Two Kansas City-based initiatives, The Community Improvement District (CID) Revolving Loan Fund and the Women’s Empowerment (WE) Initiative, were selected as semifinalists in this year’s Innovations in American Government Awards competition. The initiatives earned recognition from The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. After advancing from a pool of more than 500 applications from all 50 states, the two…

Some of Kansas City’s top culinary industry talent will offer stories of startup, setback and success at Kansas City’s Culinary Entrepreneurs: A Primer for Startups, a Business Lunch Series panel discussion sponsored by The Olathe Chamber of Commerce. The discussion takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 2, at the Ball Conference Center (21350 W. 153rd St.) in Olathe. Master of Wine and Master Sommelier Doug…

KR-HR, a human resources company targeting small businesses, has opened in Overland Park. Karen Hughey founded the firm to to help small business owners with a variety of human resource issues, including compliance issues employee engagement and workplace satisfaction. “We know our clients are busy running their business, not worrying about staying up-to-date with the ever-changing HR laws and landscape,” Hughey said. “That’s where we come in. We give them…

Mother Earth Coffee Shop opened in a 2,000-square-foot space last week in the International at 3504 Gilham. This is the brand’s first standalone retail location outside of a hospital. The new space will offer multiple seating arrangements for more than 60 people and amenities such as Wi-Fi, a community room and fireplace. In keeping with the brand’s mission of sustainability, the interior is decorated with all-natural products. In an effort…