News & Issues

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

Crossroads Chiropractor Expands to Serve Growing Downtown Demand for Healthcare

By Kevin Collison Downtown’s fast-growing population and resulting demand for more healthcare services has prompted Crossroads Chiropractic & Wellness to relocate to new space almost twice the size of its original location. The new 5,000 square-foot clinic at 1808 McGee St. opened last October, eight years after Dr. Jessica Taylor D.C. decided to take a…

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Tameko Davison helping with homework

The Cost of Churn: Evictions Hinder Classroom Progress for Kids

Tameko Davison’s children were well into the routine of a school year when turmoil intervened in the form of an eviction notice. Davison fell behind on payments, and the gas was shut off to her government-subsidized apartment in Kansas City. That violated a Kansas City Housing Authority rule and caused her to lose her rent…

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Downtown Council Celebrates with Urban Heroes and Slow Jam

By Kevin Collison The resurgence of downtown Kansas City, from its dark days 20 years ago to a vibrant place that was “Amazon’s loss,” was celebrated last week at events hosted by the Downtown Council. About 1,000 people attended the organization’s annual luncheon Friday at the Bartle Hall Grand Ballroom. Four Urban Heroes were honored…

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UMKC Downtown Conservatory Plan Collapses After Losing Key Funding

By Kevin Collison In a major setback to downtown’s cultural ambitions, the planned UMKC Downtown Conservatory has suffered a fatal financial blow, losing a $20 million private pledge essential to building the project, according to sources familiar with the endeavor. The sources told CityScene KC that the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation has withdrawn its $20…

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Folly Theater Fundraising for Ambitious Improvement Plan and Endowment

By Kevin Collison The historic Folly Theater, a downtown cultural jewel for 118 years, is in the middle of its most ambitious fundraising and improvement program since it was spared the wrecking ball in 1981. “We knew we needed to grow,” said Gale Tallis, executive director. “There was a beautiful renovation in 1981, but things…

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Urban Youth Academy

Truman Rd and The Paseo | Four baseball fields, indoor baseball academy | Cost: $52.5 million | Opened Spring 2018

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Messenger Coffee

1624 Grand Ave. | 16,000 square foot coffeeshop, roasting, bakery | Cost: unknown | Opened October 2017 [adsanity id=”4180″ align=”alignnone” /]

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Habashi House

309 Main St. (City Market) | Middle Eastern | Tu-Sa 10:30-8pm; Su 10:30-5pm; Mo 10:30-2pm | 4.5/5 stars with 198 reviews on Yelp | <$10

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Beignet

307 Main St. | Cajun and Creole cafe and bakery | Tu-Fri 10-8pm; Sa 8-8pm; Su 8-6pm; Closed Mon. | 4.7/5 stars with 368 reviews on Yelp    

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Image of new development

Vote! What Would You Like Us to Cover in Our Reporting?

As we dig into housing issues in our months-long Public Works? A Level Foundation reporting initiative, we want you to share your questions with us and weigh in on what you think we should tackle. Below is our first voting round with three questions from curious Kansas Citians. Tricia Bushnell asked what percentage new developments…

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