News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Which Schools Are Integrated?
Lisa Gooden was set on finding the right school for her children in Kansas City. The choices were complex — public, private, charter, signature — but she felt good about all the buildings she visited. There were probably a dozen or so public elementaries within a couple miles of her neighborhood, so she didn’t understand…
Crossroads First Friday to Include Kids Scavenger Hunt, Rooftop Party, Sporting KC Flip Cup and Yes, Art
By Kevin Collison Today’s First Friday in the downtown Kansas City Crossroads Arts District continues a growing trend of not just being a festive place for adults to congregate but families as well. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., “C is for Crossroads,” an event promoting literacy for younger kids, will kickoff this month’s First…
Gordon Biersch Pulls Plug on Downtown Power & Light Location
One of the downtown Power & Light District’s original tenants, Gordon Biersch brewery and restaurant, is closing after anchoring a strategic corner at 14th and Walnut since 2008. In a release, company officials described the departure as a “natural end at this location. “We have enjoyed being a part of the renaissance of downtown Kansas…
Kemper Arena Developer Receives State Historic Tax Credits, Last Hurdle Before Beginning Mosaic Arena Project
By Kevin Collison The $39 million redevelopment of the former Kemper Arena into an amateur sports and fitness complex that’s expected to draw a half million out-of-town visitors yearly to the West Bottoms has cleared its last financial hurdle. Developer Steve Foutch of Foutch Brothers LLC expects to begin work within two weeks on his…
City Teaming with KCP&L to Provide Free On-Street Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Downtown
Three new on-street charging stations for electric vehicles are coming online in downtown, an expansion of a program sponsored by Kansas City Power & Light. The first station is operational at the East 9 at Pickwick Plaza apartment development at 933 McGee St. and the other two in the Crossroads District at Broadway and Southwest…
Female Athletes Are Closing The Gender Gap When It Comes To Concussions
Gina “Danger” Mazany is a professional mixed martial arts athlete, and she’s helping researchers learn more about head injuries and the female brain.
Omaha Postcard
By Kevin Collison Port KC rolled out its sketchy concept for the Berkley Riverfront a few weeks ago, but if anyone wants to see a farsighted vision realized, they should drive three hours up I-29 to Omaha. First off, Kansas City and Omaha share a very similar relationship with the Missouri River. Both towns started…
Downtown Kansas City Traffic Snarls Ahead with Two Major Bridges Closed
By Kevin Collison While concerns over closing the Buck O’Neil Bridge has been center stage in recent months, Kansas is moving forward with a project that will shut down a second major downtown bridge for two years, the westbound Lewis & Clark Viaduct. And there’s a good chance both bridges, which carry a combined 62,000…
Sale of The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion for Fraction of 2006 Cost Reflects Declining Newspaper Industry
By Kevin Collison When it opened in 2006, The Kansas City Star Press Pavilion was hailed as a major contribution to the revitalization of downtown and the latest technology in the newspaper industry. The striking 434,000 square-foot building clad in green glass and copper covered two city blocks, rising from four stories along 17th Street…
KC Clergy Stood Fast With Anti-War Stance
He’s 84 now, and has been retired since 2003 from his role as pastor of a United Methodist Church in northern California, but the Rev. Phillip Lawson vividly remembers all the trouble he stirred up in Kansas City in 1970 by speaking out against the Vietnam War. He went to Hanoi and, in a radio…