Missouri Seeks Stable Funding for 988 Mental Health Helpline
Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, call, text or chat 988. It was nearly 3 a.m. Lauren Ross awoke to spiking anxiety, the result of stress from the holidays, work and the general state of affairs…
Nick’s Picks | Filings, Openings, Holidays and More …
Political Filing Frenzy Get ready for a major reshuffling of Kansas City’s political decks this week. Tuesday at 5 p.m. is the deadline for Missouri candidates to file for office in this year’s midterm elections. And with a new congressional map now in play, it’s triggering a frantic last-minute political scramble. Here’s the breakdown of…
KC Reparations Leaders Uncertain Work Will Lead to Action
Do you know the details of how Kansas City’s past public policies and actions created a community with a long history of segregation that led to the racial disparities of today? Mayor Quinton Lucas says a primary purpose of his Mayor’s Commission on Reparations will be to teach you that history and to help you…
From Concord to Kansas City: Henry David Thoreau’s Influence Ripples Throughout the Region
As a teenager, she sometimes would just walk. Often, it was to escape the chaos and loneliness of being one of 11 children in her family. “We had moved to the suburbs of Chicago, and we didn’t fit in,” Evelyn Vogel-Leutung said on a recent morning, standing on a perch overlooking the Blue River in…
Nick’s Picks | Taxes, Elections, AI and More …
Royals Return Baseball is back…and earlier than ever. Opening Day lands Wednesday, the earliest start in MLB history. The Kansas City Royals will begin the season on the road, with a Friday opener in Atlanta. And what about that much-hyped Royals new stadium reveal in time for “Opening Day?” Yeah, right. Consider it stuck in…
Nick’s Picks | March Madness, Jail Opens, St. Paddy’s & More
The Madness Begins ‘Tis the season for buzzer beaters, broken brackets and according to HR experts, plummeting productivity. Welcome to March Madness! The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships tip off this week. KU and Mizzou play their first games late Friday night in the men’s tournament. Missouri State is the only local team to…
Nick’s Picks | Sports, Immigration, Booze and More …
Big 12 Takes Over Downtown It’s that time of year when workplaces start clearing out early to chase a bouncing orange ball. The Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship rolls into town this week… the first sign that March Madness is on the way. K-State takes the court at T-Mobile Center on Tuesday. KU plays Thursday….
Making Murals That Make a Difference
The North Kansas City Police Department sits on Howell Street in a rather plain building, but is anything but ordinary inside, where a huge piece of art prompts people to pause and take it all in. The pause comes in front of a mural that features a black and white American flag, a thin blue…
Hoping for more affordable housing, Kansas City rolls back energy efficiency codes
Reda Ibrahim has devoted his work to building affordable and sustainable housing in Kansas City. After immigrating from Egypt, he started RK Contractors LLC and co-founded the nonprofit Mercy in the City to do just that. In 2024 new residents moved into a three-bedroom house he helped build in northeast Kansas City — one of…
Nick’s Picks | Maps, Lawsuits, Sporting and More …
Missouri Map Throws Candidates Into Limbo It’s going to be a confusing political week in Missouri, as campaign season officially kicks off with a giant question mark. Candidates can start filing for Congress on Tuesday — but thanks to an unresolved court fight, they don’t know the exact boundaries of the districts they hope to…
Plans Afoot to Meet Religious Needs of Worldwide Soccer Fans
If you were to visit this Condé Nast travel site about the World Cup games coming here to the Heartland in June, you might conclude that athletes and their fans have zero interest in religion. The site, after all, never mentions all the planning that people of faith here are doing now to make sure…
Nick’s Picks | Roads, Bathrooms, Costco and More …
New Toll Road Opens Kansas City’s first toll road opens this week. Starting Saturday, you’ll pay up to $3.50 to travel the new express lanes on U.S. Highway 69 from 103rd to 151st streets in Overland Park. There are no toll booths — cameras scan your license plate, and a bill arrives by mail. KTAG…
Up From the Ashes: Warwick Theatre Revival Draws Applause
Two years ago, John Cleary met a fellow Kansas City actor for drinks. Their conversation centered on the fate of the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre. A large portion of the ensemble’s home, the Warwick Theatre, was ash, charred timbers and soot-saturated costumes and props — remnants from a recent massive fire. The destruction was so great…
Nick’s Picks | Baseball, Drones, Romance and More …
Royals Reveal Next week, the Kansas City Royals head to Arizona for Spring Training. And that’s the mayor’s self-imposed deadline to lock in a stadium deal. So, is this finally the week owner John Sherman steps to the plate and unveils where the Royals will build their next home? At last week’s council meeting, Mayor…
History of Persecution Binds Black, Jewish Communities
Kansas City icon Alvin Brooks knows more about the Civil Rights Movement here than almost anyone alive. And Brooks, former Kansas City mayor pro tempore, insists that progress for Blacks here would have been much more difficult without the consistent and persistent help of Jewish residents and leaders. “Jews in this community and across the…