I’m Your Neighbor | Preview
Sometimes what makes us unique is also what makes us similar. Flatland, KCPT’s digital magazine, is on a mission to better understand our fellow Kansas Citians through our new Youtube series, “I am Your Neighbor.” With thoughtful questions, we aim to make neighbors out of strangers, regardless of zip code. Every Tuesday and Thursday through…
Techweek Caps Annual Downtown Event by Awarding $500,000 in Grants
By Kevin Collison A Techweek packed with speakers, panel discussions and even a mayoral forum culminated Friday in a ceremony that rivaled the Golden Globes for giddy anticipation as $500,000 in grants were announced to promising startup firms. As families and friends gathered with entrepreneurs in booths at No Other Pub with a beer or…
West Bottoms Whiskeys Adds New Spirits to Historic Industrial District
By Kevin Collison The West Bottoms’ massive old industrial buildings are an inexpensive haven for hundreds of downtown creatives living their dream and Alex Lindsey plans to add whiskey to the mix soon. He’s working on opening his West Bottoms Whiskeys in what looks like a garage bay at 1321 W. 13th St. A century…
McCaskill Debates Hawley, Justus is Running (Again), and Heading to Oz
KCPT’s Nick Haines, executive director of public affairs and Week in Review host, picks out the big stories of the week ahead and the interesting stories you may have missed. Trump and Pence All In 48 Hours How rare is it for us to get this much national political attention? In the span of 48 hours,…
The Trick to Getting Velvety Pumpkin Soup is Canned Pumpkin
This velvety pumpkin soup is surprisingly easy and fast thanks to canned pumpkin. The trick is getting rich, balanced pumpkin flavor out of a can. We started by creating a deeply flavorful base for our soup by softening onion and then adding cumin, coriander, and nutmeg, which gave us a warm-spiced flavor that paired well…
East Crossroads Rolls Out the Barrel for Big New Brewpub
By Kevin Collison The East Crossroads, already home to several microbreweries, is about to add another that promises to be the biggest in downtown outside the mother of all local brewers, Boulevard. City Barrel Brewing Co. expects to open at 1728 Holmes St. before the end of the year and co-owner James Stutsman says it…
Oktoberfiesta & Other Weekend Possibilities
Life comes at you pretty fast, but this is why we have whiskey. The Linden Square Whiskey Fest (602 NE 70th St., Gladstone, Missouri) is from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday. There are food trucks, bluegrass bands and a dozen regional distilleries that will sample whiskey. The tasting portion of the event is from 5 to…
Trad A Burns | Becoming a Lighting Designer
“[I] fell in love with something I didn’t know I was going to like.” Trad A Burns, Lighting Designer for the Kansas City Ballet’s world premiere of “The Wizard of Oz,” thought he wanted to be an actor, but it was only after petitioning for a class in college that he found his calling. Now, he…
Opening Up About Coming Out
It has been more than two decades since Darrel Brenneke broke the news to his mother that he was gay, but the memory still brings him to tears. He knew his mom would worry that this was a death sentence, since it had not been that long since his brother had died of AIDS. But…
Plexpod Opening Second Downtown Co-Working Space in River Market
Plexpod is opening a co-working space at 512 Delaware in the River Market large enough to accommodate 80 people, bringing office use to a section of the historic street where several bars and restaurants have opened recently. “We need bodies working too,” said Craig Slawson, the Denver developer who owns the building where Plexpod will…
New Hotel Indigo Lifts Lasting Toast to Pioneering Crossroads Artist
By Kevin Collison Jim Leedy, the renowned artist who pioneered the Crossroads Arts District in 1985, knows what he wants when someone decides to name a hotel bar after him. “If I have a bar named after me, I should get free drinks,” Leedy quipped at the festive grand opening last week of the Hotel…
Michael Raiford | Becoming a Set Designer
“Just go out and find it and do it.” Michael Raiford, set designer for the Kansas City Ballet’s “The Wizard of Oz,” says he “fell” into the profession, but encourages other aspiring set designers to get their feet wet wherever they can. Every Tuesday and Thursday through Oct. 12, Flatland looks at the various people…
Tap List | Strawberry Hill Brewing Co. In The Works
You never know what happens when you talk to your neighbors. Derek Kempf was on paternity leave three years ago from the Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department, and he was chatting with Larry Murray, who lived across the street. The two decided to try a test batch of home brew. A wit went wrong. A…
Hy-Vee Arena Opens, Bringing New Bounce to Bottoms
By Kevin Collison The Hy-Vee Arena formally opened last week in the West Bottoms at a ceremony where developer Steve Foutch was saluted for his vision and perseverance in reviving what had become a costly white elephant for the city, the former Kemper Arena. “Six years ago, he approached us with the idea of a…
The Rise and Fall of an Overland Park Icon
Metcalf Avenue is certainly not the Champs-Élysées, but at one time, a French-themed market loomed large — like a medieval castle — above Overland Park’s main drag. This superstore, in fact, was named the French Market, and curiousKC delved into the history of the place at the behest of Quentin Brewer, a Mission, Kansas, resident…