Bar + Rec Plans Lively Entertainment Center in Old KC Star Building

By Kevin Collison Bar + Rec, the first tenant announced for the ongoing redevelopment of the old Kansas City Star building, has a year-old pile of sand and months of work ahead before its planned opening at year’s end. Partners Mark Musselman and Luke Wade continue to push forward with their ambitious plan to create…

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Walk, Turn, Walk: Backstage With a Makeup Artist

Kansas City Fashion Week audiences see stunning models walking the runway. But what they don’t see are the hours and hours of preparatory work before the show. Backstage is where people like the makeup artists and hair stylists really shine. See for yourself how one makeup artist goes about her work during Kansas City Fashion…

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KCMO police set up for badge for basics

Reducing Kansas City’s Violent Crime

This time, Danelle Williams and Vito Mazzara arrived prepared. The two Kansas City, Missouri, police officers didn’t want to be overwhelmed, like a previous evening last winter, when passersby at 35th Street and Prospect Avenue snapped up their inventory in less than 15 minutes. On this evening, Williams and Mazzara stationed themselves on a corner…

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Thou Mayest Returns, Buys Quay Coffee and Plans New Concept

By Kevin Collison Thou Mayest, the popular East Crossroads establishment that shut down in December, is returning downtown, but with a new game plan. The coffee shop, roaster and cultivator of creative thinking is opening an outlet called “Thee Outpost” next month inside a building housing a new “creative collaboration space” called Collective Ex at…

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je dunn superintendent on construction site

Construction Trades Offer Solid Careers Right Out Of High School

With thousands of skilled-trade workers retiring every day across the nation, the construction industry is in need of the next generation workforce to help build Kansas City and communities throughout the country. And those are good-paying jobs that are available to people straight out of high school. It will take some grit for folks willing…

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Great American Beer Festival

Tap List | Welcome to Beer Festival Season

This is why you drink on Tuesdays. And why you drink that beer you find in the back of the fridge. This is why you drink out of crowlers, growlers and really whatever beer-filled vessel someone hands you. Welcome to Beer Festival Season. Spend an afternoon in downtown Lee’s Summit with the Strother Beerfest, so…

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KCAI Launches Liberal Arts Project, Part of $30M Campus Overhaul

By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Art Institute kicked off construction of a new liberal arts building last week, part of a $30 million campus building program that’s creating a new future for the 134 year-old school. “This is a pivotal moment in our college’s history,” said Tony Jones, the Nerman Family President of KCAI….

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Tony (left) and Lynn DiPlacito are building Wind Shift Brewing Co. in Blue Springs, Missouri.

Wind Shift Brewing Offers a New Spin on Making Beer in The Garage

Tony DiPlacito’s hands and forearms are smudged black, the streaks stretching nearly to the cuffs of his auto technician’s shirt. When he sees a visitor walk into the bays of the Jefferson Service Center in Blue Springs, Missouri, he half-waves and cracks a big smile from beneath a sedan that’s on a lift a few…

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Broad Strokes: “We Make Artwork Too”

Blanca Herrada says she’s painting a space for more people of color in the art world—in and behind the canvas.

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New River Market Restaurant ‘Chicken Please’ Goes Beyond Brazil

By Kevin Collison Two Brazilian volleyball buddies who brought a “Taste” of their home country to the River Market six years ago are opening a new restaurant aimed at a larger audience, “Chicken Please.” “We always wanted to expand,” said Cristian Maciel. “Taste of Brazil is doing great, but we talked about what we could…

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While there's still work to be done in the greenhouse at East High School, nasturtium has begun to sprout this spring.

Eric Person is Working to Create a Culture of Agriculture at East High School

It’s Saturday — the first warm day of spring — and there’s work to be done in the gardens at East High School in Kansas City, Missouri. Eric Person, owner of KC Aquaponics and a community partner with East’s agriculture program, is here with a friend to tend to the grounds just north of the…

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ARTerra Opening Spurs Call for Continued Downtown Incentives

By Kevin Collison City Manager Troy Schulte used the grand opening of the $40.7 million ARTerra apartment tower in the Crossroads Wednesday to urge continued public support for downtown revitalization, saying it also helps the overall city. “All 475,000 people in Kansas City benefit from a strong downtown,” he told the audience gathered in the…

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Harp Barbecue is a new barbecue spot

Brisket and Waffles, Pizza Shuttle & Other Weekend Possibilities

Pizza Shuttle (12094 W. 135th St.) has landed, Overland Park. Over the past three decades, Pizza Shuttle is the spot that’s been on the other end of many a late night call in Lawrence, Kansas. The new location brought Brobecks BBQ Chicken pizza along for the ride, as well as cheesesticks, sweet sticks (cheesy rectangles…

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College Basketball Experience Refreshing Its Game

By Kevin Collison The College Basketball Experience next to the Sprint Center is replacing some dead wood, specifically its center basketball court which has gotten tired after 12 years of abundant bouncing. “We have 100,000 visitors annually and 100 basketball tournaments every year,” said CBE spokeswoman Celeste Lupercio. “It’s also our main space for corporate…

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‘Who Lived in the Kansas City Museum?’

Did you know? The Corinthian Hall, a four-story mansion that was finished in 1910, is now the Kansas City Museum.

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