News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Nick’s Picks | Crime and Punishment, Infrastructure and Holidays
Nick Haines offers a look at the week ahead in Kansas City. Veterans Day, big trials, COVID vaccine for children and the new federal infrastructure bill top the news.
Union Station to Shine with $5M ‘Largest Single Gift’
By Kevin Collison Union Station has hit the donor jackpot with a $5 million gift from the Sunderland Foundation, a windfall that will greatly enhance the grand building restored with the help of metro voters in 1999. “It’s the largest, single gift we’ve received since reopening as a donor gift,” said George Guastello, Union Station…
Persistence Bears Fruit at 2000 Vine Redevelopment
(Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Aug. 20.) By Kevin Collison The developers of the 2000 Vine historic redevelopment are beginning to taste the fruits of their hard work over the past three years, but are candid describing how tough it can be doing projects on the East Side. “It’s become painfully clear and…
‘Highway to Hemp’: Fledgling Industry Struggles to Take Root
Growing industrial hemp has proven riskier and more difficult than many farmers in Kansas and Missouri initially expected.
Federal Grand Jury Subpoenas Sought Records from Missouri Medical Marijuana Regulators
Twice last year a federal grand jury demanded the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services turn over records pertaining to the medical marijuana program.
Historic Mason Building on Grand Could Become $11M Boutique Hotel
By Kevin Collison The historic Mason Building, now an inconspicuous office building wedged along Grand Boulevard, could become a 35-room boutique hotel, bar and restaurant if plans being pursued by a St. Louis developer come to fruition. Metropolitan Build has submitted preliminary inquiries at City Hall to determine whether the old building could become the…
Kansas Meatpacking Workers Fueled an Economic Boom, But Many Need Food Pantries to Get By
Four decades after Garden City’s meatpacking boom began, the southwest Kansas town is still strained by growing pains. And its prosperity remains uneven.
Taco Bell Cantina Ringing Soon in Westport
Taco Bell’s spiced up “Cantina” concept is coming to Westport, which means you’ll be able to have a beer with your bean burrito and, if turns out to be like the one in Nashville, listen to live music. Work is underway for a 2,500 square-foot Taco Bell Cantina at the southeast corner of Broadway and…
On Top of $1 Billion Fallout from February Cold Snap, Natural Gas Prices Expected to Climb this Winter
After a historic cold snap depleted natural gas reserves in February, prices for heating could be as much as 30% higher this winter, prompting concerns about increasing bills for Kansas and Missouri customers.
St. Louis Gets First Urban Target, Can KC Be Far Behind?
By Kevin Collison The announcement last week Target plans to open one of its smaller urban stores as part of a midtown St. Louis development has prompted renewed speculation about when the chain plans something similar here. Perhaps as early as next year, according to real estate sources, although exactly where in Kansas City’s “River-Crown-Plaza”…