News & Issues

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

Meagan Black stands in front of the trees that block the tower on top of the grain elevator in Paola, Kansas, on March 29,

Life in the (Internet) Slow Lane

Broadband access is hard to come by in large parts of Kansas due to lack of infrastructure.

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Global Table Fundraiser Includes Two City Market Restaurants

Two City Market restaurants, the Blue Nile and The Bite, are included in this year’s annual Global Table event to spotlight immigrant contributions to Kansas City and raise funds for the Jewish Vocational Service. Each Monday in May, the JVS has organized a carryout cuisine event at four restaurants owned by immigrants. This is the…

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Kansas Citians sent curiousKC three questions about mental health during the pandemic. Now, the community votes on which one our reporters investigate first.

curiousKC | Vote on 3 Big Questions About Mental Health

You sent curiousKC three big questions about the community’s mental health. Which one do you want us to report first?

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Nick Haines

Nick’s Picks | Vaccination Free-for-All, Earnings Tax Vote and Medicaid Expansion

Nick Haines gives you a look at the week ahead in Kansas City.

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Maxus Files Apartment Proposals Ahead of Stricter Incentive Policies

By Kevin Collison A proposal to convert the former AT&T building at 500 E. Eighth St. into a 283-unit apartment project specializing in work-live space has been filed by Maxus Properties with the a city development agency. Maxus acquired the 1973 office tower three years ago and originally intended to upgrade it for modern office…

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New Kirk Family YMCA ‘Flagship’ for Metro Association

By Kevin Collison Downtown’s new “flagship” YMCA is ready for action, but unless you’re a kid, you won’t be swimming, working out, playing basketball or participating in a myriad of other healthy activities until later this year. That’s because the Y leadership is doing a gradual roll out of their new $35 million Kirk Family…

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"Our goal as a coffee shop and our goal as Asian Americans is to have unity with Asian people here and people of other colors to unify everybody," said Cafe manager Madoka Koguchi. (Nicole Dolan | Flatland)

Kansas City’s Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Makes Itself Heard

Kansas City’s vigil at Cafe Cà Phê to grieve the victims of the Atlanta shooting sought to create the intimacy and the reverence of an at-home vigil in a space large enough to fit the whole Asian American-Pacific Islander community.

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Rau Construction Relocating HQ to West Bottoms from OP

By Kevin Collison Rau Construction is relocating its headquarters from Overland Park to the West Bottoms, returning to its Kansas City roots where the family-owned firm was founded in 1905 after migrating from Germany. “We’re high on the West Bottoms,” said Dan Meyer, Rau president. “We think it’s the new up and coming area, and…

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Educators are crying out for better mental health support and resources, a need amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers in an Overwhelmed Education System Talk Mental Health

Nearly 58% of educators say they have poor mental health. That was pre-pandemic. What about now?

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Office Tower Proposed at New 27th and Main Streetcar Stop

By Kevin Collison An $83.4 million office tower is in the works for vacant property owned by Crown Center near the planned 27th and Main streetcar stop. A preliminary plan for what appears to be a 12- to 14-story tower on a site northeast of 27th and Main has been filed with the Kansas City…

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