News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
City Council Narrowly Approves Waddell HQ Design Despite Objections by Neighborhood, City Planners
(Updated: Citing the late Kenny Rogers tune “The Gambler,” Mayor Quinton Lucas cast the deciding vote in a 7-6 City Council decision to approve the design and development plan of the Waddell & Reed headquarters project late Thursday afternoon. With several Council members expressing disapproval of the controversial design during deliberations and seeking to send…
Kansas City Braces for Big Financial Blow From Pandemic
A Brookings Institution analysis suggests Kansas City’s municipal budget may be particularly vulnerable to a recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kansas City Restaurants Experiment, Adapt to Survive Amid Pandemic
Flatland features some of the most creative strategies deployed by Kansas City restaurateurs to survive the COVID-19 outbreak.
Downtown Marriott Goes Dark, Metro’s Biggest Covid Hospitality Casualty
By Kevin Collison Metro Kansas City’s largest hotel, the 970-room Downtown Marriott, has gone dark until at least May 11 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the biggest local casualty of the collapse in the national hospitality industry caused by the virus. The 22-story hotel, known for the vivid LED lighting displays splashed across its broad…
Securing the Cornerstone of the Johnson County Land Boom
The Overland Park Historical Society is moving into arguably the most historic building in Overland Park – the 1906 depot built by railroad entrepreneur William Strang, Jr.
Age of Coronavirus: Deciding Who Lives… And Who Dies
Kansas City area health care providers are pondering the hardest question – deciding who lives and who dies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Building Restrooms Closed, Downtown Council Organizes Relief for Homeless
By Kevin Collison With so many downtown private and public building restrooms closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s practically impossible for homeless people to find a place to relieve themselves with dignity. That’s why the Downtown Council, along with the City Parks, Public Works and Housing Departments and the Streetcar Authority, have opened 20…
The Gene: The KC Connection
In conjunction with Ken Burns’ latest documentary, “The Gene: An Intimate History,” Kansas City PBS is exploring local connections to genetic science and some ethical questions raised by exploration of the human genome.
Tap List | Many Breweries Face Closure Due to COVID-19
New Brewers Association surveys indicate that more than half of U.S. breweries face permanent closure if current conditions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak persist.
New Fundraiser Launched to Help Hard-Hit Restaurant, Bar Workers
The organizers of Curbside KC have added a new item to their menu for helping restaurant and other hospitality workers hit hard by the business restrictions forced by the Covid-19 crisis. Kansas City Runs on Hospitality is a fundraising effort that hopes to raise $100,000 to help out-of-work and/or underemployed restaurant and bar workers by…