News – Monday, April 7th 2025

The Dent County Chapter of “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” will be holding their next meeting this evening from 5:30 to 6:30 at the Salem Community Center@The Armory’s Rotary Room. All volunteers are welcome and there are many ways to get involved. If you are not familiar with what they do, they are an international non-profit 501(C)(3) organization that builds, assembles and delivers new beds to children in need who do not have a bed. Anyone can apply for a child on the SHPbeds.org website. TO help, monetary donations can be made to “Sleep in Heavenly Peace – MISSOURI-DENT Co.” Donations of bedding and tools are also accepted. All donations are tax deductible. For more information about “Sleep in Heavenly Peace,” contact Patti at 703-964-6495. You can also e-mail Patti at patti.mckeown@shpbeds.org.

A new study found Missouri is the No. 11 cheapest state to start a business, an important revelation for small business owners deciding where to set up shop amid growing economic uncertainty. The 10 cheapest states are in the West or Midwest as many levy no corporate taxes and have fewer regulations. The two most expensive states are California and New York due to higher taxes, wages, rents and regulations. Simplify LLC released a study on the Most and Least Expensive States to Start a Business in 2025 using the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve of St. Louis, Tax Foundation, and the Energy Information Administration. The rankings were determined by analyzing nine key factors in all 50 states and D.C. including taxes, labor costs, commercial rent and utilities, regulations, lending, and more. Key Findings making Missouri the No. 11 Cheapest State. Missouri offers a 4% corporate tax (#10 tied) and keeps commercial rent at $15.25 per square foot (#14), all the while navigating 94,260 regulations (#16). Electricity costs average $617.71 (#19), wages average $61,708 (#20) and labor force participation is 63.9% (#22). The state’s score is brought down slightly by more expensive LLC filing fees ($105, #29) and a lower SBA loan total of $7.98 million per 100,000 (#30). The study found that the 10 Cheapest States were Utah, South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, Nevada, and North Dakota.