August 31, 2022

Originally posted in our August 2022 Top of Mind Newsletter. In Virginia, Ohio, and across the country, schools are experiencing massive disruptions. While regionally, there are differences, many of the causes are similar: continuing COVID-19 complications, lack of funding, teacher burnout, and in some states, a massive teacher shortage. This shortage isn’t because there aren’t enough trained teachers, but instead from qualified teachers who have had enough.  In this article from Virginia Mercury, we see a…

Categories:

January 25, 2022

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico City population: 565,000 Number of municipal employees: 5,800 Participants in the Entrepreneurial Mindset Program: 1095   OVERVIEW: Albuquerque and its sister community, Rio Rancho, anchor one of the fastest-growing regions in the Southwest. The metro area’s population (916,528 residents in 2020) is diverse, with many Spanish speakers, English speakers, and Native American communities. The region’s largest employers include the U.S. Air Force, Sandia National Laboratories, Intel, medical facilities, and colleges. Real…

Categories:

August 2, 2022

  Location: Independence, Kansas Fab Lab ICC launch: March 2014  Total visitors: 35,000  Size: 15,000 square feet    Entrepreneurial Mindset course: Offered once per year   OVERVIEW: In rural southeastern Kansas, agriculture and manufacturing dominate the local economy. However, there are still vestiges of the hard adjustments that residents had to make as coal mining and oil industry jobs disappeared several decades ago. The poverty rate among Montgomery County’s 31,000 residents is 17%, which is about…

Categories:

July 11, 2022

Entrepreneurial Mindset Projects Branch Out from This Colorado District’s STEM Program   Location: Longmont, Colorado Number of schools and programs: 60  Total students: 33,000  High school students in entrepreneurship courses since 2019: 500 High schools served by Innovation Center program: 7   OVERVIEW: St. Vrain Valley School District extends across 411 square miles, from the Continental Divide to the Colorado plains, with a population that’s just as diverse as the landscape. As such, the district’s…

Categories:

July 26, 2022

Location: Kansas City, Missouri Number of new businesses in 2022: 46  Amount of increased sales in 2022: $55.1 million  Number of participants in most recent Entrepreneurial Mindset Training: 18    OVERVIEW: People reach out for a wide range of services from the Missouri Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Some have an idea for a startup but aren’t sure about the next steps. Others already have a business but need…

Categories: