men celebrating

Round One: Teamsters

After months of uncertainty about their future, local truckers held a rally Monday morning at Teamsters Local Union 41 in Kansas City celebrating the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to reject Central States Pension Fund’s application to reduce pensions for more than 400,000 current and retired truck drivers. On Friday, Kenneth Feinberg, an attorney appointed by…

children playing

Take 5 For Your Health

Kansas Action For Children CEO Leaving For Job In Nebraska Shannon Cotsoradis, president and CEO of Kansas Action for Children, is stepping down after 19 years at the nonprofit advocacy organization. Cotsoradis is leaving to assume “a leadership role” at the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative, LLC, according to a KAC news release issued Monday morning….

Shakespeare First Folio, 1623. Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library

Summer of Shakespeare in KC

In 1623, a couple of guys got together and self-published some work by a dead friend of theirs named William Shakespeare.   Four hundred years later, this piece of “vanity publishing” is considered to be the crown jewel of our Western canon.   Shakespeare’s First Folio, as it is now known, is one of the…

Three generations of women

When Your Business Partner is Mom

French Culinary Institute-trained pastry chef Natasha Goellner is embarking on a new adventure this summer, her new food truck Cirque de Sucre. This “circus of sugar” will feature French macarons, treats, and high-end ice cream in the hope of delighting foodies around the Kansas City area and beyond. And in her corner Goellner has found the perfect business partner…

A school lunch tray with food

A Matter of Taste: Why Congress May Back Off New School Lunch Standards

Schools across the U.S. served more than 5 billion meals in the national school lunch program to millions of students last year. Each one of the meals has to meet federal rules for nutrition. Now, those rules are up for debate and Congress could impose changes on the cafeteria. School lunch was transformed by the…

Order Up | Snow & Co.’s Purple Rain

Order up is a new regular series that takes a layered look at drinks and eats across Kansas City. Got a dish you think we should feature? Drop us a note below or on Twitter @FlatlandKC. 

A shot of Drasko's food truck.

Kansas Food Truck Festival and Other Weekend Possibilities

Dive into the food truck scene at the third-annual Kansas Food Truck Festival from 4 to 10 p.m. on Saturday in Lawrence’s Warehouse Arts District. The Craft Collective will have art for sale, more than 20 food trucks will be in attendance, and there will be a bouncy house alongside live entertainment (everything from Maria…

‘It’ll be devastating.’

More than a quarter of a million Teamsters and their spouses are facing the very real possibility that their pensions may be reduced up to 70 percent by July 1st, as they await a decision by the United States Treasury Department on the matter this weekend. Managed by the Central States Pension Fund, which handles…

A group of young musicians

Sympathetic Vibrations | Your Guide to the Bottom of the Bill

Yesterday kicked off the music leg of Kansas City’s sixth-annual Middle of the Map Fest, a music, film and forum festival that bears a not-so-coincidental resemblance to Austin’s South by Southwest. The two-week fest is something of a crown jewel for Kansas City’s arts scene, showcasing more than 25 films and 100 bands throughout 11…

Three filmmakers talking on the street

Meet the Young Filmmakers Going ‘Beyond Belief’

Above a shop in the Crossroads Arts District a group has assembled with video equipment to venture out for street reporting. “Where do you guys want to go?” Lisa Marie Evans asks the others. She lives in the space adorned with framed artwork that has a sophisticated balance of welcome and edge. “P & L,”…

A dancer mid-flight

The Weekend Starts Today

It’s Mother’s Day weekend. So, for goodness’ sake, pre-order those flowers, and make those brunch reservations now. Better yet, take mom out to see one of the great cultural events happening around our city. We’ve culled the best for her (and you) below. With May underway, it’s time for a First Friday in the Crossroads….

A picture of Brandon Simpson.

Jazzy B’s To Open Brick-And-Mortar Restaurant in Lee’s Summit

Food truck entrepreneur Brandon Simpson, owner-operator of Jazzy B’s, has plotted a route to open his first full-service restaurant in Lee’s Summit. He plans to open the restaurant in the former location of Pork-N-Pit BBQ (1803 N.E. Colbern Road) by the second week of June, if plans and permits proceed according to schedule. Meanwhile, Simpson…

Take 5 For Your Health

In Missouri, 300,000 Patients’ Dental Care Is In Limbo As State Struggles To Fund Coverage Earlier this year, 69-year-old Aneita McCloskey needed her two front teeth filed down and capped. “They were kind of worn down, and they were also getting little tears and cavities,” she recalls. Without dental insurance, McCloskey is on the hook…

A tractor in a field

For Farmers, Every Planting Season is a High Stakes Bet

Near Alexander, Iowa, on a cloudy spring Tuesday, Josh Nelson watches a bright red Case IH Magnum tractor pull a 24-row planter and crest a small hill, dropping corn seed at careful intervals. Nelson says his family farm dodged a weather bullet this week, but it’s just one of many hurdles this season promises. Planting…

A brooding woman on a couch

Why You Should Care About OriginKC New Works Festival at The KC Rep

All spring, the OriginKC New Works Festival has been helping to build the city’s theater scene with events like Playwright Slams and the Monday Night Playwright Series. This weekend, the festival culminates with the opening of two full-length plays. Yes, two. The Rep is simultaneously staging a pair of dramatic works, presented in a rotating repertory from…