Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) calls a play during the first half of the NFL wild-card win against the Houston Texans last Saturday. (Photo: George Bridges | AP)

10 Reasons the Chiefs Could Win Tomorrow

Saturday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs take on the New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs. Even if you aren’t from KC, there are plenty of good reasons to root against the Patriots. They are, after all, the most villainous team in sports. Mostly because they are cheating cheaters who cheat. Granted, almost everybody cheats…

Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., listen as President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. (Photo: Susan Walsh | AP)

Sounding Smarter

This week, two small U.S. naval vessels reportedly entered Iranian territory, close to an important Iranian military base. U.S. Navy said the boats “inadvertently drifted” into Iranian waters due to mechanical failures. In other words, we were totally spying on Iran. Terrorists in Pakistan have begun targeting polio vaccination centers. According to analysts, the radicals…

Audience awaits second candidate to take the stage

Public Quizzes KCPS Superintendent Candidates

Both men vying to be the next superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) stressed Thursday evening how their humble beginnings could help them connect with students in an urban school district. Ronald Gerald Taylor, superintendent of Willingboro (New Jersey) Township Public Schools, noted that his modest upbringing in Detroit and his life experiences make…

The KC United league plays weekly games in an empty field next to a church in western Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo: Alex Smith | Heartland Health Monitor)

Can Restoring Parks Lead To Better Health In Wyandotte County?

Editor’s note: A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in poor or fair health; fewer than…

Lidia Bastianich sits down with Flatland in her KC restaurant in time for Kansas City Restaurant Week. (Video: Dave Burkhardt | KCPT; Video editing: Cole Blaise | Flatland )

5 Questions with Lidia Bastianich

Editor’s Note: Jonathan Bender is founder of the Recommended Daily, a sponsor of Kansas City Restaurant Week. This is not a sponsored post. Lidia Bastianich has been coming into people’s homes for nearly 20 years. But she doesn’t come empty-handed, she always arrives with an easy smile, a few encouraging words, and a bowl of…

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City

Focus on ‘Spotlight’ Film Recalls Local Church Crisis

On Dec. 10, 2004, a few months before Robert W. Finn became bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I interviewed him for The Kansas City Star about the challenges he might face when he replaced the much-loved Bishop Raymond Boland. Finn was coadjutor bishop at the time. Neither Finn nor I, of…

Johnson County Has More Binge Drinking But Wyandotte County Has The Bigger Problem

Editor’s note: A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in poor or fair health; fewer than…

The Weekend Starts Today

Last week, the Chiefs won their first playoff game in, like, forever. This weekend, they’ll try to keep their playoff hopes alive against the mighty, Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. If you want to watch the game along with your fellow fanatics get down to Power & Light. Outside, under the canopy, the team…

Tanesha Horton, 21, of Kansas City, Kansas, says she worries about the health of her son, D'won, who was born in November. (Photo: Alex Smith | Heartland Health Monitor)

Kansas’ Infant Mortality Problem Pushes Experts To Rethink Their Approach

Editor’s note: A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in poor or fair health; fewer than…

The two finalists: Ronald Taylor and Mark Bedell (Credit: KCPS)

KCPS Names Superintendent Finalists

Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) on Tuesday announced the two men in the running to replace former superintendent Stephen Green, who left last year to lead the DeKalb County School District in Georgia. The two finalists are Ronald Gerald Taylor, superintendent of Willingboro Township Public Schools in Willingboro, New Jersey, and Mark T. Bedell, assistant superintendent for…

‘Die Moving Forward.’

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 12, and has been updated with video from the event. Click on the play button above to hear part of the keynote speech from the Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, senior pastor of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York. Who knew that the…

KU Med student Maria Iliakova examines a patient at the free JayDoc clinic in Kansas City, Kansas.

A Growing Gap Between Wyandotte And Johnson Counties: Primary Care Physicians

Crossing to Health A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in fair or poor health; fewer…

group shot of ribbon cutting

A Healthy (Re)Start for Raytown

Technically, it was a ribbon-cutting for a new health facility, but the christening of a new gym and community center in Raytown was more like removing bandages from an old wound. That’s because the facility, at 10301 E. 350 Highway, is housed in a refurbished building that the YMCA of Greater Kansas City closed three…

Worlds Apart: When it comes to health, side-by-side Kansas counties are starkly different

At her home studio in Westwood, Kansas, yoga instructor Marilyn Pace leads a class of 5-to-8-year olds. With the help of songs, games and other kid-friendly teaching methods, she guides her small students through poses like the cobra, the triangle and the downward-facing dog. Tatjana Alvegard takes her daughter, Kaya, to Pace’s classes regularly. “I…

A platter of steaks at a steakhouse in Omaha, Neb. (Photo: Brian Seifferlein | Harvest Public Media file)

Dietary Guidelines Deliver Win for Midwest Meat Industry

New federal guidelines for healthy eating announced Thursday do not urge Americans to eat less meat, delivering a big win to Midwest meat farmers and ranchers. Initial recommendations by scientific advisors suggested Americans could be more environmentally friendly by cutting back on meat. Although the final version of the dietary guidelines issued every five years by the U.S. Departments…