Face paint is okay, but what's with the shoulder pads, dude? (Photo: Pat Sullivan | AP)

The Eight Most Annoying Things Fans Do 

We all know the Royals have some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans in baseball. But even the best can go overboard. “Fan,” after all, is short for “fanatic,” and the level of crazy rises as a team gets deeper into the postseason. We all start acting like lunatics. Myself included. Nevertheless, it’s best…

Kim Richter, who runs the tobacco cessation program at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, says her average patient has been smoking for 29 years. (Photo: Dave Ranney | Heartland Health Monitor)

Take 5 for your health

KU Tobacco Cessation Expert Sees ‘Big Disparity In Who’s Smoking And Who’s Dying’ Studies have shown that nearly half of the cigarettes consumed in the United States are smoked by people thought to have a mental illness. At the same time, people who have a mental illness die an average of 25 years earlier than those…

From ‘combine karaoke’ to cursing: The sounds of harvest in the Midwest

How farmers entertain themselves driving a combine cab during Harvest season and what this time of year sounds like on a farm.

Oddly Correct's founder, Gregory Kolsto, offers a simple guarantee: If you don't like your coffee, he'll buy it back. Thing is, you'll probably like it. (Photo: Cole Blaise | Flatland)

Today’s Special | The Hop!Toddy

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with video. For the entire “Today’s Special” series and other digital productions, follow Flatland’s YouTube channel. When Oddly Correct arrived on the coffee landscape five years ago, the independent roaster and coffee shop made a name for itself because of what it would not serve: cream and sugar. Oddly Correct’s founder…

More than a cheap drink, Argentine’s ‘Nest’ is a place of history, community

Snuggled in a corner of 26th Street, behind the train tracks in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, sits a place with a rich history: American Legion Post #213, also known as The Eagles Nest. It’s a place where families gather to cheer on their teammates during baseball tournaments nearby, enjoy each other’s company…

Royals take second-straight AL pennant, and head to World Series

(Associated Press) The Kansas City Royals are headed to the World Series. The Fall Classic begins Tuesday in Kansas City, pitting the Royals against the New York Mets. The Mets won their last World Series crown in 1986, one year after the Royals claimed their lone title. The Royals wrapped up their second straight American League pennant last night by outlasting the Toronto Blue Jays 4-3 in Game 6…

The Fort Morgan Mustangs run a stride, or one length of the soccer field, for each player late to practice. (Photo: Poncie Rutsch | Harvest Public Media)

Bridging the cultural divide through soccer

Fort Morgan is a town of about 11,000 people tucked into the farmland of northeastern Colorado. Among its residents are people of Latino and European ancestry, and more recent immigrants, including refugees from eastern Africa. The town is home to a Cargill meat-packing plant. In areas home to the meatpacking industry across the Midwest, it’s…

Democratic presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives to resume testimony before the House Benghazi Committee, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Photo: Evan Vucci | AP)

Sounding Smarter

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese Communist Party has banned its members from joining golf clubs. Additional rules were announced against “extravagant eating and drinking” and “improper sexual relationships,” proving there ain’t no party like a communist party. Because a communist party is lame. The golf clubs in China, however, sound like…

Seniors party like it’s 1985

Senior citizens at a Royals watch party cheered on the Royals with the same furor one would expect at the Power & Light District.

Bee Sweet mochi

Bee Sweet to debut pie-flavored mochi

It’s like a la mode in every bite. Bee Sweet Ice Cream is set to debut a new ice cream novelty in the next month: pie-flavored mochi. “I love exploring ice cream without dishware,” said Bee Sweet owner Manya Raoufi. “I love the mobility of mochi and that it is such a delicate thing.” Mochi…

Jordan Elder

KC effort aims to snuff out teen smoking

Effort aimed at raising cigarette purchase age to 21

med student with kids

Med students mix volunteerism, fitness in KC’s Historic Northeast

Students from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences are helping train elementary school students for an upcoming 5K

Ira Glass, host and producer for NPR's “This American Life,” brings the show to the Kauffman Center for “Reinventing Radio: An Evening With Ira Glass,” on Saturday. (Credit: Stuart Mullenberg)

The Weekender

Let’s hope the Royals clinch the pennant in Game 6. The team would avoid the stress and peril of a Game 7, plus get an extra day of rest. Frankly, fans could use the break, too. We’d get an extra night to enjoy all the fabulous, non-baseball-centric stuff to do around town. Here’s a few…

The Mighty Handle

90 Seconds With Mighty Handle

Ed’s Note: Flatland and Startland News have partnered to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. This is the fifth and final episode in the series.  Think of Mighty Handle as your digital defender. No, Mighty Handle is not anti-virus software. Rather, the handy, Kansas City-made contraption is a device that can save your fingers from…

Young children playing

Take 5 for your health

Medicaid Mystery: Why Is Coverage Dropping Among Kansas’ Youngest? For two years now, the staff at Kansas Action for Children has been trying to unravel a mystery: Why is Medicaid enrollment dropping among the state’s youngest children? Enrollment of low-income children 1-5 peaked in October 2012 and has been dropping steadily since. Enrollment of infants…