Part #2: We can't contact The Macon County Economic Development Board ...

Nosmo King - Deep Dive Investigation Series ... Part #2

Today 5/28/26 KTVO posted an anonymous survey directed at the citizens of Macon, Missouri. We were going to publish this post next week but then this survey showed up:

MACON, Mo. - Officials in Macon want to hear from the public regarding the city’s downtown area. "Missouri Main Street Connection" and "Mainstreet Macon Downtown Association", a designated Missouri Main Street program, are asking you to fill out a survey that focuses on the downtown. Your answers will help to shape future planning efforts!

The survey closes on Friday, June 26, and it takes less then 5 minutes to complete.

Responses collected will be used by the association to help shape future planning efforts for the downtown area.

Click here for a link to the survey...

In rural Missouri, economic development offices are supposed to stay in the background. Most people never think about them unless a factory closes, a business leaves town, or a major employer announces an expansion.

That is how it is supposed to work.

The office quietly recruits employers, pursues grants, attends regional meetings, markets industrial sites, and tries to keep small counties economically alive while larger cities absorb more jobs, more investment, and more people every year.

But in Macon County, residents have started asking a different question entirely:

Is anyone actually running economic development anymore?

Over the past several weeks, I began looking into Macon County Economic Development after repeated reports from local residents and business owners who described the organization as increasingly absent from public view. Calls were reportedly not being returned. Public communication appeared minimal. Leadership seemed unclear. Even basic questions about who currently directs the organization became difficult to answer.

At first, it sounded like ordinary small-town confusion.

The deeper I looked, the stranger it became.

For years, Sue Goulder served as the public face of economic development in Macon County. Whether people agreed with every project or not, there was little confusion about who represented the organization. Her name appeared consistently at ribbon cuttings, business announcements, regional meetings, and economic development discussions throughout northeast Missouri.

When Goulder resigned, the transition initially appeared routine.

In May of 2024, Laura Bradshaw was publicly announced as the new Executive Director of Macon County Economic Development. Public statements described Bradshaw as an experienced leader returning to help guide economic growth and modernization efforts in Macon County.

For a while, things appeared stable.

Public records show Bradshaw was involved in several major initiatives, including the widely publicized Conagra expansion project that reportedly retained hundreds of local jobs while adding additional positions. She was also connected publicly to Macon’s “Smart Rural Community” designation tied to broadband and fiber expansion initiatives.

Those are not insignificant accomplishments for a rural county.

But somewhere after those announcements, the public trail begins fading.

The organization itself became increasingly quiet. Social media activity slowed. Public visibility declined. Residents I spoke with increasingly described the office as difficult to reach. Some business owners privately questioned whether active recruitment efforts were still taking place at all.

Then came the leadership confusion.

Updated nonprofit records reportedly began identifying Sharon Scott as “Interim Director,” while Laura Bradshaw no longer appeared publicly listed as Executive Director.

What happened after that is still unclear.

Rumors began circulating locally that another replacement may have briefly entered the position before also disappearing after only a short time. At this point, those rumors remain unverified. No official public explanation appears to have been widely released regarding the apparent leadership changes.

That silence has only fueled more speculation.

I began attempting direct contact with Macon County Economic Development to determine who currently runs the organization and what direction the office is taking moving forward.

Phone calls were placed.

Messages were left.

Calls were not returned.

In a major city, that might not mean much. In a rural county where economic development offices are expected to maintain close public relationships with businesses and residents, it becomes much more noticeable.

The deeper issue here is not simply about one director leaving.

The larger concern is whether Macon County Economic Development has become structurally unstable during a period when rural communities are under enormous pressure economically.

Northern Missouri counties are fighting population decline, workforce shortages, housing concerns, healthcare instability, and increasing competition for infrastructure funding and business recruitment opportunities. Counties that fail to aggressively market themselves often disappear from the regional conversation entirely.

Economic decline rarely arrives dramatically.

It arrives quietly.

One empty storefront at a time. One canceled project at a time. One family moving away at a time.

Eventually the silence itself becomes normal.

As this investigation expanded, another pattern also began emerging. Multiple organizations connected to economic development, downtown revitalization, and local business promotion appear tied together through overlapping leadership networks involving:

• Macon County Economic Development,

• Mainstreet Macon Downtown Association,

• Missouri Main Street Connection,

• the Chamber of Commerce,

• and various public-private partnerships.

That overlap does not automatically imply wrongdoing. Small towns often rely on the same handful of active civic leaders to serve on multiple boards and organizations.

But it does raise legitimate public questions about transparency, accountability, and who is actually directing long-term planning decisions inside Macon County.

The investigation also began running into familiar transparency problems.

Why has obtaining ordinary public information become so difficult?

Right now, there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. This investigation is not alleging corruption.

But there is clear evidence of public confusion, leadership instability, declining visibility, and growing frustration surrounding an organization connected to the economic future of Macon County.

The central question now is simple:

Who is actually running economic development in Macon County today?

And why has that become so difficult to answer?

This investigation continues & the amount of unanswered questions is daunting... I am asking for public input & any information shared will be held in confidence & investigated thoroughly . Only confirmed information will be considered in this ongoing investigation.

Regards Fellow Maconites ,

— Nosmo King