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JACC to open up Newman Innovation Center, host all Day Remote Workers celebration

According to the 2021 data from the US Census Bureau, between 2019 and 2021, the number of people primarily working from home tripled from 5.7% (roughly 9 million people) to 17.9% (27.6 million people).

Later this week, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce will hold an event highlighting Remote Workers. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

On the heels of a report by the Wall Street Journal last month that ranked Joplin second in the country to work remotely, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce will host an all-day event Wednesday specifically focused on that workforce.

The event, called Where We Working Wednesday, will celebrate and bring together remote workers and highlight remote work resources in the Joplin area.

The event will include an open house at the Joseph Newman Innovation Center (NIC), which offers month-to-month office rentals and coworking spaces.

On Wednesday, the Invocation Center will be open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.

During this time, the public is invited to tour the building and take advantage of complimentary Day Passes to experience the coworking spaces and their accompanying amenities for free.

That same report from the Wall Street Journal named Springfield the best place to work remotely in the US, while St. Louis was ranked 18th. For 89 9 KRPS News, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro

Since 2017 Fred Fletcher-Fierro has driven up Highway 171 through thunderstorms, downpours, snow, and ice storms to host KRPS’s Morning Edition. He’s also a daily reporter for the station, covering city government, elections, public safety, arts, entertainment, culture, sports and more. Fred has also spearheaded and overseen a sea change in programming for KRPS from a legacy classical station to one that airs a balance of classical, news, jazz, and cultural programming that better reflects the diverse audience of the Four States. For over two months in the fall of 2022 he worked remotely with NPR staff to relaunch krps.org to an NPR style news and information website.

In the fall of 2023 Fred was promoted to Interim General Manager and was appointed GM in Feburary of 2024.