Hy-Vee Wants to Give the Heave-Ho to a CID
The grocery chain Hy-Vee is suing the city of Lee’s Summit over the creation of a Community Improvement District (CID)....
Be Skeptical of Claims St. Louis is Running A Surplus
KMOV ran a piece the other day reporting that the St. Louis comptroller claims the city has a $42.2 million...
How Missouri and Other States Can Foster Entrepreneurship by Reforming Local Regulations
Entrepreneurship is the backbone of vibrant local economies, yet many cities unintentionally stifle this vital engine of growth through cumbersome...
In Denial: Municipal Checkbook Hall of Shame
My last post talked about one of my favorite emails I received during the municipal checkbook project, from the tiny...
The Entirely Predictable Failure of Sports Teams Subsidies
The River City Rascals are taking their ball and going home. This was not entirely surprising as the team was...
Another Study Is Just What St. Louis Doesn’t Need
Kicking bad habits can be tough. When you know you’re doing something that’s bad for you, planning to quit is...
Kansas City Airport Stumbles Along
One year ago, Steve Vockrodt of The Kansas City Star wrote an excellent piece on the “original sin” of the...
Where Is That City Report on Economic Development?
Are economic development incentives worthwhile? Abundant research from all over the country says they are not. Kansas City leaders disagree,...
St. Louis Is Failing, and It Has Only Its Government to Blame
Last month the U.S. Census Bureau found that St. Louis had, once again, shrunk in population over the last year....
Some Thoughts on Regulating Airbnb
Kansas City wants to present itself as tech friendly and forward looking, yet too often city leaders stand in the...
Real Incentive Reforms for Saint Louis
Economic development incentives like tax increment financing (TIF) and tax abatement have been grossly misused in Missouri’s two major cities...
The GO Bond Doesn’t Risk Your Home-Just Your Wallet
Citizens for Responsible Government (CFRG) have circulated emails claiming that if Kansas City defaults on the proposed GO Bond payments,...
Bombshell: The GO Bonds Will Last Until 2055
The City is describing the general obligation bond (GO bond) placed before voters on the April 4 ballot as a...
MCI and Privatization
For years now, city leaders have pushed for a $1.2 billion new airport terminal, first proposed by former Aviation Department...
Parking Fees Alone Cannot Fund MetroLink Expansion
Saint Louis City Mayor Francis Slay wants to spend $2.2 billion on a new north–south MetroLink line, originally reported at...
Funding the Foundry: Why Are Taxpayers Continually on the Hook?
When St. Louis public schools are underperforming and the water department is trying to get lead out of the water,...
What an Honest Economic Development Study in Kansas City Might Conclude
A July piece by Steve Vockrodt for The Kansas City Star talked about the city’s efforts to study the real...
Unite the Region with a Sensible, Effective Transit Vision
In a recent Post-Dispatch column, Tony Messenger called for an ‘AND’ approach to transit planning in the St. Louis region....
Kansas City Streetcar Ridership Numbers
After years of losses at the polls, City leaders finally got the vote they needed in 2012 to approve the...
The Risks to the City of the Convention Hotel Gamble
At the City Council's recent business session on the proposed convention hotel, proponents kept repeating that there was no risk to the...
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