New interim County Executive Phil LeVota pledged Friday to cap commercial property tax increases at 15% in an effort to ease the pain brought on by ballooning valuations.

Why it matters: Business owners with properties valued at less than $5 million can expect financial relief from property tax increases that some say would have forced them to close.

Case in point: The 2025 tax assessment increased the property value by 571% at J. Rieger & Co., owner Andy Rieger told KCTV.

• Blip Roaster owner Ian Davis, who saw a 626% tax increase, called it a "death sentence" at a press conference Friday.

Context: The commercial property assessments came after high residential hikes in 2023 were struck down in court and rolled back to 15%.

State of play: LeVota, speaking on his first full day in office, said he "identified commercial property where the assessments are not appropriate" and would take direct action, per the county charter, to correct commercial increases over 15%.

• LeVota called the apparent appreciation of some property values from 2024 to 2025 "a fiction" and said they "did not happen."

The other side: County assessor Gail McCann Beatty, who was appointed by former executive Frank White, said in a recent county-run podcast that "this isn't about raising taxes; it's about getting values right," indicating in previous interviews that properties were undervalued.

• Axios reached out to Beatty's office for comment but received no response.

Between the lines: White in a 2024 statement reported by KMBC made it an issue of funding the county budget, saying capping tax increases would cost "schools, libraries, fire districts and cities more than $100 million and disproportionately affect Black and brown communities."

• We asked LeVota on Friday whether the county is hurting for money: "We have money in the bank," he said, promising a balanced budget in the coming weeks.

Yes, but: Legislator Manuel Abarca acknowledged Friday that schools with budgets based on the previous 2025 property tax estimations "need to prepare themselves."

What's next: LeVota said that the county legislators will introduce a resolution today that would codify the commercial cap into law.

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Kansas and Missouri are among the states showing early signs of economic strain as nearly half the country edges toward recession, according to new analysis from Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

Why it matters: 22 states are either in a recession or close to one, Zandi's index found, together making up roughly a third of the nation's GDP.

• Their struggles stem from slowing immigration, rising tariffs and federal job cuts, he says.

Zoom in: Kansas ranks among the states in recession, contributing 0.8% of U.S. GDP. Its reliance on agriculture and manufacturing makes it particularly sensitive to trade pressures and weaker export demand.

• Missouri is "treading water," representing 1.54% of the national economy. Growth has cooled but remains positive.

Zoom out: Nationally, unemployment stood at 4.3% in August, still historically low. States with strong population growth, such as Texas and Florida, continue to expand.

Between the lines: The states most exposed to agriculture and manufacturing, including Kansas, Iowa and South Dakota, are feeling the sharpest slowdown. Immigration limits are also restraining growth.

How it works: Zandi created an index tracking jobs, housing starts, personal income and industrial production, designed to mirror how the National Bureau of Economic Research identifies recessions.

Reality check: Like the National Bureau of Economic Research's recession call, this is a subjective assessment.

• Overall, the economy is not in a recession, and the national unemployment rate, at least in August, was still relatively low.

Bottom line: "My takeaway is not that the economy is in recession, but it's pretty darn close," Zandi says.

🎟️ 2026 World Cup tickets are going for more than $2,700 to see the U.S. men's team and more than $6,300 to attend the final — about four times more than the previous World Cup final in Qatar. (KCUR)

🍺 Boulevard Brewing Co. will release its first Delta-9 THC Quirk seltzer called Berry Jane later this month, which will come in either 5mg or 10mg doses. (Kansas City Business Journal)

🏡 A KCK developer is building affordable houses on vacant lots with plans to sell them under their appraised value — even as the cost of building increases — thanks to a combination of local and federal incentives. (Kansas City Star)

Several "No Kings" protests swept across the Kansas City metro on Saturday, with the KC gatherings part of thousands of demonstrations held across the country.

Zoom in: The largest gathering took place at Mill Creek Park near the Plaza, where people came to voice opposition to perceived authoritarianism by the Trump administration.

Zoom out: Organizers estimate nearly 7 million people marched nationwide in a coordinated day of action.