The Business Journal Serving Metropolitan Kansas City articles from November 2000

The Business Journal Serving Metropolitan Kansas City archives from November 2000

Physicians' health plan dissolved.
November 24, 2000... Physicians groups throughout the Kansas City area are getting a harsh lesson about the rising cost of health care. As many as 3,000 physicians, practice group employees and dependents could be without health coverage as of Jan. 1. The...

Fred and Ginger, block and tackle, Chiefs and Chopper.
November 24, 2000... Chiefs and Chopper. The two are almost synonymous, thanks to Price Chopper's 17-year sponsorship of the Kansas City Chiefs. And even though the results are subjective and hard to measure, Price Chopper thinks the Chiefs and other...

Developers plan to draft sports store for speedway area.
November 24, 2000... Developers of property around the Kansas Speed-way are angling to attract Bass Pro Shops Inc. But the pursuit isn't single-minded. Developers also have their bait out for two other sporting goods dealers: Dick's Sporting Goods Inc.,...

Codes compliance now less of a secret for loft developers.
November 24, 2000... Paul Stark realizes how his opinions about the Kansas City Department of Codes Administration border on blasphemy. But the Kansas City architect said experience supports his claim that the codes department is becoming user-friendly. "I...

Sister of Chiefs owner goes long (in history) for her first novel.
November 24, 2000... Caroline Rose Hunt, sister of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, will be in town next month, and not just to watch a football game. She will be at Halls on the Country Club. Plaza to sign copies of her first novel, "Primrose Past." Hunt...

Museum lands a big one.
November 24, 2000... Going from the printed word to the visual arts, a sculpture by Lithuanian artist Jacques Lipchitz will be a permanent member of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art collection. The sculpture, "Bellerophon Taming Pegasus, Large Version,...

Wise men head Downtown.
November 24, 2000... Downtown Kansas City is bracing for an invasion -- a nativity scene invasion, that is. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (the church with the big gold dome) will present more than 250 nativity sets from almost every country in...

Making a Mission statement.
November 24, 2000... It's never too early to plan for a parade, and the good people of Mission already are sending out invitations. The parade (theme: Mission Impossible, Mission Possible, Mission Accomplished) will self-destruct in five seconds. ...

Pension plan makes it a pair with Pershing deal.
November 24, 2000... A pension fund advised by TA Associates Realty bought the Two Pershing Square office building this week. The deal for the office building, valued at more than $70 million, is one of the largest ever in Kansas City. Ken Block, a senior...

'I like to take risks'.
November 24, 2000... Keith Molzer tends to make a lasting impression on the people he meets -- even when he's not quite himself. The young entrepreneur was dressed as a doctor when he met his future wife, Heather, at a Halloween party in 1993. It didn't...

NIC confident about its future despite troubles.
November 24, 2000... During the past nine months, National Information Consortium's stock price plummeted and the company put off -- by more than a year -- its target date to reach positive cash flow. But NIC President and CEO James Dodd doesn't seem...

Bushnell focuses attention on moving beyond sports market.
November 24, 2000... Bushnell sold its first binoculars 50 years ago, pitching them in ads on the back pages of newspapers. The company added riflescopes, telescopes and other products in the ensuing the forefront years and moved to the forefront of the sports...

CORRECTION.
November 24, 2000... * A story in the Nov. 17-23 edition of The Business Journal gave an incorrect location for a garage that Tower Properties Co. plans to demolish. The garage is at 710 Main St.

MLS kicks in $2M for goal of scoring more Hispanic fans.
November 24, 2000... Major League Soccer is developing a $2 million marketing initiative aimed at attracting new fans from Hispanic communities to games next year. League officials have participated in discussions at several Hispanic marketing conferences as...

Block group plans to add depth to Tomahawk Creek office pool.
November 24, 2000... Ken Block, who leads a group that is developing a new office building on Tomahawk Creek Parkway in Leawood that will open in April, expects to raise his claim to one of the area's most desirable business corridors by adding two more buildings...

Athenix sticks close to home in its quest for capital.
November 24, 2000... Lawrence-based Athenix Solutions Inc. recently raised a quarter-million dollars to fuel the company's growth as a Web developer for Kansas City-area advertising agencies. Athenix, which has expanded from four to 14 employees in the past...

Sanctum seeking inside track on home automation.
November 24, 2000... Like something out of "The Jetsons" -- save the flying cars and vaccum-tube transport systems -- Sanctum Technology is bringing the home of the future to Kansas City. The Mission-based company wants to corner the $500,000-and-up...

Business leaders hash out plan, fund raising for Wyandotte growth.
November 24, 2000... For weeks, they met at 7:30 every Thursday morning at Loretta's Cafe at Ninth and Minnesota streets. In between bites of eggs O'Brien and country-fried potatoes, they talked about business in Wyandotte County. Before the coffee had a...

Telecom firms hack away at digital tower of babble.
November 24, 2000... A battle is brewing about which wireless technology -- the one used in Europe or the one used in the United States -- will be used in the near future of the ever-shrinking world of telecommunications. At stake are the billions of dollars...

Euronet adds phone service in Poland.
November 24, 2000... Leawood-based Euronet Worldwide, the operator of Europe's largest independent automated teller machine network, has announced the availability of its ATM ReCharge service for customers of Centertel's prepaid mobile phone service in Poland....

eScout.com, UtiliCorp join forces.
November 24, 2000... eScout.com of Lee's Summit this week announced an alliance with UtiliCorp Communications Services to deliver broadband Internet access, Web-hosting capabilities and e-business solutions to companies in nonmetropolitan areas. UCS, a unit...

BizSpace Inc. raises $1.2 million.
November 24, 2000... Kansas City-based BizSpace Inc. announced that it has raised $1.2 million in a new venture financing round, led by the St. Joseph News-Press & Gazette Co., which also participated in the firm's Series Around earlier this year. BizSpace is a...

NetSales, Chase bank form alliance.
November 24, 2000... Overland Park-based NetSales Inc. has announced an alliance with Chase Manhattan Bank to provide Chase's customers with solutions for doing business online. Chase customers in the $3 million to $1 billion revenue range will be offered the...

Mo-Kan moving down the line to pick up more room for growth.
November 24, 2000... Mo-Kan Container Services Inc. is moving to a larger space with more room to grow. Mo-Kan President Wes Seyller said he expects to complete the company's move to 400 N. Atlantic Ave. in Kansas City by mid-December. The building, located...

Insurance companies sue OSHA over rule's workers' comp effect.
November 24, 2000... A dozen insurance companies challenged OSHA's ergonomics regulation in federal court. Insurers allege the Occupational Safety and Health Administration exceeded its authority by establishing a federal program for compensating employees...

Occupational physicians pull support for ergonomics rule.
November 24, 2000... Occupational physicians withdrew their support for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's ergonomics regulation because the rule fails to require a medical diagnosis for musculoskeletal injuries. "A proper diagnosis protects...

Poll: Voters favor review panel instead of suits against HMOs.
November 24, 2000... A poll commissioned by the managed-care industry found that two-thirds of voters think health coverage disputes should be resolved by appeals to independent panels of doctors instead of lawsuits against health plans. "There is no great...

Small business optimism index declines for a second month.
November 24, 2000... A growing number of small business owners see signs of an economic slowdown. The NFIB Education Foundation's small business optimism index dropped for the second consecutive month in October. The index is based on 10 economic indicators...

Our thankfulness is for the area's giving nature.
November 24, 2000... Every Thanksgiving, newspapers fill editorial pages with the many things in our society to be thankful for. Sometimes it's because they need to fill space while they're off for a few days. Sometimes it's because the community warrants a...

HERE'S THE STORY...
November 24, 2000... Of three lovely transportation Web site companies, who were bringing up three business concepts of their own Kansas City is famous for being a transportation hub. It only makes sense that in the digital age it becomes a hub for...

Contractors on 'public works' projects should be aware of prevailing wage law.
November 24, 2000... The Missouri Prevailing Wage Law requires contractors on Missouri "public works" projects or projects using "public funds" to pay the prevailing wage rates established by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The...

Topeka woman will join KC-based ABW A board.
November 24, 2000... A Topeka business woman won election to the 2000 national board of directors for Kansas City-based American Business Woman's Association. Ann Mah, most recently an area manager in external affairs for Southwestern Bell, will serve as...

Don't set workers up to fail -- give them what they need.
November 24, 2000... Are you setting up your team to fail? Don't think you're immune to this issue. This is perhaps the worst problem I see in corporations. There are too many people doing too many jobs who simply don't have the resources they need to...

GOOD TIMES.
November 24, 2000... Wyandotte County scores some of the area's most popular attractions They come to Wyandotte County in droves, their SUVs tagged with Johnson County license plates. Missourians come, too. They are looking for a good time, and luckily,...

Fast cars drive unprecedented growth in KCK.
November 24, 2000... A fresh start and a new image -- thanks to voters approving a referendum creating the United Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., three years ago -- has propelled our blue-collar, diverse community to new heights and attainable...

Cheap land, highway access help further county development.
November 24, 2000... Industrial space has become such a hot commodity in Wyandotte County that at least one company is in secret talks with county officials about getting some space. James Thompson, executive director of Wyandotte Development Inc., said he...

Unified leadership brings prosperity.
November 24, 2000... For years, Wyandotte County leaders have battled negative stereotypes. At times, divisiveness reigned. But new development and unified leadership has changed all that. "There have been some bad things said about Wyandotte County in the...

Insurance rates vary on either side of the county line.
November 24, 2000... Mary Ann Denney could hardly believe her good luck. The 61-year-old order entry-taker pocketed almost $300 extra in 1999 when she moved from Wyandotte County to Johnson County. And it was all because the cost of her automobile...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.
November 24, 2000... People on the Move lists those who have been promoted or named a position. Send your items for submission to: People on the Move, The Business Journal, 1101 Walnut St., Suite 800, Kansas City, MO 64106. If you would like photos to run with...

Tech companies make switch from boring burbs to dynamic Downtown.
November 24, 2000... Call it the dot-com dichotomy. Not so long ago, suburban office parks were the spawning ground of high-tech ventures. It was almost stereotypical, and it made sense. Those new buildings were efficiently designed with a modern, no-nonsense...

Active KC real estate market reflects the booming economy.
November 24, 2000... Sept. 15 Ford Motor Co. this week leased an empty industrial building at 9909 Lakeview Ave. in Lenexa to supply dealers with parts. David Hinchman of CB Richard Ellis Inc. in Kansas City, who represented Ford with fellow CB broker...

Lack of rule uniformity frustrates property managers and area brokers.
November 24, 2000... The commercial real estate industry is under assault. Regulatory and legislative initiatives are multiplying at a dizzying pace. Precious time that could be spent serving the needs of customers now must be devoted to protecting private...

Trading buildings saves owners significant money from IRS.
November 24, 2000... If you own some investment property that most likely will result in a big tax bite when you sell, you may want to consider using a technique called a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains taxes when you get rid of the property. That's...

Property management firms asked to expand their services.
November 24, 2000... With the shifting contours of the commercial real estate market, building owners are looking for advice on strategically positioning properties as assets and as investments in the marketplace. Some say property management services are...

Technology changes brokers' marketing methods.
November 24, 2000... Some people just aren't ready to make the leap into the Information Age. Increasingly, however, others don't know what they would do without their e-mail, hand-held organizers and unlimited Internet access. In that vein, commercial...

Commercial brokers' job hinges on taking courses, keening current.
November 24, 2000... Becoming a commercial real estate broker is easy. Remaining one is difficult. Licensing requirements for commercial brokers vary from state to state, but most states set the same standards as for residential brokers. Still, industry...

Companies must weigh growth resources in renting vs. buying.
November 24, 2000... To lease or to own. That's the question facing business owners today. The price of office space has risen significantly during the past decade. Rates have nearly doubled, industry analysts said, forcing a number of companies to wonder...

BY THE NUMBERS.
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TOP 25 AREA ACCOUNTING FIRMS.
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TOP 25 AREA TAX PREPARATION FIRMS.
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North of the River.
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Downtown.
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Midtown & Plaza.
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Jackson & Cass Counties.
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Johnson County.
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Leavenworth & Wyandotte Counties.
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Chasing angels, venturing after capital.(entrepreneurs need to be complete in presentations asking for funding)(Column)
November 17, 2000... Simple steps can improve the odds of winning over investors Business adviser and venture capitalist Mike Meyer may see 50 proposals a month from local technology companies searching for money. His file drawers overflow with their business...

KC tradition can hinder technology investment.(Kansas City's personality emphasizes self-help, sometimes spurning the use of venture capital)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... Kansas City's conservative, hard-working nature might be working against efforts to build high-technology businesses here, some in the tech community say. A tradition of companies such as Hallmark Cards Inc. that have pulled themselves...

Housing will be base of Barnes' core strategy.(Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes to support downtown housing programs)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes this week elevated housing to the top of her urban-core revitalization strategy and said she wants to add at least 10,000 residential units between the Missouri River and the Country Club Plaza in the next 10...

Election mess casts vote of confidence for Olathe company.(Pivot International Inc. hopes the Florida Fiasco will boost its sales of computerized voting machines)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... The clearest winner in the 2000 presidential election could turn out to be a Lenexa company. That's because one thing that has been painfully obvious as the nation has focused on Florida election results is that old-fashioned voting...

Executives get their hands dirty during the holiday airport rush.(Vanguard Airlines office staff help out at the airport on busy days during holiday season)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. And that means it's time for air travel. This season, national figures predict the busiest holiday air travel season ever, Kansas City Aviation Department spokesman Joe McBride said. (Last...

'Because it excites them'.(Herbert Kelleher, CEO of southwest Airlines, gets Entrepreneur award)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Speaking of air travel, Herbert Kelleher, president, chairman and CEO of southwest Airlines, was in town last week to accept the International Entrepreneur of the Year 2000 award from the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Henry W. Bloch...

Internet pets.(veterinarian provides information on line)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... It looks as if the Internet finally has gone to the dogs, and it's gone to the cats, too, for that matter. Thanks to veterinarian Wayne Hunthausen, owner of Westwood Animal Hospital in Westwood, pet owners now can go online for medical...

Page turners galore.(Kansas City students read one million books outside of class time)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... One million books. Where did they find the time? Apparently, that wasn't a problem for elementary, middle and high school students in Kansas City, Kan. As part of the Just Read program started in October 1999, kindergartners through...

Holden hopes to open window to global economy.(incoming Missouri governor plans for business development, including programs that would affect Kansas City)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Missouri Gov.-elect Bob Holden called Kansas City's Life Sciences Initiative and the former Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport's conversion into an international freight hub "windows to this global economy" that will play a key role in his...

'The perfect place for me'.(Judith Rogala, CEO of La Petite Academy)
November 17, 2000... Judith Rogala CEO, La Petite Academy Judith Rogala has spent more time this year out of her Overland Park office than in it, crisscrossing the country to visit as many other company's 750-plus locations as she can. At some...

Rocketing Euronet adds m-commerce as a growth booster.(Euronet Worldwide of Kansas benefits from mobile commerce in Europe)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... Riding unbelievable growth to a ranking as the nation's second-fastest-growing tech company, Euronet is roaring down the mountain and aiming to knock the Internet on its backside. Based in Leawood, Euronet Worldwide (Nasdaq: EEFT) posted...

Health Midwest files challenge to Menorah unionization vote.(Menorah Medical Center nurses to vote)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Nurses at Menorah Medical Center were scheduled to vote this week on whether to join a union. But a challenge by Health Midwest threatened to put results of the vote in limbo. Menorah nurses are the third group within Health Midwest to...

AIPC's Thompson plans to sell two pet food companies in KC.(Richard Thompson, founder of American Italian Pasta Co., to sell firms in Kansas City)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... Entrepreneur Richard Thompson, who founded American Italian Pasta Co., is selling two pet food companies he also started, Thompson's Nutritional Technology and Treats4pets.com. Thompson confirmed that he is looking for a buyer for Kansas...

McClatchey asks Supreme Court to review Medicare fraud case.(Dennis McClatchey, former chief operating officer of Baptist Medical Center)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... The Medicare fraud case involving Dennis McClatchey, former chief operating officer of Baptist Medical Center, could end up in the Supreme Court. At the end of October, Charles German, a lawyer with Rouse Hendricks German May PC who...

Electoral stalemate by business, labor leads both to vow still-greater efforts.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 17, 2000... After battling labor to a draw in the 2000 elections, the business community already is preparing for 2002. "When business and labor were fairly evenly matched, business won," said Greg Casey, president and CEO. of Bipac, an umbrella...

Olathe network design firm sees revenues taking off.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... An Olathe company is helping protect what could be one of the world's most security-conscious airports. Network Integration Services Inc. won't position security cameras or calibrate X-ray machines at Israel's Ben Gurion International...

Parking will be just the ticket for high-rise apartment plan in KC.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... The new owner of the Depression-era office building at 911 Walnut St. in downtown Kansas City wants to turn the now-vacant landmark into urban apartments but said he'll need parking spaces to make the conversion work. "We can't do...

JoCo center lures Arcom with space, a high-tech look.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Arcom Inc. is preparing to move across the state line to unincorporated southern Johnson County, returning to the state where the company started a decade ago. Arlen Nipper, Arcom's president and cofounder, expects to move by March to a...

CACTUS thrives in its own software desert.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Tucked in the corner of a nondescript office building on Mission Road, CACTUS Software Inc. has quietly posted revenue growth of 159 percent during the past five years. "We don't need a fancy place to work. We have a casual approach...

UtiliCorp selects broadband platform.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... UtiliCorp Communications Services and Advent Networks of Austin, Texas, have formed an agreementthat will deploy Advent's Ultrabandplatform into a new broadband communications network. The new UtiliCorp cable network will deploy Ultra...

NetSales adds e-marketplace partner.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Overland Park-based NetSales Inc. has announced a partnership with Metiom Inc., a provider of c-marketplace solutions. The NewYork-based companywill offer NetSales c-commerce product to its c-marketplaces, allowing NetSales to expand its...

System Solutions, ASPs join forces.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Overland Park-based System Solutions, a custom business-critical software developer, has announced that it is partnering with two application service providers (ASPs) to deliver software through off-site servers. System Solutions will...

KC merchants will join Cityspree.com.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Kansas City is one of 10 markets to be featured on Cityspree.com, an Internet auction site that gives small businesses a presence on the Internet. Launched Oct. 30, Cityspree gives local merchants free exposure on its interactive Web...

KCK software firm sets up shop in e-commerce marketplace.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Powered by record third-quarter revenues and an expansion into the e-commerce marketplace, EPIQ Systems Inc. is a company with a resplendent past and an even brighter future. Historically a manufacturer of proprietary software for...

Tritech Consulting stays competitive by rolling out updated version of itself.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Tritech Consulting Inc. is reinventing itself ensure survival in an ever-changing industry landscape. The 8-year-old Lenexa-based computer consulting firm is expanding its emphasis to include Web design, new computer platforms, a change...

Commercial Realty allies with Prudential.(Commercial Realty Resources Inc.; Prudential Commercial Services)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... Commercial Realty Resources Inc. this week aligned with Prudential Commercial Services, joining a growing number of locally based commercial real estate companies with ties to a national network. The company, which ranks No. 11 on The...

District needs Demps more than he needs it.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... The Kansas City School District's recent ugly history is threatening to repeat itself. The district has been mired for years in well-publicized muck about student performance, teacher performance, spending, desegregation and playground-like...

As KC bulls toward future, it stampedes past.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... So long, old friend. You've been a pillar of strength and stability for me these past five years. It's been comforting to know that no matter how frenzied life got, through heartbreak and high times, I could glance over and see you, strong...