


Governor Parson Makes a Visit to CC’s Butcher Shop
START HERE network celebrates one of many businesses growing with team support COLE CAMP, MO – Crowds were waiting outside the newly opened CC’s Butcher Shop in downtown Cole Camp on July 1 around 3:00 p.m. to check out one of Benton County’s newest businesses, and to...
Our Rural Housing Opportunity; Using rural solutions to solve rural issues
Our Rural Housing Opportunity; Using rural solutions to solve rural issues
“If we don’t have affordable housing, our communities can’t move forward.”

Housing needed for rural revival
A lack of housing options could nip new rural opportunity in the bud. Can the west central Missouri region muster the private-public collaboration and innovation needed to ramp up housing supply? This question is the topic of a “5th Monday” regional networking luncheon 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Monday May 24.

Double Up Food Bucks at area farmers’ markets
Strawberries are here! And again this year, friends, family, and neighbors with limited budgets will be able to take locally produced fruits and vegetables home with them thanks to the Double Up Food Bucks Program. Seven farmers’ markets in west central Missouri participate. They are part of a national wave of communities adopting the Double Up Food Bucks approach to helping families, farmers, and communities grow healthy.

Two Benton County businesses launch with START HERE support
Two new Benton county businesses are the latest to get the startup boost they need from a new nonprofit financing resource in west central Missouri: The START HERE Revolving Loan Fund. Both are prime examples of what the START HERE Revolving Loan Fund is designed to do: Support rural businesses that are ready to get going and growing but are too new, too small, or too credit-challenged for traditional bank loans.

Conversation with Food Systems Director Katie Nixon
Katie Nixon is a farmer and a leader in the good food movement as Food Systems Director at West Central Missouri Community Action Agency. Backroad Production’s IN FOCUS podcast recently featured a conversation with Katie about several regional food and farm development initiatives, including her work with the New Growth community development corporation team.

Tax tips for micro businesses in Covid-19 times
Resources here for small businesses preparing taxes this year, including our recorded Tax Tips webinar, guest speaker Timothy Carter’s presentation, and a Small Business Tax Workshop series of videos from the IRS.

RESOURCES: Businesses and American Rescue Plan
Learn about new relief for small businesses in the American Rescue Plan Act. Mike McWhorter with the Small Business Kansas City district breaks it down for us. Download information and resources here from our March 31, 2021, webinar.

Contact Us: New Growth Women’s Business Center
The New Growth Women’s Business Center is a new resource for rural entrepreneurs in all stages of business development and growth. It focuses on the power and potential of women to employ themselves, provide jobs for others, and build their local economies and communities.