Business

Governor Jay Nixon (D) says Boeing will expand its operations in St. Louis County.

The Governor made the announcement during a trade mission in Western Europe.  He told reporters via conference call that Boeing will add a new technology information center to its campus in St. Louis County.  Both Nixon and Boeing officials were in attendance this week at the International Paris Air Show in France.

The multi-billion dollar makeover of the greater downtown Kansas City area over the past decade was intended in part to draw businesses, but census figures show the area has lost nearly 20 percent of its private employees in that period.

Indeed, the Kansas City Star reports that U.S. Census data from 2001 to 2011 show that greater downtown lost more than 16,000 jobs.

Regional news coverage from the KBIA Newsroom, including:

• Nixon taps St. Louis-area official for state board
• Nixon leaves for European business trip
• UM Curators approve 2014 budget, announce plans for Deaton institute

Drought conditions in much of the country have eased, but the Great Plains region is still in rough shape. Last year’s dryness pushed the nation’s cattle herd to its lowest numbers since the 1950s. Dry conditions this summer could cause the herd to dwindle even further. As Harvest Public Media's Luke Runyon reports from Colorado, that means beef prices are on the rise this summer just in time for grilling season.

  The talk around STEM employment (jobs in the fields of science, technology, math and engineering) has largely circled around jobs that require a great deal of education.