Back in 2004, Mark Steiner ran a Springfield-based talent booking agency. He made a living finding gigs for big national artists and other well-known performers. But this work came with a constant distraction. Each day his inbox would fill with messages from locals wanting help booking entertainment for weddings, birthday parties and small corporate events. “That was not what I was

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A cable plow slowly crawls along a gravel road near Salisbury, a small town in Chariton County. It burrows a narrow trench into the earth. As the machine moves, a worker feeds a small cable into the ground. It’s a relatively simple job. The work itself doesn’t take long or draw much attention. But the fiber-optic cable this crew is

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There’s a tangible energy in the classroom as kindergarteners crowd inside, each grabbing a tablet and pairing up at their desks. Sound effects from the tablets fill the air. Then the exclamations start. “Mr. Hogan, I need help!” “Mr. Hogan, I did it!” Their teacher, Jim Hogan, moves from one student to the next at the rural Adrian R-III School in

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By Shawna Scott and Jacob Luecke It’s not every day you need a giant bulldozer. But if you do, one Columbia-based tech startup has your solution. Brothers Willy and Jabbok Schlacks co-founded EquipmentShare in 2014 after they noticed a supply- and-demand disconnect in the construction equipment industry. Many contractors’ heavy machinery was often sitting idle. Meanwhile, other contractors had to either

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