News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Lake City Ammo Plant May Reload
Congress has approved language for the National Defense Authorization Act that reverses the previously proposed cuts to small ammunition production at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.
Council Approves Incentives for Fidelity HQ Project at Crown Center
By Kevin Collison An incentive deal for the proposed headquarters of Fidelity Security Life Insurance at 27th and Main sailed through the City Council Thursday despite neighborhood criticism and broader policy concerns about its planned garage. The Council voted 11-1 to approve a tax incentive package valued at about $9 million for the $83.4 million…
Fertilizer Washes off Midwest Farm Fields and Taints Communities’ Drinking Water, Poisons Gulf of Mexico
As rainfall events become more intense and frequent, fertilizers applied to Midwestern farmland wash away, contaminating waterways near and far.
Converge KC Apartments Revive Key Midtown Corner
By Kevin Collison Converge KC, the $46 million apartment project at Valentine Road and Broadway, has transformed a formerly moribund corner with a tired strip mall and parking lot into a dynamic urban addition to Midtown. The 213-unit project was built above what was once Uptown Shoppes, which had its retail space renovated as part…
‘Americans Always Rebuild’: Biden Promotes Infrastructure Investments in Kansas City Speech
President Joe Biden on Wednesday visited the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority to tout the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill he signed into law last month, expected to bring billions in spending on roads and bridges, clean water, public transportation, high speed internet and more to Kansas and Missouri.
Midtown Plaza Project Nears Completion, Second Phase Planned
By Kevin Collison The first phase of the Midtown Plaza apartment project, the renovation of a 1970s office building at 3420 Broadway, is nearing completion with a second phase of the long-delayed development expected to be introduced at City Hall soon. The conversion of the seven-story, former Missouri Gas Energy building into 108 apartments was…
More Than $220 Million Going Toward Water Infrastructure in Kansas and Missouri in 2022
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allocated more than $220 million for 2022 to Kansas and Missouri to upgrade water infrastructure and address environmental injustice.
Missouri Attorney General Tells Schools, Health Departments to End COVID Orders
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt instructed school districts and local public health departments to immediately stop enforcing health orders a judge ruled unconstitutional last month, and warned Tuesday they may face legal action if they fail to do so.
Ability KC Plans Medical Office Building, Retail on Streetcar Route
By Kevin Collison Ability KC wants to build a 3 1/2 story office building and four-level garage at 31st Terrace and Main, the latest big project proposed along the route of the planned streetcar extension from downtown to UMKC. The nonprofit organization, which currently operates the Children’s Center Campus at the southeast corner of 31st…
Sustainability Ambitions Soaring at KCI
Kansas City International Airport plans to have electric buses linking economy parking with its sparkling new terminal recharge wirelessly – on the fly, so to speak – which would make it the first airport in the world with that capability.