curiousKC
Big Tree “A Living Monument” in Old Northeast
After Ben Jones moved into a house in Northeast Kansas City, he
Bringing Out the Dead: The Great Stockyard Fire of 1917
One of the biggest agricultural disasters in Kansas City history occurred in 1917, when a fire scorched the stockyard in the West Bottoms, leaving thousands of dead cattle and hogs charred in its wake.
In Kansas and Missouri, Immigrants are Rooted in the Agriculture Workforce
This curiousKC report looks at immigrant labor in agriculture today and its history. We spoke with an economist, an immigration attorney and former farmworker to learn more.
Tiny Toys, Big Museum
The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures in Kansas City has more tiny items than visitors might imagine.
Backers Continue Push for a Walt Disney Museum in Kansas City
Speeding up or down 31st Street at Forest Avenue, it’s easy to miss the wall-sized mural, “Thank You, Walt Disney.” That location was once the Laugh-O-Gram Studio, Disney’s first professional film studio and apartment, which lasted for only one year in 1923. However, in the past 20 years or so, an organization called “Thank You,…
The Story Behind Naming a Restaurant “Sambo’s”
The curiousKC team explores the history behind the naming of the Sambo’s restaurant chain, which once had more than 1,100 locations across the country.
In Full Bloom
CuriousKC questioner Sarah Hemme wanted to know which organizations were doing the best job of conserving and preserving green space in the Kansas City area. Once we started out, the trail was anything but cold. There’s a lot work occurring in places like KCMO and Johnson County, Kan.
Climate Change’s Serious Effects On Kansas Citians Disproportionately Affect The Poor
The discussion about climate change often centers on what increasingly extreme weather will mean for agriculture and the environment. But what about its effect on poverty?
Push is Underway in Kansas City to Make the 2020 Census Count
Local organizations, such as the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) in the Kansas City area, and national philanthropic groups, such as the Funders Census Initiative 2020, or FCI, are mobilizing to promote a complete count during the upcoming census.
Pondering Tom Pendergast’s Complicated Legacy
Boss Tom Pendergast long ago earned a place on any list of the most influential people in Kansas City history. His legacy, though, is rather mixed.