Happy Cinco de Mayo, Shawnee Mission!
☁️ Today’s forecast: Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of rain. High: 75. Low: 58.
? One thing to know today
Overland Park-based company Compass Minerals recently laid off 48.5 full-time equivalent employees, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The firings represent 16% of the company’s corporate workforce.
Compass is one of the biggest producers of salt in the U.S., and sells much of its product for the purpose of deicing roadways. It also produces sulfate of potash and other fertilizers.
In its filing, Compass said all terminated employees would receive severance, including services to find new employment, at a cost of $3.3 million to the company.
The company said the job cuts were part of “initial steps” to align costs with its “current business needs,” which include potential growth into other markets like lithium and “next generation fire retardants.”
? Weekend things to do
- Cinco de Mayo at Lenexa Public Market, Friday, 5-10 p.m. [More info]
- Remake Learning Days Festival at JCCC, Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. [More info]
- Spring Chick Event at Leawood’s Town Center Plaza, Saturday and Sunday [More details]
- Tour de Shawnee bike race, Sunday, 7-11 a.m. [More info]
- Overland Park Orchestra concert, Sunday, 3 p.m. [More details]
? Post’s top Thursday stories
- The Golden Scoop, Overland Park ice cream shop with a cause, wants to expand
- Prairie Village Police look for white pickup involved in hit-and-run with pedestrian
- Housing opposition group wants rezoning on Prairie Village ballot
- JoCo Notes: Tuesday Morning closing Johnson County stores
- Overland Park considers dropping food inspections, leaving it to state
? Other local news
- March was the busiest month for Kansas City International Airport since December 2019, coinciding with the opening of a new terminal. [Kansas City Business Journal]
- The city of Overland Park collected more than 1,000 mattresses and 100 tons of waste during this spring’s mattress recycling and citywide “Recycling Extravaganza” event. [Overland Park]
? A thousand words
Lenexa Animal Control officers rescued a group of goslings that had fallen into a storm drain earlier this week. Photo via Facebook.
Thanks for reading! If you value having an independent news outlet keeping tabs on local government, schools and taxes, we're asking you to contribute to our Education Reporting Fund.
