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Coffee + Clarity: Digital Assets 101
Digital assets are becoming part of more and more conversations, but that does not mean they are easy to understand.
If you have ever heard people talking about blockchain, stablecoins, tokenization or digital asset markets and thought to yourself, “I kind of understand what they mean, but not enough to jump into the conversation,” you are probably not alone.
That is the idea behind Coffee + Clarity: Digital Assets 101, happening Monday, September 14 from 10:00a – 12:00p at The Guild.
HDAX Returns to Kansas City as Digital Assets Move Into the Real Economy
2025 marked the inaugural year of the Heartland Digital Asset Exchange (HDAX) conference hosted here in Kansas City. On September 14–15, 2026, HDAX returns to Kansas City with more than 30 top-tier speakers from across the nation.
Emerge @ LAMP Connects Digital Inclusion and Kansas City’s Innovation Economy
KC Digital Drive and Linwood Property, Inc., recently received support from the Missouri Technology Corporation and Greater KC Community Foundation’s Kansas City Federal and State Matching Grant Fund to advance Emerge @ LAMP, a new community technology initiative at the historic LAMP Campus at Linwood Boulevard and Woodland Avenue. Read for more details.
Grassroots Digital Equity: Neighborhood Associations Leading the Charge
The August meeting of the Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion (KCCDI) explored the power of neighborhood-level digital access. Featuring panelists from Vineyard Neighborhood Association (Ike Graham), Blue Hills Neighborhood Association (Edward Bell II), and the KC Public Library (Megan McNaughton), the session highlighted the implementation of digital inclusion initiatives within neighborhoods, including new community computer labs, and the importance of building trust to overcome tech-related anxiety and misinformation.
National Partnership with AT&T and Digitunity Creates Local Opportunities
In partnership with AT&T and Digitunity, KC Digital Drive facilitated a workshop series through 5 Digital Life Exchange members to distribute 110 devices with wraparound digital skills training.
Insights from Digital Navigators at the July Coalition Meeting
The July 2026 meeting of the Kansas City Coalition for Digital Inclusion explored the results of the National Digital Navigator Corps pilot and featured a dynamic panel of local navigators. The session highlighted the importance of trust, “third spaces,” and culturally responsive support, while also addressing urgent federal policy shifts regarding E-rate funding.
When Your Address Determines Your Access
The June meeting of the KC Coalition for Digital Inclusion brought together four voices from the region’s affordable housing and digital equity sectors for a rich conversation on how housing stability and internet access shape each other. Health Forward Foundation’s Adriana Pecina and John Tramel, LISC Greater Kansas City Executive Director Geoff Jolly, Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) Executive Director Pedro Zamora, and Phoenix Family Program Manager Jessica Welch joined KC Digital Drive Digital Inclusion Program Manager Leslie Scott to explore what it means to live at the intersection of two of Kansas City’s most persistent inequities.
How Researchers Address the Digital Divide Through Social Drivers of Health
In recognition of May as “Research Month”, Children’s Mercy Research Institute’s division of Health Services and Outcomes Research organized several “Lunch and Learn” sessions to highlight important topics for their researchers. The final session focused on the challenge of representative studies for improving both for quality and reach. KC Digital Drive worked with the CMRI team to provide further context for the session’s presentation, but also to help them create a version of Digital Drive’s Digital Divide Simulation (DDS) so that the researchers could see first-hand the circumstances which touch many of their patients and even more families beyond.
A Laptop Means Dignity: Empire Dreams and KC Public Library Close a Device Gap
Not everyone building a business has a laptop. For Empire Dreams entrepreneurs, that gap was a wall. A connection through KC Digital Drive brought them to KC Public Library’s Chromebook lending program. Three weeks later, program participants weren’t pitching on phones anymore. They were building decks, creating marketing plans, and feeling official.
Federal Tech Policy and DC Fly-ins
After visiting DC regularly for a number of years for conferences or other programs, it struck me that it might be worthwhile to meet with our federal legislators. I didn’t have an ask or an agenda, and KC Digital Drive does not have a policy portfolio per se. But we do engage with several federal […]