News & Issues

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

New Track for Proposed Freight House Apartment Project

By Kevin Collison The Tracks 215 apartment proposal for the Freight House District, first unveiled in early 2019, has picked up a new developer with a track record of bringing residential projects to fruition. Milhaus, the Indianapolis firm behind the recently-opened Artistry KC apartment project, has joined the project planned for a parking lot next…

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Abstract illustration of two people having a conversation.

How to Actually Have Civil Political Discussions

In a polarizing political moment, productive conversation is possible. Here’s how.

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KC Carryout Challenge Serves Help to Restaurants During Pandemic

Hungry to help the more than 300 restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other purveyors of food and drink in greater downtown? The Downtown Council has launched a three-month campaign beginning today called the KC Carryout Challenge that’s hoping to spur more business for the Covid-threatened industry. “After the holidays, it’s always a tough time for…

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Hospital operating room.

Violence in the Emergency Room

Health care workers are the victims in about half of all workplace assaults, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Emergency room workers are especially vulnerable, and the pandemic is making it worse.

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Broadband fiber

Gigabit Internet is Coming to Rural Missouri and Kansas

Hundreds of thousands of Missourians and Kansans could be getting gigabit internet speeds in coming years thanks to the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

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KC Wellness Club Brings New Age Healing to Downtown

By Kevin Collison Heath Wessling didn’t exactly take the path you’d predict for someone who considers his Kansas City Wellness Club the center for New Age healing in downtown. A native of rural Iowa, Wessling was all business when Cerner, the giant healthcare tech firm, hired him in 2001 to work in management information systems…

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Dads Against Crime

A community activist has formed Dads Against Crime to lend support to fathers of murder victims.

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Riding the Rails Into 2021

By Kevin Collison What a difference a year makes. One year ago, anticipation was high that greater downtown was poised for a major influx of office development including the Strata and Platform Venture projects, and the new Waddell & Reed headquarters. The Loews Convention Hotel was only a few months from opening, new restaurants and…

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Streetcar Land Rush Rolling, Apartment Plan Would Keep Iconic Katz Drug

By Kevin Collison The iconic Katz Drug Store at Westport Road and Main would be saved as the centerpiece of a 192-unit apartment project proposed by a St. Louis firm, the latest streetcar-related development announcement on Main. Lux Living wants to build the six-story apartment project on the surface parking lot behind the historic building…

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Rendering of renovated Katz Drug Store with apartment building behind it.

Streetcar Land Rush: Apartment Plan Would Keep Iconic Katz Drug

The iconic Katz Drug Store at Westport Road and Main Street would be saved as the centerpiece of a 192-unit apartment project proposed by a St. Louis firm, the latest streetcar-related development announcement.

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