employers will see a very positive impact. 97% of employers are going to receive immediate tax savings.” said William Wilk, Senior Director of Government Affairs of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. Wilk said he expects employers to welcome the changes. “Employers…

The AgTech and animal health industries are coming together for the fourth year of the Plug and Play pitch event in Topeka, set for June 6. The event will include demonstrations of products and services, live pitches from both industry leaders and startups, as well as trend presentations and networking. Anne Gunden, Program Manager of AgTech and Animal Health at Plug and Play explained the event has an international presence. “We have one coming from Bristol in the United Kingdom; we have one coming from Rio de Janeiro; and one from there is one coming from Sweden. So that’s kind…

Manufacturing activity in a multi-state region including Kansas remained steady in May, while expectations for future activity grew modestly, according to the latest survey from the Kansas City Federal Reserve. Price growth increased on a month-over-month basis but cooled on a year-over-year basis, and raw materials prices continue to grow at a faster pace than finished product prices.“We anticipate costs/commodities to continue to climb. It has been hard to pass through all cost increases, but we will have to be relatively aggressive in passing through cost increases due to margin compression a couple of years ago. Some of that…

Four high school students were announced as the 2024 Kansas Business Hall of Fame essay contest award winners. Each of the four awardees receive their $500 share of a $2,000 donation from the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. The KBHF essay contest is open to any 9th-12th-grade students from the state of Kansas, including homeschooled students. For the essay, students can choose one inductee among the 35 contemporary inductees and 40 historical business leaders in the Kansas Business Hall of Fame to research. Students then write a 500–1,000 word essay, including information on their chosen inductee that inspires the writer. Students…

The Kansas Rural Mainstreet Index for May shrank to 35.4 from April’s 36.0. A score of 50 is considered growth neutral, while anything below 50 is considered contraction. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50.0 representing growth. The scores are compiled from surveys of bankers in rural areas of a 10-state region that includes Kansas. “Higher interest rates, weaker agriculture commodity prices, and higher grain storage costs pushed the overall reading below growth neutral for the ninth straight month,” said Creighton economics professor Ernie Goss of May’s report. Kansas Individual Indicators The state’s farmland price…

TOPEKA, Kan. – A new law in Kansas will require legislative approval of rules and regulations written by state agencies that will cost more than $1 million within the first five years of implementation.House Bill 2648, known as the REINS Act, provides checks and balances on expensive regulations through stronger legislative oversight, so the unnecessary costs aren’t passed on to businesses, local governments, or individuals. Under the law, state agencies will be required to evaluate if the proposed rule or regulation will cost $1 million total in the first five years. If the economic impact statement indicates a cost over…