State and local leaders gathered to open the Small Business Recovery Center in Joplin. (PoliticMo Photo)
JOPLIN, Mo. – It was the first ribbon-cutting in Joplin since an EF5 tornado ravaged a significant part of the city’s business district.
Business leaders gathered outside the Newman Innovation Building Thursday morning to announce the opening of the Joplin Recovery Center, a project sponsored by the Small Business Administration.
“One of the best kept secrets of the SBA is how we help small businesses during disasters,” said Pat Brown-Dixon, Kansas City Regional Administrator of the SBA.
Affected businesses, she said, can apply for up to $2 million dollars in low-interest loans from the federal government. There is a window of six weeks for businesses to file, and leaders suggest businesses file with the government even if they do not think they need assistance right away.
“Today, we want to talk about recovery,” said Rob O’Brien, president of the Joplin Chamber of Commerce. “The business recovery center offers businesses a place to go to get specific business oriented counseling.”
O’Brien told PoliticMo more than 300 businesses had been affected by the storm, encompassing nearly 4,000 employees. While some are being put to work outside of their businesses, others are not, and officials say they are working to get displaced workers back to work.
Congressman Billy Long, R-Springfield, praised the work of federal officials, and said his job was to make sure the town could move forward “in a timely fashion.”
The moment was bittersweet: While the business focus was shifting to recovery, officials on the other side of town announced the first official number of missing persons topped 200.
email: eli [at] politicmo.com | phone: 417.597.3873 | twitter: @eyokley 
