News & Issues

Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.

KC Water's chief plant operator Kevin Herman gives a tour of the "Sludge House" and machinery that sifts through the waste. (Vicky Diaz-Camacho | Flatland)

Inside the Sludge: How Experts Run COVID Wastewater Testing

Flatland takes you behind the scenes of a two-year project that tracks COVID in wastewater.

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Oracle Closing Former Cerner World Headquarters in North Kansas City

By Kevin Collison Oracle is pulling the plug on the former world headquarters of Cerner in North Kansas City, relocating its employees to its Innovations Campus in south Kansas City. “In order to provide employees with the best environment in which to work and collaborate, we are consolidating our workforce into the recently expanded Innovations…

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The former Cerner Corp. headquarters in North Kansas City.

Oracle Closing Former Cerner World Headquarters in North Kansas City

Oracle is pulling the plug on the former world headquarters of Cerner in North Kansas City, relocating its employees to its Innovations Campus in south Kansas City.

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Nick Haines

Nick’s Picks | Farewell to a Former Mayor, Halloween and the Midterm Election

Nick’s Picks this week range from the funeral for former Kansas City Mayor Charles B. Wheeler to Halloween and issues on the ballot in the upcoming election.

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Thirsty? Your Hoppy Guide to the Downtown KC Craft Beer Scene

(Editor’s note: This article was last updated Dec. 26, 2022) Kansas City’s downtown craft beer scene traces its hoppy roots back to Nov. 17, 1989. That’s the date John McDonald, founder of Boulevard Brewing, delivered his first keg of Pale Ale to Ponak’s Mexican Kitchen just a few blocks down the road on Southwest Boulevard….

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Green Dirt Farm Bringing Café and Cheese to East Crossroads

By Kevin Collison It’s a big transition from the gentle hills outside Weston to the post-industrial vibe of the East Crossroads, but Sarah Hoffman believes her hospitality and green approach to making cheese will find a great second home there. It also helps to have a lot of microbreweries and craft distillers in the new…

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Democrat Chris Mann and Republican Kris Kobach on the debate stage.

Kobach, Mann Spar Over Proper Role of Kansas Attorney General

Kansans will get a vastly different approach to enforcing the state’s laws depending on whether they choose Kris Kobach or Chris Mann as the state’s next attorney general.

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Panelists on stage at "The Politics of Generation Z" event.

Young Panelists Discuss the Politics of Gen Z

Folks of all ages gathered Tuesday evening to ponder the politics of Generation Z.  The KC Media Collective hosted “The Politics of Generation Z,” a panel discussion moderated by Celisa Calacal of KCUR 89.3 in Pierson Auditorium on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The four panelists were true to their generation –…

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Fundraising for Hospital Hill Project Gets $30M Boost from Sunderland Foundation

A planned new teaching facility for UMKC medical and dental students on Hospital Hill has taken a big stride forward with a $30 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation. The donation for the $120 million project was announced last week at an event attended by Gov. Mike Parson. Earlier this year, the state approved $40…

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Mending Our Broken Heart: Can We Fix It? Downtown Needs Triad of Support for Revival

“Downtown KC: Mending Our Broken Heart,” was a groundbreaking series originally published by The Kansas City Star 20 years ago this month. It was written by former staffers Jeffrey Spivak, Kevin Collison and Steve Paul, with photographs by Rich Suggs. It was edited by former deputy national editor Keith Chrostowski. CityScene KC thanks The Kansas City…

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