A Weekend in Vegas with Pastor Tommy

Even a pastor knows one in 30 million aren’t good Las Vegas odds. Wait a second, what is a Bible Belt pastor doing in Vegas?

OTC on NPR

Ozarks Technical Community College officials have been touting the school’s efforts to retrain victims of layoffs from the recession – and now the school will have a chance to show off its efforts on a national stage.

Mutual fund with ORLY stock loses Kiplinger luster

A mutual fund that counts O’Reilly Automotive Inc. among its largest holdings has dropped out of the Kiplinger 25.

Newsroom Extras: What happened to these Drury SIFE projects?

I recently sat down with Josh Jones, director of Drury University’s Students in Free Enterprise, for a Q&A that ran in our Sept. 28 education issue.

During our discussion, I also asked about three DSIFE-run projects that I’d followed before but hadn’t heard much about recently: Smal-Mart, a convenience store that was opened on campus in 2001; Avenue 33, a clothing consignment store on South Glenstone Avenue, and the DSIFE incubator, which opened in 2004 at 530 Boonville Ave. and offered services to help fledgling startups grow.

Jones said neither of the retail operations remain up and running, not because the group is opposed to working in the retail sector, but because the volunteer hours required to keep them afloat don’t fit well with students’ schedules, particularly if the site was far-removed from campus. He said, though, that the DSIFE team would be open to embarking on retail ventures in the future, if it can find the right fit.

The incubator’s storefront, adjacent to the Jordan Valley Innovation Center in the former Springfield Mortuary Service Inc. building, is closed. But Jones said DSIFE remains dedicated to offering assistance to local small businesses. Businesses can still tap SIFE for help with startup and growth issues, but without the storefront, which used to offer access to phones, fax, telephones and computers. Jones said the former storefront is now part of the Jordan Valley Innovation Center campus.

SBJ accepts chamber’s ‘Steptember’ challenge: It’s on!

Weekly update: +4 pounds; overall, +6 pounds

Several of us at Springfield Business Journal have been accessorizing this week with YMCA pedometers, as we prepare to out-step the folks at the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Kristen Westerman, the chamber’s manager of work force development, approached Editor Eric Olson earlier this month about a chamber/SBJ challenge as part of Appetite for Life, a program developed to motivate people in the Ozarks to take small steps toward healthier lifestyles.

As part of the program, the week of Sept. 21–25, participants are encouraged to be more active and take more steps in “Steptember.”
Last year, some 42,245,362 extra steps were taken by area residents during the Appetite for Life Steptember promotion, organizers say.

A Love of Social Media

There’s devotion, and then there’s devotion – and I’m as devoted to social media as anyone, especially with my new job.

But I’ve got nothing on two pre-teens – or is it “tweens”? – in Adelaide, Australia. According to news reports, two girls – ages 10 and 12 – somehow found themselves trapped in a storm drain near Adelaide.

Elegy to a News Legend

There aren’t many people that could cause current and past presidents, music legends, TV stars and astronauts to gather together in one room.

Walter Cronkite did.

Two national rodeo-related events hit Springfield

A new sporting event is headed to Springfield, and it’s pure bull.

The Professional Bull Riders tour – known in the industry as the PBR, not to be confused with the time-tested beer of the same acronym – is coming to Springfield Sept. 19 and 20 at Missouri State University’s new JQH Arena thanks to the efforts of PFI Western Store and Bass Pro Shops.

A week of Web management under my belt

My mission: to boldly go where only one other person has gone before …

OK, so it doesn’t have the same ring as the classic Star Trek intro, but I feel as if I’ve entered an alien universe with my new job as Springfield Business Journal’s Web editor.

Who’s right, who’s wrong in health care debate?

It’s ironic how people can act so inhumane when talking about the personal care that separates us from other creations.

I’m talking about health care reform.