People & Places
Everybody wants to be Royal
A woman in her 20s walks into the Garment District Boutique in the Power & Light District around lunchtime on Friday. She glances around before tentatively asking “Do you guys have more sizes in yet?” She’s looking at a box on the floor, overflowing with dozens of the same T-shirt: a baseball raglan featuring a…
More than just movies: KC's indie cinemas transform the film experience
Any Kansas Citian interested in independent films knows what it’s like to wait for a movie with a limited release to reach the Midwest. Recently, both “The Skeleton Twins” and “Obvious Child” — small movies with with former SNL comedians taking a stab at drama — first opened in KC at Tivoli Cinemas in the…
Ikea and sustainability
When Ikea opened its 40th U.S. store in Merriam, Kansas, last month, it also opened the largest geothermal project in three states: Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. The home furnishings megastore is known for its inexpensive flat-packed furniture that has to be assembled at home. The company also frequently promotes sustainability as a “cornerstone of its…
Kansas City is flowing blue
Six of Kansas City, Missouri’s, fountains, as well as several privately-owned fountains and fountains owned by surrounding cities are dyed bright blue to celebrate the Royals making it to the playoffs for the first time in 29 years.
Bread! KC puts entrepreneurial spin on arts funding
Bread! KC is a series of micro-financing events that raises project funding for artists. Ashley Holcroft, a producer from KCPT’s “Arts Upload,” recently visited one of the group’s events. Here’s how it works: people purchase tickets which entitle them to a dinner and a vote. They hear three short presentations and then vote on which…
IKEA store opens in Merriam, Kansas
The home furnishings megastore IKEA opened its Merriam, Kansas, branch this Wednesday. Customers started lining up outside the store a full two days before the doors opened. And, they were rewarded for their patience with free giveaways, including sofas, chairs and Swedish meatballs for a year. IKEA, a Swedish company, is known for its inexpensive…
Behind Kansas City’s ridesharing fight
Increasingly popular ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft allow you to summon a taxi or car service by using a smartphone app. Instead of calling or hailing a cab, the apps track your GPS position, and the car shows up at your location. No physical money changes hands. All payments are made with credit cards,…
5 apps designed by Kansas City girls at no-boys-allowed camp
When you think about a typical summer camp, the great outdoors, swimming, campfire songs and s’mores come to mind. But, at this camp, girls sit quietly clicking away at computers in a classroom. They’re all developing their own apps for Android phones. And this camp is strictly no-boys-allowed. This is the second year that an…
From bandleader to blogger: the evolving definition of the term ‘entrepreneur’
When you hear the word “entrepreneur,” it’s easy to picture a twenty-something guy wearing wireless headphones and typing furiously on his laptop. He’s developing an app, or writing a business plan or creating a social media presence — maybe all three tasks are being tackled at once. This stereotype, however, is only one vision of…
Comic book fans, producers embrace digital versions but still preserve print issues
Jim Cavanaugh has owned Clint’s Comics in midtown Kansas City for 39 years. He has seen the stores around his Main Street storefront come and go, and said that his store is the only one that remains in the area from the 1960s. While other media businesses like book and movie rental stores have gone…