Speaking Startup: Tracking the decline of state entrepreneurship funding

As lawmakers have worked this week to finalize the state's budget, entrepreneurial support organizations across Missouri have been watching with interest. They are concerned about the downward trend in state funding for the Missouri Technology Corporation, a private-public partnership established to promote entrepreneurship and boost the growth of technology startups in the state. Over the last few years, state funding for the MTC has decreased from more than $17 million per year to less than $3 million, and representatives from innovation centers across Missouri say that diminishes their ability to support entrepreneurs in the state. On this week's podcast, we check in with a some of those innovation centers to get a sense of how they have handled decreased funding — and what additional cuts could mean. Plus, in the latest installment from our Outstate series on entrepreneurship in small-town Missouri, we look at Weston, a popular getaway destination outside Kansas City. With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing tourism to a halt across the state, business owners in Weston have been forced to make significant adjustments.