News & Issues

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

people signing tour bus

'Nuns On the Bus' roll in to KC

It’s rare to see a crowd of people cheering for a group of nuns. But that’s exactly what happened when the “Nuns on the Bus” held a town hall meeting Friday, Sept. 11, at Community Christian Church near the Plaza in Kansas City. “Nuns on the Bus” is a project of NETWORK, a national Catholic…

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Food truck owner takes orders from two females.

North Kansas City just got a lot tastier

Overruling concerns of some local restaurant owners, the North Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department voted 6-1 Thursday to continue the food-truck pod pilot program in the city’s Macken Park through December. The program originally had been approved for the month of August, and ended September 1st. Since that time, the City Council of North…

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Protestors stand outside building

Minimum Wage increase: Rally cry heard from Westport to NYC

As it turns out, $13 an hour is not enough for Kansas City fast food workers.

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Without her sidekick, Needle, Arya Stark is just Maisie Williams, a girl with a You Tube channel. (Credit: You Tube)

Sound Smart This Weekend

THE REARVIEW: We’re going to let our Game of Thrones geek flag fly here, and tell you that Arya Stark is easily our second favorite character. Mainly because before going to sleep she names off everyone she wants to kill. And who here hasn’t drifted off to dream in the same satisfying manner? The real…

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(Credit: Chris Silas Neal | NPR)

How Likely Is It, Really, That Your Athletic Kid Will Turn Pro?

On the way to his son’s baseball game on Long Island, sports writer J.R. Gamble tells me that his son, J.C., is quite a ball player. “I have a lot of clips and highlights that I show people of him doing amazing things — jumping over catches, hitting balls right-handed, hitting balls left-handed,” Gamble says….

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Patricia Corry sitting on her sofa

Getting By In Retirement

Patricia Corry, 79 “Whatever is coming down the pike, is coming down the pike” [FLEX-CONTENT] Originally from Canada, Patricia lived in Texas before moving to Kansas City. A self-described “fatalist and eternal optimist,” Patricia tries to take retirement day by day. She spends part of her time working for Reconciliation Services. Hear Patricia’s story:  …

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Six Kansas cities have added e-cigarettes to their local smoking bans. (BIGSTOCK)

Take 5 for your health

Health Advocates Will Push To Add E-Cigarettes To Kansas Smoking Ban Kansas’ ban on smoking tobacco products in most public places has been in place since 2010. In those five years, the smoke-free atmosphere of bars, restaurants and other indoor spots has become the norm. Erica Anderson, a health promotion specialist for the Lawrence-Douglas County…

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Illustration of upside down people with coins

It's TIF in a GIF

Here’s a quick summary of TIF — Tax Increment Financing — what it is, how it works, and its impact on the Kansas City metro. Flatland’s Mike McGraw and The Pitch‘s Steve Vockrodt examine the project in recent reports and join KCPT’s Nick Haines on this week’s edition of Kansas City Week in Review.

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Besty Mguyen, owner of Boo Yah Asian Cuisine food truck in Macken Park. Photo by Daniel Boothe

North Kansas City Food Trucks? Maybe Not

During the month of August, neighborhood folks and foodies visiting North Kansas City’s Macken Park enjoyed a more diverse choice of local food than is usually offered in the city. The recent arrival of food trucks transformed the relatively quiet park into a hub of sophisticated lunch options, offering everything from authentic Cuban sandwiches, to colorful upscale tacos, to Asian-fusion cuisine, all made fresh on the spot.

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President Obama and Michelle Obama entertain during a Girl Scout campout on the South Lawn earlier this summer. The question is whether survivalist Bear Grylls is going allow the president to bring those lanterns on their trek. (Photo: Evan Vucci | AP)

Sound smart this weekend

THE REARVIEW: (Three stories to have in your wheelhouse) 5 Skills President Obama Will Need To Survive A Day With Bear Grylls (NPR) Bear Grylls is the President of Awesomeness, what with his mad post-apocalyptic survival skills. So it’s fitting he’s taking the actual POTUS on a trek through the Alaskan wilderness for an episode of Running Wild with…

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