News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Life Behind the Scenes at TEDxKC
It was more than three decades ago that Richard Saul Wurman, an American architect and graphic designer, envisioned a conference that explored the convergence of technology, entertainment and design. Debuting in 1984, the first TED Conference was a financial flop. Yet the concept eventually took off and has exploded into a global nonprofit organization with…
Take 5 For Your Health
Prairie Village Dental Surgeon Treats All, No Matter Their Ability To Pay John Fasbinder’s dental office was busy on a recent Tuesday. Three employees helped in the reception area, answering phones and clicking away at computers. Hygienists tended to patients in three dental chairs in the main clinic. Fasbinder and his associate, Seth Cohen, flitted…
Robot-Like Machines Helped People With Spinal Injuries Regain Function
Eight people with serious spinal injuries who practiced hours of interaction with wearable machines for months regained lost feeling and some ability to move.
Justice Department Issues Scathing Report On Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department has disproportionately targeted African-Americans for stops and arrests, a Justice Department investigation has found. After the police department took a “zero tolerance” approach to policing in the early 2000s, the report finds, it began engaging in a pattern and practice of discriminatory policing. Statistics analyzed in the scathing 163-page report show…
This Year’s Perseid Meteor Shower Is Going To Be Quite A Show — Here’s How To Watch
Stargazers, get ready for something spectacular on Thursday. The annual Perseid meteor shower, already one of the most reliably impressive celestial events, promises to be especially good this year.
Partnership will Evaluate Effect of Trauma on Kansas City Community
With legs bent like sprinters in starting blocks, arms thrust forward and necks twisted toward the fluorescent lights of the Kansas City Missouri Police Academy, a group of first responders was focusing on breathing and forgetting about work. In the world of emergency response, people are beginning to realize that victims and their families are…
The Best Schools In The World Do This. Why Don’t We?
A group of lawmakers and staff with the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures spent a year and a half studying the best school systems in the world. Here’s what they learned.
New FDA Ruling on E-Cigs has Business Owners Worried
Standing behind the counter of a Midtown Kansas City vape shop, Billy Angus pondered the gravity of a new directive from Washington, D.C., aimed at an increasingly popular alternative to cigarettes: “It’s going to cause most of the industry to go out of business,” said Angus, manager of 816 Vapor, which sits along 39th Street….
When Food Firms Cut The Salt, What Do They Put In Instead?
Too much salty goodness isn’t great for health. Food companies looking to cut the sodium while keeping the flavor have a promising candidate: potassium chloride. But it’s far from perfect.
One Year In | As VR Increases in Popularity, so Does Virtutecture
“One Year In” is a 5-part series that revisits entrepreneurs highlighted on Flatland within the past year. We check on the progress of once-fledgling startups, see how the local entrepreneurship environment is treating them, and get to better understand their long-term decision making. All interviews have been edited for length and clarity. Before a technology…