News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
CDC Confirms Kansas Mask Mandates Helped Reduce COVID-19 Infections
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published new research that reaffirms mask mandates helped slow the spread of COVID-19 in Kansas’ largest counties.
Mercury Room Lifts Downtown Cocktail Scene to New Level
By Kevin Collison The Mercury Room cocktail lounge has opened its glamorous perch atop the new 14-story REVERB apartment building in the Crossroads with sky-high views of downtown and lofty drink prices to match. The latest creation from the team that brought The Monarch at the Plaza and Verdigris in Leawood’s Park Place is a…
Affordable Apartment Proposal Would Bring More Bark to Berkley
By Kevin Collison The organization behind The Grooming Project, a non-profit that provides career training in dog grooming for impoverished single parents, wants to open another school on the riverfront as part of an affordable apartment project. EPEC, which stands for Empowering the Parent to Empower Children, is applying for state low income housing tax…
Goodbye Big Bird: Pandemic Thanksgiving Drives Demand for Small Turkeys
The COVID-19 pandemic is prompting families to downsize Thanksgiving feasts, which is driving demand for smaller turkeys.
Turning Data to Dialogue: Police Stop Data and the Search for Solutions
Missouri has some of the nation’s most comprehensive and longstanding data on police traffic stops. Yet for all of the tallying and annual reports and statements of concern, little has changed.
Calling students, teachers and parents: What questions do you have about the future of education?
Teachers, parents and students, send us your education questions. Our engagement team will report on the stories that matter to you.
Ambassador Hotel Opens 1930s Style Jazz and Supper Club
Kansas City jazz great Lonnie McFadden has opened a club beneath the Ambassador Hotel that includes an option for patrons to enjoy a three-course meal and listen to the show during the early evening sessions. The new Lonnie’s Reno Club opened earlier this month at the Ambassador at 1111 Grand. The name comes from the…
How Reverse Mortgages Backfire in Low-Income, Minority Neighborhoods
Reverse mortgages can backfire in low-income and minority neighborhoods if homeowners don’t account for property tax and insurance payments.
Indy Developer Teaming with Local Nonprofit on Riverfront Affordable Housing Proposal
By Kevin Collison Flaherty & Collins, the developer of the $72 million Union Berkley Riverfront apartment project, is teaming with a local nonprofit on a proposal to build a 124-unit affordable housing development next door. The Indianapolis-based developer is working with Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corp. on the proposed $22 million Heritage Lofts project at…