News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
School of Economics Opens Downtown Program for City Kids
By Kevin Collison A program that’s been educating tens of thousands of suburban fifth and sixth graders about the business world for 25 years has opened a new downtown space to serve city kids. The School of Economics, a program launched in Blue Springs in 1994, is now open for class in a 4,000 square-foot…
Irish Fest Plans a ‘Mix Tape’ Finale for This Year’s Annual Weekend Party
By Kevin Collison This year’s 17th annual Irish Fest had a dilemma. For the first time since its soggy inception in 2003 at Berkley Riverfront Park, the festival’s favorite band, The Elders, wouldn’t be performing. “Obviously, The Elders are gone, which means we’re looking for a new tradition,” said Keli O’Neill, whose firm produces the…
‘Best-in-Class’ Entertainment Venue Planned for Plaza’s Jack Henry
(Editor’s note: Denver-based Punch Bowl Social announced in November 2019 it would be the tenant for this project) By Kevin Collison The vacant Jack Henry building at 47th and Jefferson is slated for a $44 million renovation to ready it for a hot entertainment tenant that would be new to the Kansas City market, according…
Kansas City-Area Foundations Fund 2020 Census Push
With billions of dollars at stake, a group of Kansas City-area foundations is funding an effort to ensure the most accurate count possible in next year’s federal census. The initiative comes in the form of the Metro Kansas City Census Equity Fund, with grants of as much as $10,000 now available to nonprofits focusing on…
Streetcar-Linked Affordable Housing Incentive Plan On Track for City Hall
By Kevin Collison A proactive approach to encourage making affordable housing part of the redevelopment boom anticipated along the planned streetcar extension route is on track for City Hall. The proposed Midtown Affordable Housing PIEA Plan was endorsed recently by the board of that development agency and is expected to be reviewed by the City…
Apartment Project with Affordable Units Proposed for Riverfront
By Kevin Collison Prairie Fire Development is proposing a $15 million apartment project with up to 75 units, more than half reserved as affordable, on a small site near Berkley Riverfront Park. The developer is seeking affordable housing tax credits from the Missouri Housing Development Commission and tax incentives from Port KC, and if successful,…
Denver-based Snooze Coming to Westport Early 2020
The “Denverization” of Westport is continuing with the planned opening early next year of Snooze, a breakfast place that will occupy a building under construction at 4140 Broadway next to Ale House. The new restaurant, its full name is Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, will join 38 other Snoozes around the nation operated by the Denver-based…
Teachers Gain Insights To Workplaces Through Northland Program
For teachers, the classroom is their workplace. They can definitely lend that experience to a student who wants to go into education. But what about the kid that wants to pursue architecture or the multitude of other fields? That’s where the Northland CAPS Teacher Academy comes in. The program introduces teachers to working professionals who…
Quixotic Bringing Extended Cabaret Run to Crown Center This Fall
By Kevin Collison Quixotic, the dazzling Kansas City-based troupe best known for its singular performances, is staying put for two months this fall at Crown Center for an extended “cirque-style” cabaret run. The new show is called “Sensatia” and it’s billed as a “multi-sensory experience that tells the tale of two uninspired artists–a mechanical ballerina…
Central Baptist Theological Seminary On The Rebound
When Molly T. Marshall became president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary here in 2004, this was the inside joke among board members: “We flipped her the keys to the Titanic.” No wonder. The American (not Southern) Baptist school, then at 31st and Minnesota in Kansas City, Kansas, was broke, physically falling apart and down to…