{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-presents-check-thank-you-walt-disney-inc-highlights-local", "Rep. Cleaver Presents Check to Thank You Walt Disney, Inc., Highlights Local Impact of $2 Million in Community Project Funding for the KC IMAGINE Project", "2023-02-24", "2023", "2023-02", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Kansas City, MO) \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) hosted a press conference and check presentation to highlight the $2 million in Community Project Funding he secured for Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. and the KC IMAGINE Project. The funding will be used to restore the historic Laugh-O-Gram Studio for members of the public, strengthen professional development programs, and provide enrichment for the surrounding neighborhood.\n\nThe facility will become a center for digital media training, job creation, and entrepreneurship serving low-income Missourians in the immediate community and the Kansas City metro. Thank You Walt Disney, Inc.\u2019s KC IMAGINE Project is one of fifteen community projects Congressman Cleaver championed and was able to secure nearly $40 million in federal funding for that will directly benefit residents of the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri.\n\n\u201cI am as happy as a Mahomes at Disney the day after a Chiefs Super Bowl win to have secured this federal funding for the rehabilitation of the historic Laugh-O-Gram Studio,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver. \u201cThe efforts of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. to preserve and restore this landmark to its glory for future generations of innovators and entrepreneurs makes a clear statement that Kansas City isn\u2019t some Mickey Mouse town, but a city of great historical significance, at the forefront of innovation and community.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe cornerstone of the Laugh-O-Gram Studio project supports all the rest of a building,\u201d said Butch Rigby, Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. founder. \u201cThis federal funding is the cornerstone to additional streams of funding and the restoration of the studio building.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis building, designed by Kansas City architect Nelle Peters, is of tremendous importance to the history of the Walk Disney Company and the entire Hollywood animation industry,\u201d said Disney Historian and President of Thank You Walt Disney, Inc. \u201cWith Congressman Cleaver\u2019s help, it will become a major asset to not only the Troost community, but the Kansas City community at large.\u201d\n\nEmanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:18:08Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-presents-check-thank-you-walt-disney-inc-highlights-local"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.1975526362657547, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}