News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
West Bottoms Prison Becoming Probation Transition Center
By Kevin Collison A minimum security state prison in the West Bottoms will become a probation and parole transition center early next year and state officials are vowing the facility won’t be the downtown headache it was a decade ago. “We have a very different philosophy toward corrections and a different executive team,” said Karen…
Once Upon a Time in Missouri: Republican Attorney General Backed Mandatory Vaccination
During a 1921 smallpox outbreak in Kansas City, the state health board required vaccine passports to board trains. The case is pertinent in today’s COVID-19 vaccine debate.
Apartment Plan That Includes Homeless Housing Proposed for Riverfront
The Vecino Group is proposing a 63-unit affordable apartment project that also would include 15 units dedicated to chronically homeless people on riverfront property owned by Port KC. The Springfield-based organization, which also developed a 50-unit affordable apartment project at 31st and Harrison, wants to meet with city planners this week to discuss the $11…
Nick’s Picks | COVID-19 Fights Shadow Busy September Social Calendar
Court fights over COVID-19 vaccines and masks continue even as many gather for popular September cultural events in Kansas City.
Keystone Innovation Concept Makes Real Estate Moves on East 18th Street
By Kevin Collison The Keystone Community Corp. is making its first real estate moves on East 18th Street, intending to occupy a new $20 million office project that could begin construction early next year and participate in renovating a nearby former warehouse building. J.E. Dunn Capital Partners, a partner with Keystone, has submitted a preliminary…
Kansas City PBS Earns 10 Regional Emmy Nominations
Kansas City PBS received 10 nominations for the 2021 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter EMMY Awards.
American Public Square Forum Addresses Rise of Antisemitism
American Public Square recently hosted its latest in a series of forums on race and identity, entitled: “The Rise of Antisemitism From the Left and the Right.”
Barney Allis Rebuild Adds Affordable Housing in City Manager Plan
By Kevin Collison The long saga to revitalize the aging Barney Allis Plaza and its crumbling underground garage has taken another turn, this time due to a new proposal to add 300 units of affordable housing to the mix. City Manager Brian Platt has asked consultants to return to the drawing board for a Barney…
Barney Allis Rebuild Would Include Affordable Housing in City Manager Plan
Plans to revitalize the aging Barney Allis Plaza and its crumbling underground garage have taken another turn, this time due to a new proposal to add 300 units of affordable housing to the mix.
Big Westport Mixed-Use Project Back, Would Include Apartments and Hotel
By Kevin Collison A big Westport apartment and hotel project pitched four years ago is back, with the City Plan Commission quietly approving a master plan development agreement Tuesday for what’s called Westport Terrace at Manor Square. The project would significantly increase the density of the city’s best-known historic neighborhood, adding 220 apartments in two,…