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Kansas is a beautiful state but like most of the middle of the country its population spread, lack of "entrepreneurship-role-models" in most communities and tal

Kansas is a beautiful state but like most of the middle of the country its population spread, lack of "entrepreneurship-role-models" in most communities and talent flight hurt its chances of developing strong business culture even in an easy-to-do business environment. I grew up in KC, MO and went to school on the state line. Many of the most promising students from my school and other schools would go out of state for college - and most that left haven't come back yet. The fact that Denver, Kansas City, MO and Omaha all flank the state and contain more developed business centers also makes company development unlikely. Looking at this shows how little concentration there is of companies in the whole mid-to-upper Midwest section. http://www.geolounge.com/fortune-500-list-by-state-for-2015/ http://www.geolounge.com/fortune-500-list-by-state-for-2015/ I wonder what has made Minnesota so successful.

abrowne 11y ago
> The fact that Denver, Kansas City, MO and Omaha all flank the state and contain more developed business centers also makes company development unlikely. > I wonder what has made Minnesota so successful. These are related. Between Chicago and Seattle, for major metro areas, there's basically just Minneapolis. (Disclosure: Minneapolitan)
kcmarshall 11y ago
Here's a nice example of a regional success story from MN. The area around Winona (a town on the Mississippi river between the Twin Cities and Rochester) has a growing cluster of businesses that work with composites. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/07/composites-winona http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/07/composites-winona Kansas wants this kind of development but doesn't want to put priority on environmental protection, outdoor recreation or the arts. All are important to the Winona story - as is the presence of a state university in the town. I'm an 'expat' Kansan who now lives in MN so I have a deep appreciation for the difference between the two.

abrowne 11y ago

> The fact that Denver, Kansas City, MO and Omaha all flank the state and contain more developed business centers also makes company development unlikely. > I wonder what has made Minnesota so successful. These are related. Between Chicago and Seattle, for major metro areas, there's basically just Minneapolis. (Disclosure: Minneapolitan)

kcmarshall 11y ago

Here's a nice example of a regional success story from MN. The area around Winona (a town on the Mississippi river between the Twin Cities and Rochester) has a growing cluster of businesses that work with composites. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/07/composites-winona http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/08/07/composites-winona Kansas wants this kind of development but doesn't want to put priority on environmental protection, outdoor recreation or the arts. All are important to the Winona story - as is the presence of a state university in the town. I'm an 'expat' Kansan who now lives in MN so I have a deep appreciation for the difference between the two.