News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Indianapolis Postcard
Commentary by Kevin Collison Indianapolis is considered one of the smarter cities in America when it comes to revitalizing its downtown so a recent Father’s Day weekend visit provided an opportunity to check out at least some of the goods and compare it with what’s been happening in Kansas City. We visited White River State…
Downtown Kansas City Apartment Boom Fueled by Return to Walkable Living
By Kevin Collison Apartment construction in metropolitan Kansas City is hitting levels not seen since before the Great Recession with more than 5,000 units expected to be completed by the end of this year. Many of those projects are going up in downtown Kansas City and similar places such as old Overland Park where developers…
‘Supersizing Urban America’: How U.S. Policies Encouraged Fast Food To Spread
A new book examines how federal government policies made it easier for minorities to open fast-food franchises than grocery stores. Today the landscape of urban America reflects this history.
As High-Tech Farms Take Hold, Can Farm Towns Hold On?
Brandon Biesemeier climbs up a small ladder into a John Deere sprayer, takes a seat in the enclosed cab, closes the door, and blocks out most of the machine’s loud engine hum. It is a familiar perch to the fourth-generation farmer on Colorado’s eastern plains. He turns onto a country road, heading south to spray…
Top Five Ways To Spend Your Weekend
A Little Bit Country If you get the chance to see a musical legend, see that legend. It doesn’t matter what genre. Willie Nelson certainly fits that bill. Decades before he became famous for weed, Willie was writing classics like “Crazy,” “On The Road Again.” The opening acts for this triple bill at Starlight Theater…
New Rule May Worsen Backlog For Social Security Disability Claimants
By the time Stephenie Hashmi of Lenexa, Kansas, was in her mid-20s, she had achieved a lifelong dream: She was the charge nurse at one of Kansas City’s largest intensive care units. But even as she cared for patients, she realized something was off with her own health. “I remember just feeling tired and feeling…
Plans to Redevelop Washington Square Park in Downtown Kansas City Remain Work in Progress
By Kevin Collison Three years after being hired by Union Station Kansas City to explore options for redeveloping property it owns on the north side of Washington Square Park, VanTrust Real Estate remains undecided about the best plan moving forward. “We’ve looked at everything from a single use to a mixed-use of office, residential and…
Polar Photographer Shares His View Of A Ferocious But Fragile Ecosystem
Paul Nicklen has spent decades documenting the Arctic and the Antarctic. “I want people to realize that ice is like the soil in the garden,” he says. “Without ice the polar regions cannot exist.”
‘The Trump 10’: Packing On The Pounds In An Age Of Stressful Politics
Think of it as the political version of the freshman 15. Nowadays, some people who are unhappy with the current political environment are complaining of stress-induced eating and weight gain.
VanTrust Assumes Lead Role On East Village, Acquires Key Properties in Stalled Downtown KC Redevelopment Area
By Kevin Collison Almost four years after becoming co-developer of the planned East Village redevelopment, VanTrust Real Estate has negotiated a new lease deal with the city that puts it fully in charge of moving the floundering project forward. And while VanTrust has no immediate plans for construction in the eight-block downtown redevelopment area northeast…