News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Steamboat Arabia Seeks New Quay
curiousKC tapped David Hawley, founder of Steamboat Arabia to help answer a question about the museum’s future.
Kaldi’s Coffee Closes Downtown Location
By Kevin Collison Kaldi’s Coffee closed its location at 12th and Main in the KC Power & Light District Friday, taping a note on the door to patrons expressing its “pleasure serving downtown Kansas City the past six years.” The popular coffee shop hangout in the heart of the central business district, which also featured…
River Market Office Plan Fizzles, KCATA Seeking New Proposals
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has dropped the developer of a proposed River Market office project after four years without progress and will be seeking new proposals soon. Briarcliff Development, which has been pursuing a 200,000 square-foot office project at Third and Grand since 2015, did not have its development agreement renewed…
Uptown Hotel Project Moving Forward in Midtown KC
By Kevin Collison The developers of the Uptown Lofts project are moving ahead with a planned hotel at the corner of Valentine and Broadway at a faster pace than originally envisioned, winning approval for incentives from a city development agency last week. Construction on the 95- to 120-room hotel could begin by the end of…
Family-Friendly PNC Plaza Opens in Power & Light District
PNC Bank is partnering with the Power & Light District to rebrand an outdoor space in the downtown entertainment area “PNC Plaza” and plans to make it a hub for family-friendly activities. The plaza at the base of the H&R Block tower was formerly called Elements Courtyard because of its fountain and fire feature. It’s…
Rec Deck Adds New Level of Fun to Boulevard Beer Hall
By Kevin Collison As if you weren’t having enough fun already at the Boulevard Beer Hall. Starting soon, the historic building that began operations in 2016 is opening its fourth floor as a place where you can play cruise-deck size shuffleboard games and bar-size versions, or just relax and enjoy the downtown view with a…
Kansas Citians Share What Juneteenth Means To Them
On Saturday, vendors transformed 18th Street in Kansas City, Missouri’s, historic Jazz District into a hub of black-owned businesses, doing business to the booming bass pumped out by a DJ spinning a mix of ‘70s funk and ‘90s R&B. The occasion was the city’s JuneteenthKC Heritage Festival, which commemorated Gen. Gordon Granger’s post-Civil War ride…
Lucas Beats Justus In KC Mayor’s Race
Kansas City has a new mayor, and his name is Quinton Lucas. According to unofficial results, Lucas captured 59 percent of the vote in the race against fellow Kansas City Council member Jolie Justus. So, what’s next? Lucas takes office on Aug. 1. Including the primary, the campaign was a long one. So, let’s give…
Beautifying KC’s Low-Income Housing
For Kansas City-based artist Julia Cole, housing for the poorest in town shouldn’t be ugly. So she asked curiousKC if something could be done.
Des Moines Postcard: An East Village Model for Downtown KC
By Kevin Collison Downtown Kansas City has certainly come a long way since its ‘haunted house’ days of the early 2000s, but other smaller, regional cities have been pushing hard reviving their downtowns too. Omaha has been redeveloping its downtown riverfront, Oklahoma City recently opened a downtown streetcar line and Des Moines has been busy…