News & Issues

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

‘Rock the Red Kettle’ Kicks Off Downtown Holiday Season

By Kevin Collison The downtown holiday season kicks off Friday at the Power & Light District with the fourth annual Rock the Red Kettle, a concert benefiting the Salvation Army. The free, all-ages concert at the Kansas City Live! stage is part of a series of holiday events at venues throughout downtown including Crown Center,…

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Bleed Through chronicles the work of a nonprofit that helps Kansas inmates build their confidence through various artistic mediums, including theater.

Getting Out, Staying Out

Missouri and Kansas are struggling to reduce recidivism, which is a major contributor to overcrowded prisons.

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ArtsBlock Creating a Cultural Haven on Independence Avenue

By Kevin Collison ArtsBlock, a new project near downtown on Independence Avenue, more than lives up to its name by offering places for artists to live and work, as well as an exhibition gallery and art class space for kids. The 38-unit apartment building is part of what’s called The Paseo Gateway redevelopment area on…

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Money buried beneath coffee grounds

Tipping the Scale for a Living Wage Seems Oddly Correct

How much does a barista need to make to live comfortably in Kansas City? That’s what Oddly Correct wanted to calculate.

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Netherland Nearing Completion in Midtown, Rooftop Bar to Offer Wide City View

By Kevin Collison From what will be the rooftop bar and café at the historic Netherland Hotel project near 39th and Main, you’ll enjoy a panoramic view of Kansas City’s River-Crown-Plaza urban nexus. Right now, there’s scaffolding and the beginnings of a canopy on the roof, but by the end of the year, developer Caleb…

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A bracelet honoring Sgt. Larry Welsh of Kansas City, Kansas, who has been missing in action since the Vietnam War.

Remembering The Lost in Vietnam

People across the country still wear bracelets to remember prisoners of war and service members missing in action during the Vietnam War.

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Provocative New Vietnam War Exhibit at WW I Museum Through July

(Editor’s note: The Vietnam War exhibit run at the WWI Museum has been extended to July 26 because of the museum’s temporary closure due to Covid-19 health restrictions) By Kevin Collison An unvarnished account of the Vietnam War, from the Cold War domino theory that hooked the U.S. in the 1950s, to a baby sweater…

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New Hyatt House Adding ‘Sexy Pizza’ to Downtown Skyline

By Kevin Collison Construction is expected to begin within a couple weeks on a 13-story Hyatt House hotel at Ninth and Broadway that plans to introduce ‘Sexy Pizza’ to the downtown skyline. “It’s the food that’s sexy,” developer Scott Pedersen explained. “It’s a great concept and a great fit for the hotel.” Pedersen said the…

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Soldiers heading out on a search and destroy mission during the Vietnam War.

One War Leads to Another

A new exhibit, “The Vietnam War: 1945-1975,” opens at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City on Nov. 8 and runs through next May.

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A sign marks the vehicle of a census enumerator.

Census Bureau Seeks 3,100 Workers for Kansas City-Area Count in 2020

The U.S. Census Bureau is looking to hire about 3,100 people in the Kansas City area for the 2020 population count.

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