By Maria Carter
Overland Park, MO – Both Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Missouri Governor Matt Blunt met with business and civic leaders to sketch out an agenda for the Kansas City area. Last November, Sprint Nextel CEO Gary Forsee called for the two governors to meet and discuss issues facing the area. The theme of the first Governor's Summit on Regional Growth was cooperation not competition and focused on four areas economic development, higher education, life sciences, and mass transit.
Both Sebelius and Blunt signed a commitment to pursue common goals for the region. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce helped organize the event and will form a task force to follow up on how well the two states are pursuing joint initiatives. The group will hold another governor's summit early next year.