Like most inventions, Dr. Keith Beauchamp’s duck decoy motion spreader was born out of necessity. Beauchamp, a podiatrist by profession, is an avid duck hunter who hunts on a pond near his residence in Macon, Mo., about 150 miles northeast of Kansas City. He was looking for a way to simplify the deployment of hundreds of duck decoys he used to attract waterfowl. After trying different materials and concepts, he…

The Small Business Administration announced it is accepting nominations for its 2019 National Small Business Week awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year. The awards coincide with National Small Business Week, May 5-11, 2019. SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said in a news release that the National Small Business Week award is one of the nation’s highest honors for small business achievement. “This is a great opportunity to…

Tickets for the fifth annual KC Oktoberfest are now on sale. The two-day festival, hosted by KC Bier Co. in partnership with other local businesses, is set for Oct. 5-6 at the Crown Center. Modeled after the traditional Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, KC Oktoberfest will feature Bavarian-style food and drink, as well as German-inspired music. KC Bier Co. is partnering with local eateries Chicken N Pickle and Austrian restaurant Grünauer…

Kansas City’s Brown Button Estate Sales has launched a sister company to market and sell high-end items to national and international bidders. Circle Auction will handle fine art and sculpture, designer fashion, jewelry, exceptional antiques and modern design items. Auctions will reach users worldwide through LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com; Circle Auction also uses a proprietary bidding system through its app, which can be accessed at CircleAuction.co or through Apple and Android…

AltCap and the Women’s Business Center are partnering to offer a workshop on small business tax planning. The workshop, part of the Grow Your Business series, will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. Aug. 8 at Plexpod Westport Commons, 300 E. 39th St., Kansas City, Mo. Cost is $10. William Schmidt, clinic director of Kansas Legal Services Inc., will teach the class. It will touch on the basics of complying with…