12.19.24

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GeoConnect is one way companies can learn more about the region's growing geospatial scene. Courtesy of T-Rex

DEEP DIVE

At GeoConnect, NGA extends a hand to local geospatial companies

The problem to be solved by GeoConnect, an event today at T-REX downtown, is a gap between industry and government.

Now that the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has stayed in St. Louis and almost finished its new campus, Next NGA West (N2W), various private companies have either sprung up or relocated here. Many hope to win contracts with the agency, and the NGA is interested in collaborating with them, too. Hence its move to set up Moonshot Labs, which it describes as “an unclassified innovation hub and collider space” at the downtown coworking space T-REX.

Yet, as T-REX spokesperson Noah Butler points out, the sensitive nature of the agency’s work—intelligence and combat support—means that contracting with it can be difficult to navigate. So the idea behind GeoConnect is for companies to come in and learn more directly from the NGA about what the possibilities are and how to realize them. 

Butler says this is only the latest of several GeoConnect events. Expect an intimate setting of seven or so tables where entrepreneurs can chat with reps from the NGA’s small business office, Moonshot, T-REX itself, and other groups.

“It’s a way,” he says, “for these businesses to come in, learn, digest, and take away the information they need.”

Why It Matters: Hope burns bright that St. Louis will indeed become a major player in the U.S. geospatial industry. That’s why Saint Louis University, for example, led the charge to launch the Taylor Geospatial Agency and now offers degrees in the field. Today’s event is proof that the NGA wants to support that ecosystem, too.

What’s Next: GeoConnect will take place today from 1–3 p.m. on the fifth floor of T-REX (911 Washington). —Nicholas Phillips

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Sweetie Pie's is planning a return at a new location. Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Today's Top Stories

• Could the Professional Women’s Hockey League expand to St. Louis? (The Athletic): The league will stage a regular-season game at Enterprise Center in March. That game could tell the league how feasible it might be to place an expansion team in the region in the coming years. St. Louis’ central location and its venues could be viewed as points in the region’s favor.
  
  
• Judge OKs $61 million penalty for Ameren after years of illegal air pollution (stltoday): The ruling by Judge Rodney Sippel ends nearly 14 years of litigation between Ameren and the plaintiffs: the U.S. Department of Justice and the Sierra Club. The agreement calls for $36 million to go toward the purchase of electric school buses and $25 million to go toward the purchase of in-home air filters for customers.
  
  
• Sweetie Pie's plans a comeback (SLM): Founder Robbie Montgomery’s plans go beyond the North City restaurant. She wants to incorporate an event space next door and additional commercial and residential projects. Montgomery has also secured options on vacant lots in the surrounding area, hoping to attract other entrepreneurs to join revitalization efforts.
  
  
• Nate’s Kosher Deli will move to Clayton (stltoday): Previously located in the former Kohn’s Kosher Deli space in Creve Coeur, Nate’s hasn't yet announced an opening date for its new location. Its last day of service in Creve Coeur was Sunday.

Watercooler

ON THE RISE

During Wednesday’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment meeting, Cortex president and CEO Sam Fiorello shared additional details about plans to make C2N Diagnostics the anchor tenant of a redevelopment project at the former Goodwill building in Midtown. Fiorello said C2N will occupy “a little under half” of the facility, creating 170 science jobs. Once the building is fully occupied, Fiorello estimates that there will be approximately 400 workers on the site. “That doesn’t include the construction jobs that we’re creating,” Fiorello said.

LEGISLATION

The U.S. Senate has passed the National Geospatial Innovation Hub Advancement Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill will establish the Geospatial Workforce Pilot Program, which could be based at St. Louis’ NGA West. Programming would train potential geospatial workers, and funding would go toward training facilities, instructors, and materials. The NDAA now awaits a signature from President Biden.

CLOCK OUT

Who is the most interesting under-the-radar or emerging business leader in St. Louis and why?

“One of the most interesting leaders is George Worrall of Deep Grain. Not only is he one of the smartest people I have met at the intersection of agriculture science and geospatial, but he has also emerged as one of the region's biggest champions after moving to St. Louis from the United Kingdom and taking advantage of everything our ecosystem has to offer. Have a pint with him—you will learn more than you ever imagined.”

— Andy Dearing, Spatial STL Advisors president

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