Dynamic Dozen companies showcase Ozarks’ spirit

Walking away from last night’s Springfield Business Journal Dynamic Dozen event, I left with a sense of pride in our community and the feeling everything was going to be OK.

Honoring six individuals and the 12 fastest-growing companies in the Ozarks, the event aims to salute business progress and spurs on healthy competition as we count down to the No. 1 company. But more than the awards, it was the words of the honorees that struck me.

In a recession, growth is rare, but it’s not unheard of. The men and women who took the stage at the DoubleTree Hotel last night know that. They know you can achieve anything if you set your mind to it and they know how hard they worked to achieve their goals.

Netflix index sheds light on ISP speeds

How can one go about watching episodes of “Mad Men” more quickly? How about the upcoming, Netflix-only release of the fourth season of “Arrested Development” when it hits the Web on May 26?

Well, you could hope Google throws you a bone.

Awaiting creative answers for health care costs

For decades, there has been wide disagreement over what national health care should look like. The result of that disagreement is a disjointed, mismatch of those with Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance and no insurance. Meanwhile, health care costs seem to be forever rising in spite of the reforms (Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare) designed to make care more affordable.

Would you like a side of nostalgia with that?

At the corner of Chestnut Expressway and North Glenn Avenue sits a vacant lot. A few elder oaks dot the barren corner and a driveway sits to the north side, a reminder of days gone by.

Easily passed on the day-to-day commute, the story of that driveway is steeped in Springfield history. Once upon a time, that stretch of Chestnut Expressway was commonly referred to as Route 66 and that vacant lot was Red’s Giant Hamburg – which claimed to have the world’s first drive-thru window. 

Kick off Small Business Week with the Top 10 lenders

Today at the Springfield Area Small Business Week kick-off breakfast, U.S. Small Business Administration officials gave a nod to the top 10 SBA lenders in 2012.

Johnny Morris owns an island; what’s next?

It wasn’t a complete surprise to read this week that Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris was buying up parcels on an island in the Florida Keys. How he intends to turn his island rights into a business proposition, if at all, remains to be seen.

Calling all Cavners

I’m not a public relations professional, and I’m certainly not in a position to give news sources advice. But if I were in such a position, I would argue that if the media calls, the best thing you can do is answer the phone. I think this is particularly true if you are in a pickle.

Population clock ticking

While I was still a student at Missouri State, I saw a video that scared the life out of me. I don’t remember the name, or even the class where I saw it (Biology 101, perhaps?), but I remember well its effect.

GameStop financials falter as console generation ends

GameStop appears to be feeling the heat as the current generation of video game consoles nears its end.

Widget allows salary comparisons

I recently found out that CNNMoney offers this cool widget that allows you to compare salaries in different cities.