City, County & State Officials Tour New Amazon Facility in Sedalia

A group of city, county and state officials toured the new Amazon Delivery Station, located at 5105 West Main Street, on Thursday, April 9.

The event included a complete tour of the 63,00-square-foot facility, which is about the length of one-and-a-half football fields. The group also watched as rows of delivery vans pulled up in formation and were loaded with packages to be sent out for delivery in the Pettis County area and beyond in west-central Missouri.

On average, around 4200 packages from the Sedalia facility are delivered in a 70-mile radius every day. Since opening for business in December, over a half million packages have been delivered out of the facility, situated just north of Highway 50 on the west side of Sedalia.

In addition to Sedalia, there are now similar “last mile” Amazon facilities in Scott City, Brookfield and Maryville. The company says it spent around $4 billion to accomplish that goal.

A highlight of the ribbon-cutting ceremony was a presentation of an oversized $10,000 check from Amazon to Retrieving Freedom.

During his speech, Amazon Operations Manager Jason Appleton, a native of Sedalia, welcomed everyone to Amazon’s first operational site in the State Fair City, referring to as delivery station “WSM9” for short.

Appleton, a graduate of Smith-Cotton High School, noted that he returned to Sedalia to work for Amazon by way of Omaha. He mentioned that he likes to patronize Kehde’s BBQ and Goody’s Steakburgers.

Since opening in December, Amazon has created 150 jobs locally. Appleton also noted that 115 delivery drivers were hired as well as 75 “flex” drivers, bringing the total of new hires to 330 or more who work out of the 63,000 square-foot facility.

Their territory extends to Leeton, Windsor, Glasgow and Warsaw, to name a few small cities in the area.

Household goods, pet products and portable tech items lead the list of goods that are delivered from WSM9.

In addition, over 60 volunteer hours have been donated so far by Amazon workers to such organizations as the Open Door Food Pantry and Thrift Shop.

Andrea Fava of Washington DC, was the next guest speaker at the event. She is the vice president of US Public Policy for Amazon. She has been with the company since March of 2016.

She noted that in addition to the four last-mile facilities already in operation, two more are planned for Monet and St. James later this year.

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Statewide, Amazon employs over 9500 full- and part-time workers, Fava noted.

She then introduced Gov. Mike Kehoe, whom she called “a true champion of good jobs, investment and growth across Missouri.”

According to Gov. Kehoe, the Amazon team has been a real pleasure to for us to work with in multiple markets across the state.

After giving shout outs to Sedalia Mayor Andrew Dawson and Pettis County Presiding Commissioner Bill Taylor, Kehoe singled out EDSPC Executive Director Jessica Craig as “one of the best economic developers I know.”

He added that “I know Sedalia is always out in front and looking for investments and opportunities for its citizens.”

The Missouri governor noted that he only orders items from Amazon if he can’t find it locally. “I’m a local small business guy, I like small business,” he said, adding that Missouri is sixth in the nation for small, family-owned businesses that distribute their products through Amazon.

In his speech, Sedalia Mayor Andrew Dawson credited Chief Building Official Dimitrius Maduros with streamlining the approval process for the new facility and “making it as painless as possible.”

Dawson also credited EDSPC Executive Director Jessica Craig and her team “for creating a shovel-ready site” for Amazon. “Your work, Jessica, is greatly appreciated,” he said.

Dawson then thanked Gov. Kehoe “for creating a state where we have businesses wanting to come here.”

Lastly, Mayor Dawson thanked Amazon Inc., for choosing Sedalia.

News of Amazon’s intentions first surfaced in late February of 2025. The official announcement did not come until April 30 of 2025.

Since then, rumors of drone deliveries from Amazon have come to light.

Amazon announced more layoffs in late January, after announcing cutbacks in October.

According to the County of Pettis:

“It was a great day in Pettis County as the Commission celebrated the ribbon cutting of the new Amazon facility alongside Governor Mike Kehoe, community partners, and local leaders.

This project reflects continued growth in our area and the kind of forward momentum that supports both our workforce and our local economy. It’s exciting to see new opportunities taking shape while strengthening the connections that support everyday life in our communities.

We’re proud to be part of the partnerships that make progress like this possible and look forward to the continued growth it brings to Pettis County.”

According to Missouri Partnership:

The ribbon’s been cut on Amazon.com’s newest last-mile facility in Sedalia, Missouri, marking the company’s first operational site in the community.

This 63,000 sq. ft. facility is already making an impact, with more than 150 jobs created since December. A strong, dedicated local workforce played a key role in bringing Amazon to Sedalia and continues to power its success.

In just a short time, the facility has delivered over half a million products, strengthening last-mile logistics and customer reach across the region.

Economic Development Sedalia-Pettis County worked with several partners to attract Amazon to Sedalia, including: Sedalia-Pettis County Community Service Corporation, City of Sedalia, Pettis County, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Missouri Partnership, Liberty, Evergy, State Fair Community College, and Vantrust Real Estate.