The Business Journal Serving Metropolitan Kansas City articles from September 2000

The Business Journal Serving Metropolitan Kansas City archives from September 2000

UtiliCorp wants to spin off Aquila.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... UtiliCorp United Inc. wants to parlay the rapid growth of its Aquila Energy subsidiary into apiece of a new, larger Aquila. The Kansas City-based utility has plans to spin off Aquila, possibly retaining ownership of a third of it, selling...

Web move paying off for OP firm.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... In the Web game, it is important to have substance as well as flash. Although many of today's bricks-and-mortar businesses are busy putting up an e-commerce portal or simply a pretty home page on the Internet, few actually have revamped...

Groups forming 'catalyst' for tech growth.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The Silicon Prairie Technology Association will give way to a new initiative that seeks to pull together area organizations that supporttechnology-based companies. The new initiative, called KCCatalyst, will seek to increase support for...

Kansas can't match bid for Menninger.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... A package worth nearly $100 million was simply hot enough to keep the Menninger Clinic in Kansas. The renowned psychiatric clinic announced Wednesday that it would relocate its psychiatric treatment services, education and research...

Garage, offices planned for Jones Store site.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The prospective buyer of the, vacant Jones Store Co. building in downtown Kansas City next week will begin seeking approval to demolish the deteriorating structure and build a parking garage and Internet hotel on the site southeast of 12th...

KC volleys for pro sports league, and this one is for women only.(Kansas City)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... When it rains, it pours. On the heels of the announcement that Major League Bull Riding is considering placing a franchise in Kansas City, it appears we might be in line to receive another start-up sports league. This item comes from the...

Caught on film.(educational photo taking)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Kansas City residents who saw teenagers wandering through their neighborhoods this week shouldn't worry. The youngsters weren't lost, they were taking pictures. Sixty Kansas City Academy students from grades six through 12, got a chance...

Drink up, sort of.
September 29, 2000... Some people will use any excuse to drink. But here's an excuse that actually may carry some merit. More than 250 varieties of American and imported wines will be available for sampling at the 13th annual WineFest to benefit the March of...

Politicians disagreeing?(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Smiling and folksy television commercials aside, the Phil Kline campaign has turned downright accusatory in the longtime Kansas legislator's bid to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore. A war of words began in earnest this week. when...

Economic slowdown is good, chamber says.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 29, 2000... The economy is slowing, and that may be good news for the Kansas City area. In its annual economic forecast, released Sept. 28, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce detailed the much anticipated leveling off of the economy both...

'It's a wonderful life'.(online movie database)(Column)
September 29, 2000... It's Friday afternoon in Butch Rigby's underground office, and, as usual, the place is a mess. "Everything's organized on Monday morning," the effusive Rigby said; surveying the clutter overwhelming his desk, "but by the end of the week...

Light-rail plans aim to pre-empt Nov. 7 ballot vote.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Kansas City is close to putting a light-rail plan before the public, something it hopes to do before Clay Chastain's proposal comes to a vote in November. The Central Business Corridor Transit Plan, a city-guided group that began looking...

Everest airs grievance with Time Warner.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Everest Connections Corp. has filed a request with the FCC to impose an anti-discrimination condition on the AOL/Time Warner Inc. merger. The company took the action in response to a letter from a local attorney for Time Warner and...

B of A cuts add up to 3 execs at Country Club Bank.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... When Jim Cole learned this summer that he would be among the roughly l0,000 Bank of America employees whose jobs would be eliminated, it didn't take long for the veteran bank executive to decide where he wanted to go. "I was always...

Mack Trucks drives Hunt Midwest to turn to more developer duties.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development Inc. expects to start construction next week on a sales and service center for Mack Trucks Inc. in Kansas City, North. The project, to be in Hunt Midwest's Commerce Center, is valued at more than $3...

Lee's Summit council works to sell donors on its benefits.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Jim Devine just wants to get credit where it's due. So the executive director of the Lee's Summit Economic Development Council enlisted a nationally known consultant to help him make a case for the value of his organization's contributions....

Developers of Briarcliff hope to expand TIF district for 88 new apartment units.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Developers of Briarcliff in Kansas City, North, want to extend their tax increment financing district to include 88 apartment units planned for the north side of Vivion Road. Kathryn Thompson, president and CEO of Briarcliff, said she...

Arts--sports combo will drive next bistate effort, poll shows.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The nation's first bistate sales tax might just have some staying power. A poll released this week has recharged discussion of the tax, passed in 1996 to finance renovation of Union Station. The figures show that nearly two-thirds of...

Despite record, Royals rack up business wins.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 29, 2000... The Kansas City Royals won't achieve their goal of finishing 500 this year, but that doesn't mean the season was a loss. The team and its affiliates have several positives to take away from the 2000 campaign. The first and most...

Lenexa firm's software creates pipeline to the world.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 29, 2000... Nelson Shirley, president of Control Systems International, has found himself in some sketch while traveling abroad. He stayed in a bombed-out Holiday Inn with only one habitable floor while assessing damage to Kuwaiti oil distribution...

New IBM division helps local dot-com companies get started.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... IBM wants to help local dot-coms looking for venture capital by lending them a hand. Although many entrepreneurs who are looking for investment capital have good ideas, few of them have the managerial experience needed to make their...

Maverix.net gallops into local market for providing DSL.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Looking to get its hands on a piece of the local DSL market, Maverix.net began soliciting business in Kansas City this week. The Chicago-based direct provider of broadband Internet access has been installing its local network since March,...

Greenspan: Science, math skills must improve to sustain economy.(Brief Article)(Critical Essay)
September 29, 2000... Alan Greenspan said he is glad he learned math the old-fashioned way: with a pencil and paper, not a calculator. Americans are glad Greenspan developed such an analytical mind, based on the credit the Federal Reserve Board chairman gets...

Trendy restaurant/nightclub will check into old hotel building.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The historic building that once housed the Oldham Hotel in Kansas City's City Market area will become home to a restaurant-nightspot with a bicoastal edge. Oldham, as it's to be called, will open in December on the southeast corner of Fifth...

Select Brands will consolidate offices in Lenexa.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Select Brands, a small kitchen appliance company, will consolidate its offices and distribution center in Renner Commerce Center in Lenexa. William Endres, owner of Select Brands, said the consolidation will improve the company's...

Kansas gets $1.3 million grant to plan coverage for uninsured.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The state of Kansas has been awarded a nearly $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a strategic plan to provide health coverage to uninsured residents. Kansas is one of 11 states to receive the...

$25 million settlement proposal gets OK in suit against H&R Block.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... A federal judge has accepted a proposed $25 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit involving Kansas City-based H&R Block. The class-action lawsuit was filed against H&R Block's "refund anticipation" loan program. The settlement had hit a...

The Mission Bank plans to open new branch in Prairie Village.(Kansas)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The Mission Bank will open a branch in early October at 8201 Mission Road in Prairie Village. Sherry Stroud, the Mission-based bank's vice president of marketing, said the Somerset Drive location will broaden the institution's geographic...

P&L District is dead; it's time to move on.(power and light district of Kansas City)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... The Power & Light District is dead to everyone but the would-be developers and the Kansas City Council. Unfortunately, the city is suffering from the actions of these two holdouts. Dreams of transforming a large section of Downtown into a...

Attracting more people will bring Downtown to life.(Kansas City)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... It didn't take Dave Wagner long to realize he had scored another hit. The managing partner of Lidia's Kansas City, the ever-so-hip Freight House District restaurant that has retained its cachet nearly two years after opening, turned his place...

THAT'S THE TICKET.(Traffic Law Center in Kansas City, Missouri)
September 29, 2000... The Traffic Law Center, like many lawyers and small firms, makes its living on speeding, DUI cases With baseball season heading into playoff time, Matt McLane, the lone lawyer with Kansas City's Traffic Law Center, summoned a...

After you hit the wall, take four steps back to get the firm, you going ahead.
September 29, 2000... Sometimes there is just too much work to do. One of my clients is facing this issue right now. Carl is in the middle of a major expansion of his business, and he doesn't have the infrastructure or people in place just yet to get the job...

Small business awaits bundling data from bill.(bill to monitor bundled federal contracts)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Small businesses know they are losing government contracts because of federal agencies' growing tendency to bundle procurement deals into large packages, but they lack hard data to prove how harmful the practice is. That may change with...

Locating your business in urban core can boost viability of a company, KC.(Kansas City)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... There's a talented and dedicated work force waiting to help your company succeed. There's an available site where you can renovate an existing facility or build to suit -- and it's easily accessible to highways and other businesses. There are...

EXPENSIVE EXTREMITIES.(the costs of workplace injuries)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Workplace injuries keep employees at home and cost businesses thousands of dollars a year A lost big toe can lead to workers' compensation benefits of $12,000 or more. A lost thumb nearly $25,000. Loss of hearing in both ears is worth...

Revised death benefit law makes families eligible for more money.(Kansas)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Handling the emotional ordeal of losing a spouse or parent can be exacerbated significantly by the loss of income for a household. Few people plan for the costs associated with a death in the family, which can substantially strain...

State-created company thriving despite court challenge, naysayers.(Missouri Employers Mutual Insurance Co.)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Missouri employees who are injured while working are more likely to have insurance coverage today than they were five years ago, thanks to a nonprofit insurance company that got its start with state money. "It's kind of a full-circle...

Don't get business burned by bad workers' comp plan management.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Higher reinsurance costs, escalating medical costs and, in some cases, a reversal of a multiyear decline in workplace injury costs are causing workers' compensation insurance rates to rise for many employers in Kansas City and neighboring...

Fraudulent injury claims can be a big cost of doing business.(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... Employers lose thousands of dollars a year paying workers' compensation benefits to employees who weren't injured on the job. Although fraudulent claims come in all varieties from all sectors of the workplace, employers are starting to...

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.(includes brief articles)(Brief Article)
September 29, 2000... ADVERTISING NKH&W announces the following promotions: Jeremy Povenmire has been named account supervisor. Previously, he was a senior account executive. He joined the agency in 1997. Melissa Valdez has been named senior media buyer. She...

TOP 25 AREA AUTOMOBILE/TRUCK DEALERS.
September 29, 2000... [TABLE HAS BEEN CLIPPED]

BeyondNow gets $2.6M to go beyond Windows.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... BeyondNow Technologies, an Overland Park-based company that creates software for the home health and hospice care industry, has raised $2.6 million in venture capital in a second round of financing The money will be used to support the...

Health food goes from granola to moola.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... With the aging of the baby boomers and a growing awareness of health and wellness, consumer attitudes toward health food, organic produce, herbal supplements and the like are changing rapidly. What used to be discounted by many as natural...

Hot election races in the KC area bring in cash.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Despite its flat topography, the traditionally Republican state of Kansas is tilted heavily toward Texas Gov. George W. Bush. But as Election Day rapidly approaches, Missouri is considered one of several states still up for grabs. To...

B of A seeking to cut jobs, keep customers.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Bob McCall wants to do more with less at Bank of America. The commercial account executive wants to improve service in an organization that expects to slash as many as 10,000 jobs, or 7 percent of its national work force, by next summer....

Cowtown image helps KC lasso professional bull riding league.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The big leagues might be coming to Kemper Arena after all -- only there will be no manicured courts or slick ice on the floor. Instead it will be dirt (and probably other brown substances) on the Kemper floor if Major League Bull Riding...

Don't forget the funny hats.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Linda Napton is looking for adventurous folks to climb aboard the Spunky Senior Tours bus. Napton, who calls herself the company's director of fun, made the Spunky Senior's maiden voyage last week when she took a group to Weston, Mo. ...

I'll take dinner, auction for $80.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Spofford will be giving area residents the chance to test their knowledge as well as help emotionally troubled children and their families. Spofford's GameShowGala2000 will debut Nov. 2 at the Overland Park Marriott Hotel. The event...

Let's just be friends.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Anyone who does much driving around town has probably seen the new billboards for First National Bank of Kansas. The four billboards sport slogans in large type: "Julie, I'm Out of Here" and "Dave, it's Over." But the campaign isn't...

Incentives prove big premium in Haake's move to OP.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Haake Cos. is moving from midtown Kansas City to south Overland Park. Charlie Haake, the agency's president, said economic incentives from Kansas lured his company. Leaving Kansas. City, where the agency has been since its founding in...

Local marketer adds velocity to growing Net use.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... So you just bought the kid a new Barbie Doll -how do you know you picked a Winner? Chances are, decisionvelocity.com already has made sure of that. A cadre of new products flood the consumer marketplace every business day, said Betsy...

'A jewel in our crown'.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Tim Whitmer Pianist/co-owner, Phoenix Piano Bar & Grill Every so often, Tim Whitmer likes to flag down a taxi somewhere in the Kansas City area. As he slides into the back seat, Whitmer -- like a Hollywood producer sneaking...

Telecom companies hung up on issues after redraft released.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Various telephone industry providers that want to do business in the area are speaking up, two weeks after the Kansas City Regional Telecommunications Consortium unveiled the redraft of the telecommunications and cable agreements. What...

Union Station groups may change governance.(Union Station, Science City, and Kansas City Museum)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Governance of Union Station, Science City and the Kansas City Museum would be unified through a recommendation that was expected to be made Sept. 21 by the Union Station Science City Management Services Corp. Union Station CEO Turner...

Surgeons agree to repay $287,000 to KC group's pension plan.(Orthopedic Associates of Kansas City)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Two orthopedic surgeons have agreed to pay back $287,000 to the pension plan of the Orthopedic Associates of Kansas City Inc., according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Nearly, all of the plan's assets reportedly had been lost through...

Kaiser, union extend contract for five years.(Kaiser Permanente, Service Employees International Union)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Kaiser Permanente of Kansas City and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 96 have reached an agreement that extends their current contract for five years. The agreement affects about 300 local Kaiser employees. "The...

Developer of Plaza-area building says project won't he overdue.(Copaken White and Blitt)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Developers of the Plaza Colonnade office building proposed for the site of the Kansas City Public Library's Plaza Branch at 4801 Main St. are talking with five or six prospective tenants whose commitments would trigger construction of the...

Boston pension fund adviser adds to its KC portfolio with purchase.(TA Associates Realty)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... TA Associates Realty, a Boston-based pension fund adviser, last week expanded its swelling portfolio of Kansas City-area property when it bought Executive Centre, a three-building office complex in Overland Park. Terms of the purchase,...

TransFinancial cites losses, shuts down subsidiary carrier Crouse.(TransFinancial Holdings Inc. shuts down Crouse Cartage Co.)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... TransFinancial Holdings Inc. shut down operations of its largest subsidiary in a move that will result in the layoff of 1,000 workers. Crouse Cartage Co., a regional less-than-truckload carrier, ceased operations Sept. 16. The company...

INERGY Partners sees deal as fuel to widen territory.(acquires Hoosier Propane)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... INERGY Partners has agreed to acquire Hoosier Propane, its 10th acquisition in the past two years. Hoosier is based in Kendallville, Ind., and has retail operations in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Hoosier's wholesale division, Domex Inc.,...

Lee's Summit housing, golf course prove draw for new office project.(new office space to be developed in Eastern Jackson County)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Kansas City real estate veteran Ted Murray this week said he hopes to fill growing demand for new office space in Eastern Jackson County by joining with the Chapel Ridge Golf Course's developers in Lee's Summit. "The office market...

Bill's $3M will take the Bottoms from 'talking to doing'.(West Bottoms getting money for redevelopment efforts)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Redevelopment efforts in the West Bottoms could get an important boost next week when a $3 million federal appropriation to upgrade the area's storm-water sewers is expected to be signed by President Clinton. The money, for the fiscal...

Small business puts its money overwhelmingly behind GOP.(Clark Jones raises money for Al Gore presidential campaign)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Clark Jones is about as Main Street as they come. He owns an automobile dealership in Savannah, Tenn., a city of 7,000 about 10 miles north of Shiloh, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. He has served as president of...

Small biz committee members receive strong union backing.(House Small Business Committee)
September 22, 2000... Whose committee is this anyway? The House Small Business. Committee is charged with looking out for the interests of family-owned firms and entrepreneurial start-ups. But you wouldn't now it by looking at the political, action committees...

Business tries grass-roots effort to seed higher voter turnout.
September 22, 2000... Business groups hope to match their campaign contributions this year with grassroots efforts to get business owners and their customers, vendors, friends and employees to vote. "There are a surprising number of business executives who do...

Business PACs direct donations to turn tide in battleground races.(Business-Industry political action committees)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... With both the presidency and Congress up for grabs this year, political observers predict that more than $1 billion will be spent on the 2000 elections. Some well-entrenched incumbents still receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in...

Morgantown, W.Va., tops list of nation's 141 'dreamtowns'.(Demographics Daily ranks West Virginia city as best US small city)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Morgantown, W.Va., is the best small city in the United States, according to a new study by Demographics Daily. The study designated 141 places as "dreamtowns," defined as cities with populations of 10,000 to 50,000 that offer an...

Midwest holds half of best small cities.(Demographics Daily's "dreamtown" list)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Nearly half of the best small U.S. cities are in the Midwest. That's according to a new study by Demographics Daily, which designated 141 places throughout the country as "dreamtowns," small cities that provide an outstanding quality of...

KC Public Library makes deposit on bank building.
September 22, 2000... Efforts to convert Bank of America's historic branch in downtown Kansas City into a showpiece for the Kansas City Public Library took an important step forward this week when the prospective buyers made a deposit to buy the building at 10th...

Vanguard will drop its service from Minneapolis to Chicago.
September 22, 2000... Vanguard Airlines will drop its service from Minneapolis to Chicago on Oct.12. Vanguard spokesman Alan Carr said that the routes still were attracting decent traffic but that new carriers flying the route caused fares to drop. Carr...

Constangy Brooks office in KC doubles in size in nine months.(Constangy Brooks and Smith in Kansas City)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... In nine months, the Kansas City office of Atlanta-based law firm Constangy Brooks & Smith has doubled in size. The office, which opened in January at 2600 Grand Ave., recently added two new member lawyers and one associate to its...

Parties file papers with NLRB in Health Midwest labor case.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The parties involved in an unfair labor practice case against Health Midwest filed their briefs on Monday with the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board. The case stems from unfair labor practice allegations filed by...

Trammel Crow's Sight elected VP of new Realtors group.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Dan Sight, a senior associate with Trammell Crow Co. in Overland Park, has been elected vice president and a board member of Real Estate Business Resources Inc., a new for-profit unit of the Kansas Association of Realtors. The group's...

Welcome to Development Day 2000.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... On September 28th at 5:00 p.m. the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Western Missouri-Kansas Chapter in conjunction with Corporate Sponsors, J. E. Dunn Construction Company and Commerce Bank will host the year's premier real estate...

KANSAS CITY INDUSTRIAL MARKET.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Bulk warehouse and speculative development Mid-year 2000 update In the past two and half years, speculative industrial development in the Kansas City area has surged dramatically, exceeding anything seen in the past generation. Since...

WHERE ARE THE FLYING CARS?
September 22, 2000... My wife is a Disney freak. I knew this when I married her and we had a Mickey Mouse cake-topper on our wedding cake. It was a figurine of Mickey and Minnie getting married. The cake also had porcelain figurines of Goofy, Aladdin, the Little...

Have Real Estate license -- will travel.
September 22, 2000... Kansas City based ABC Distributors needs additional warehouse space as close as possible to its main facility in North Kansas City so the owner of ABC calls his favorite local broker, Bill Bysell, SIOR, to handle the assignment. Meanwhile,...

Have we reached the top?(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 22, 2000... Kansas City has been on a roll the past three years with office building development progressing at a steady uphill climb. Has Kansas City reached the pinnacle or will this momentum spiral upward or downward with the Sprint Campus...

Kansas City real estate investment 2000.
September 22, 2000... The commercial real estate investment market in Kansas City was very active over the past year. This activity has been primarily driven by the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and has followed a trend seen nationally. A few years ago the...

Office space rental is now technology-driven.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Today's office space users are rapidly more discerning and sophisticated in their search for facilities than ever before. Successful commercial brokers recognize new and changing trends and are prepared to advise their clients. Commercial...

Menninger seeks partnerships; area officials offer their help.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The Menninger Clinic in Topeka may expand to larger cities and form partnerships with universities and health care organizations in an attempt to stay competitive in a managed-care system that has reduced financing for mental health...

Online therapy company looks to Kansas, Missouri for growth.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... A Miami-based online therapy company is looking to Kansas and Missouri to broaden its network of therapists who offer online counseling through the company's Web site. E-therapy.com, which came online in August, provides online...

Prescription fix in psychiatric residency programs concerns some.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The "50-minute hour" of traditional psychotherapy--where patients spend face time with doctors -- largely has been replaced by the 15-minute medication check. Prozac and Ritalin are household words now, thanks in part to a changing...

Employee morale improves with proper workspaces, wall colors.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... In today's tight labor market, businesses must do their best to create work environments that will attract, retain and support employees. Employers must consider almost everything--from the shape of a workspace to lighting, furniture and...