• Chase Card Services is in the process of hiring for 400 new entry level jobs.

• John Deere Shared Services is planning an $11.5 million expansion at its Springfield facility.  The company was approved to receive more than $341,000 in Enhanced Enterprise Zone tax credits to expand its Springfield factory. The expansion will create 75 jobs.

• Springfield's metropolitan statistical area population has grown faster since 2000 than any other MSA in the state, according to annual population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

• The city of Springfield received a grant of more than $1.3 million that will allow for the addition of 13 firefighters. The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will fund the positions for two years, after which the city will pick up the cost.

• Drury University's Breech School of Business Administration received initial accreditation of its business degree program from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Fewer than 5 percent of business schools worldwide have earned the accreditation.

• The Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) approved the designation of a second Enhanced Enterprise Zone (EEZ) in Springfield and Greene County. This new zone significantly expands Springfield’s capability to offer incentives to new and existing companies that are creating jobs and making new investment in our area.