Latest news with #Holle
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas City beer businesses say there's ‘a big concern' over Trump's tariffs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The worldwide business market is in a wait-and-see mode. On Friday morning, China responded to new U.S. tariffs with economic demands of their own. European countries were already banding together, pushing back against new tariffs introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump. Business leaders in the Kansas City metro are also feeling nervous about potential cost hikes. The beer business and those who buy beer at retail could feel the strain of these tariffs placed on imported goods. Andy Lock, father of Drew Lock and KC-area restaurateur, dies Managers at KC Bier Co., which built its brewery at W. 79th and Wornall Road eleven years ago, makes its popular beers in house, but ingredients often come from overseas. Steve Holle, founder and operating manager at KC Bier Co., said 40% of the brewery's beers are sold in cans, which are packaged in paper and cardboard at retail. Those goods, as well as German hops and malt, come from overseas and fall under tariff restrictions put in place by the Trump White House. 'I would say there's a big concern,' Holle said on Friday afternoon. Holle said he's waiting to talk with his suppliers about the cost of raw goods, and he hopes he doesn't need to raise prices for his consumers. 'I think having those ingredients is important to the brand and the type of beer we're making, so yes, I think it's a very big deal for us, and I don't think it's something we can readily change and not lose the brand identity we have,' Holle continued. Metro business analysts are watching the Dow Jones Industrial Average react to the tariffs with sudden drops this week. Dr. Tony Tocco, who teaches at Rockhurst University's Helzberg School of Management, believes the overall impact in the Kansas City metro may be low since there aren't many Fortune 500 companies still based here. 'I think this is going to be short-term. It's going to be short-term pain for long-term gain,' Dr. Tocco said. Things to do in Kansas City this weekend April 4-6 Dr. Tocco believes that if this goes on for long, a worldwide recession isn't out of the question, but he doesn't believe this trade war will last more than three months. 'My bet is this gets solved pretty damn quickly. I truly believe that. I really do believe that. I think there will be a lot of people coming in and negotiating, and there will be a settlement on both sides,' Dr. Tocco said. Holle is cautiously optimistic, but he seems to agree with the professor's optimistic outlook. Holle said he'll crack the books and look for ways to cut costs, but he doesn't believe beer prices will change for a few months, if they do at all. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Why Texas women's basketball players love A'ja Wilson's signature A'One shoe
Why Texas women's basketball players love A'ja Wilson's signature A'One shoe Show Caption Hide Caption Why the women's Texas Longhorns are the team to pay attention to USA Today's Jordan Mendoza gives his insight on why the Longhorns are a dominant team to watch out for. Sports Seriously TAMPA, Fla. – Shay Holle didn't expect to meet A'ja Wilson when Texas women's basketball went to the Las Vegas Aces star's pop-up for her new Nike signature shoe, the A'One, on Wednesday. When the Longhorns arrived, they watched a video of Wilson congratulating them on making it to the Final Four. The Gamecocks legend even wished them good luck in their matchup against South Carolina. As Nike representatives apologized that Wilson couldn't be there, Wilson's voice came in through the speakers – then she walked in from the back of the room. "We're all like, 'Oh my gosh' – we were already freaking out just about getting the shoes and getting to see the whole thing," Holle said Thursday during a media day ahead of the women's NCAA Tournament Final Four. "We are very, very grateful for A'ja and Nike for just allowing us to do that and making it work in our tight schedule. It was really fun." Wilson took time to visit with the Longhorns, who all received pairs of the pink A'One. SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker was "fangirling for real" when she met Wilson, who Booker has watched since Wilson's college career. Texas senior point guard Rori Harmon said the experience was amazing. She loved the setup – all pink – and she was grateful that Wilson welcomed them with open arms, even with them squaring off against Wilson's alma mater. Harmon is still debating if she's wearing the shoes in the Final Four matchup. But Booker and Holle are planning to wear them when No. 1 seed Texas (35-3) faces No. 1 seed South Carolina (34-3) in the Final Four at Amalie Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Longhorns got to test out Wilson's shoe in practice Thursday, and Booker, Harmon and Holle all had glowing reviews, saying they "felt great." Harmon liked how lightweight the shoes are, and said they're perfect for the way she likes to play. Holle's feet are "kind of picky," but she didn't have any problems. "I love them, honestly," Holle said. "They felt good, and they looked really cute, so no complaints." Holle has worn Sabrina Ionescu's signature shoe for most of the season. Texas gets a lot of Longhorns alum Kevin Durant's signature shoes, but Holle loves being able to wear the shoe of a women's basketball player she watches. She followed Wilson and Ionescu during college and still watches them in the WNBA. "That's someone you really look up to when you're a little girl playing basketball," Holle said. "So being able to wear their shoes is really cool. ... People are appreciating and recognizing the women's game a lot more and the work that they put into it. And that they deserve their own shoes, too, like, duh, come on." Wilson is the first Black woman to receive a signature shoe since Tennessee great Candace Parker got a signature shoe with Adidas in 2011. Wilson's shoe means a lot for women's basketball, Booker said, and she's happy with the direction the sport is going in. "I think that's why I want to wear the shoes, to kind of keep repping for her, because that's big that she got a shoe," Booker said. "That's very hard. She went through a lot of milestones in her career just to get that shoe." Harmon is happy that Wilson is getting the recognition to match her dominance on the court, and said the three-time WNBA MVP is a great role model for young girls and boys. "She's been killing it for a while now, and I'm just glad that she got what she deserved," Harmon said. "I'm just glad that she's kind of the focal point right now, because she really does deserve to be. ... I like that she's basically the face of women's basketball."
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Young North Dakota legislators join Future Caucus to find bipartisan solutions
From the left: Layla Zidane, president of the Future Caucus, Rep. Dawson Holle, R-Mandan, Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, and Sen. Claire Cory, R-Grand Forks, announce the formation of the North Dakota chapter of the Future Caucus on April 1, 2025. The Future Caucus is a group of millennial and Gen-Z lawmakers dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Four North Dakota lawmakers announced they will be joining the national Future Caucus made up of millennial and Gen-Z legislators with hopes of finding bipartisan solutions to common problems. North Dakota is the 36th state to join the Future Caucus, which began in 2013 and includes more than 1,900 young lawmakers nationwide. Co-chairs for the North Dakota chapter are Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, Rep. Dawson Holle, R-Mandan, Sen. Claire Cory, R-Grand Forks, and Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo. 'These leaders represent the best of North Dakota,' said Layla Zidane, president of the Future Caucus. She added North Dakota has a longstanding tradition of putting people above politics, which is exactly what the Future Caucus is trying to achieve – focusing on real solutions, not partisan fights. 'We're not bringing in outside priorities,' Zidane said. 'But really amplifying the amazing leadership that is already here.' She said members of the Future Caucus helped pass more than 2,000 pieces of legislation across the country in 2024. Holle said he initially ran for the Legislature in 2022 to advocate for family farms, small businesses and helping his community. 'In North Dakota's future, I know that our greatest strength comes from working together, not against each other,' Holle said. 'Too often, ideas are judged not on their merit, but on who proposed them and that is not leadership. That is not service and that is not what North Dakotans expect or deserve.' Holle said the caucus wants to ensure the next generation of leaders is able to come together and facilitate the difficult conversations to find solutions. Braunberger said he hopes the caucus brings people toward the ideological middle instead of the extreme-right or extreme-left. 'We are not always going to agree on every issue, but we're going to come together on issues that we can,' Braunberger said. He added he believes the caucus will make lawmakers more productive by being able to have civil discourse with members of the opposing party. Sen. Claire Cory, R-Grand Forks, said she and Braunberger don't agree on many issues, but the caucus gives them an avenue to talk productively. 'Not to say that I don't do that with other lawmakers, but being able to do it with people in my generation is different,' Cory said. Even as a Republican in a conservative state like North Dakota, Cory said she has constituents who didn't vote for her and she still needs to represent them. She added she hopes the caucus will help her understand issues from a more well-rounded perspective so she can be a better representative for all of her constituents. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Dakota dairy farm plans to add processing; bill would add state incentives
A cow feeds inside the barn at the North Dakota State University dairy research facility in Fargo on March 14, 2025. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota's struggling dairy industry could get a boost from a new milk processing plant and state incentives for more processing. As North Dakota House Agriculture Committee members heard testimony last week in favor of incentives to add milk processing to the state, one committee member said his family plans to add a processing plant. Rep. Dawson Holle, R-Mandan, is part of a dairy farming family in Morton County. He said the farm has the goal of breaking ground on a processing plant in June, though the project still is in the planning stages. He said the plant would be built on the Holle farm or a neighboring property. Holle said the farm is one of the larger dairy farms left in central North Dakota, the traditional heart of the dairy industry in the state. The dairy industry has been shrinking in North Dakota over several decades. Processing plant closures in Bismarck and South Dakota are forcing Holle's family and other dairy farmers in central North Dakota to send milk greater distances, with transportation costs cutting into their profit margins. Holle announced his plans during Thursday's discussion of Senate Bill 2342, which would provide a grant of 5% of the cost of opening a milk processing plant, up to a maximum of $10 million. Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Thomas, R-Velva, told the committee that the bill was not proposed with a specific project in mind, but was intended to get the attention of milk processors that could provide a market for North Dakota milk. He also said the bill that was approved by the Senate contained an error and suggested an amendment to correct the error. He said the bill should be worded to make grants available to processors capable of handling 3 million pounds of milk a day. Instead, the bill says it could go to a processor with the capacity of 3 million pounds per year, making the grant available to much smaller processors. Holle informed the committee of his family's plans but said he was unsure they would take advantage of the incentives. The Agriculture Committee voted down the amendment, with Holle among those voting against it. The committee gave the bill a 'do pass' recommendation Friday. In an interview after the Thursday hearing, Holle said he supported the bill with or without the amendment. 'It's great for dairy either way,' Holle said. Holle said his parents and grandparents are still active in the dairy farm. He said the family has been considering a processing plant for some time, but closure of nearby processors has sped up plans. 'It wasn't really our intent to get government handouts,' Holle said. Holle participated in the committee votes and discussion on the bill. He said he didn't see any potential for a conflict of interest because the bill will benefit the dairy industry as a whole. 'We're just in a unique circumstance that we're one of the largest farms close to Bismarck-Mandan,' Holle said. Holle is not among the bill sponsors. 'I have just been very encouraging from the sidelines,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Thomas, the bill sponsor, said the bill builds on efforts to increase animal agriculture in North Dakota, which lags behind neighboring states. 'Dairy without processing is going to be really tough to kick back in,' Thomas said. More livestock helps provide a local market for corn and soybeans, with the North Dakota Corn Growers Association among the farm groups testifying in favor of the bill. North Dakota has gone from about 93,000 dairy cows in 1980 to 14,000 in 2023 and about 10,000 last year. Huge dairy farms planned for eastern North Dakota Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Tom Bodine testified that there are only 23 permitted dairy farms left in North Dakota and one of those is not operating. There are only about 8,700 cows in the state. That number could quadruple with plans for two huge dairy operations in eastern North Dakota, closer to existing milk processing facilities, including plants in Fargo. Holle said North Dakota is an importer of milk and his family's plant would concentrate on fluid milk and possibly cream at the outset. He said dairy products such as butter could come later. Holle remains optimistic about the dairy industry. 'There's been growth, and especially demand for locally sourced milk,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
