News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Resurgence in Local Bookstores Builds Cultural Communities
Kansas City is joining a recent surge in independent bookstores that seek to build cultural communities through programming.
No More Daily Nada
By Kevin Collison Our Daily Nada, the River Market bookstore and café inspired by a Hemingway short story, has closed its doors after operating less than two years. The commercial creation of a pair of attorneys, Andrea Back and Amy Covitz, sparked a lot of enthusiasm, but failed to generate enough business to make the…
Immigration Advocates Battle Proposed Shelter on Troost
Kansas City immigrant rights advocates are opposing a proposal to open a center for undocumented minors in a vacant hospital building.
New Loews Offers Spectacular Downtown Views, Luxury Accommodations
(Editor’s note: Updated May 14: Loews has announced June 1 as the new opening date for its KC Convention Center Hotel. The following is a statement from Loews: “Loews Hotels & Co is thrilled to announce that they will officially open the new Loews Kansas City Hotel on June 1, 2020. “Becoming an integral part…
Nick’s Picks: A Peek at the Week in News
‘Kansas City Week in Review’ host Nick Haines outlines the news agenda in the Kansas City area.
Downtown Homeless Shelter On Brink of Closure
(Editor’s note: This article originally was posted on the Flatland KC website) By Mike Sherry People who work to eliminate homelessness say the service network is like a chain–if one link fails, the whole system breaks. It is of little value, for instance, to walk somebody back from a psychotic episode or an alcohol bender…
Open Sessions Builds a Community of Black Creatives in Kansas City
Breasia Hayeshas has created Open Sessions, a bi-weekly open mic night at the Buffalo Room in Westport that is focused on black artists and performers in Kansas City, Missouri.
REVERB Loses Some Verve
By Kevin Collison REVERB, the 14-story apartment tower scheduled to open this summer in the Crossroads, has lost some style on its east side in a revised plan endorsed Wednesday by a Council committee, disappointing city planners. “The approved plan made a striking impression on the emerging Crossroads skyline,” a city planning report observed. “As…
Downtown Homeless Shelter On Brink of Closure
reStart’s 90-bed downtown homeless facility is on the brink of closure unless it gets a last-minute financial bailout.
MoDOT Recommends New O’Neil Bridge Option, Direct Access to I-35 and Bike/Pedestrian Provision
By Kevin Collison A new Buck O’Neil Bridge that would provide a direct connection between U.S. 169 and Interstate 35, and include a 10-foot path for bicycles and pedestrians is the preferred choice of the Missouri Department of Transportation. A public hearing has been scheduled by MoDOT for March 10 at the Mid-America Regional Council…