News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Downtown Marriott Upgrades Rooms, Adds Tech Features
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Marriott Downtown has completed a $44 million upgrade of its 970 guest rooms, preparing for the new competition and opportunity checking in next year when the Loews convention hotel opens. Cynthia Savage, vice president of the Raphael Hotel Group, operator of the Marriott Downtown, believes downtown is well poised…
Troostapalooza Street Fair Celebrates Unity and Creativity on Troost
By Kevin Collison The second annual Troostapalooza, a street festival celebrating “makers” of all kinds and encouraging community spirit along Kansas City’s historic racial divide, is happening tomorrow (Saturday) at 30th and Troost from noon until 7 p.m. The event is a benefit for the Troost Market Collective, an organization aimed at promoting artists, crafts…
Divided City Council Delays Vote on $133M Strata Office Plan
By Kevin Collison Updated Sept. 19: The City Council voted 6-5 Thursday to give the developers of the proposed 25-story Strata office tower another week to return with a plan that substantially reduces or eliminates the city’s credit risk. While several Council members, including Mayor Quinton Lucas and Councilwoman Kathryn Shields, wanted to kill the…
‘Lest We Forget’ Holocaust Exhibit Now at World War I Museum
By Kevin Collison “Lest We Forget,” a traveling Holocaust exhibition that opened in Germany in 2015,has arrived at the National World War I Museum and Memorial at a time anti-Semitism is increasing in the U.S. and white nationalists are fanning intolerance. The outdoor exhibition features 70 large portraits of Holocaust survivors, including seven living in…
“American Graduate: Getting to Work” Talks to Communities Seeking Firefighters
The “American Graduate: Getting to Work” series explores the growing need for firefighters, either as a volunteer or as a full-time career.
In Full Bloom
CuriousKC questioner Sarah Hemme wanted to know which organizations were doing the best job of conserving and preserving green space in the Kansas City area. Once we started out, the trail was anything but cold. There’s a lot work occurring in places like KCMO and Johnson County, Kan.
Historic Board of Ed Building Sold to Copaken Brooks, Demolition Likely
By Kevin Collison The former Board of Education building at 1211 McGee has been sold by the school district to downtown real estate powerhouse Copaken Brooks in a transaction that closed last week. Jon Copaken, principal of the firm, said that while there are no immediate development plans for the 2.5-acre site next door to…
Historic Scarritt Building and Arcade Slated as $50M Luxury Hotel
By Kevin Collison One of downtown’s most historic and architecturally impressive buildings, the Scarritt, has been purchased by a Florida developer who plans to renovate it as a 193-room Wyndham Grand hotel. The 11-story Scarritt office tower at 818 Grand and its adjoining four-level Arcade, which has its entrance at 819 Walnut, were completed in…
Climate Change’s Serious Effects On Kansas Citians Disproportionately Affect The Poor
The discussion about climate change often centers on what increasingly extreme weather will mean for agriculture and the environment. But what about its effect on poverty?
Académie Lafayette Opening IB High School at Armour Campus Next Fall
By Kevin Collison Académie Lafayette is opening an International Baccalaureate high school at 201 E. Armour in Midtown, accomplishing a goal the French-immersion charter school program established when it started 20 years ago. “This is the fulfillment of a dream, our vision,” said M. Elimane Mbengue, head of the school. “Every year, our parents had…