Local Action Drives Education Policy

Betsy DeVos has proven to be one of the most controversial players in President Trump’s new lineup, with her conservative ideology inflaming passions as she takes the helm of the Department of Education. But, are her critics taking their eyes off the ball? Perhaps so, argued University of Missouri Political Science Professor Peverill Squire. “The…

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Origin Story | Free State’s Copperhead Pale Ale

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School Funding: The Devil’s in the Details

School funding is a topic that regularly makes headlines but isn’t often understood. With so much at stake, Take Note breaks down the complex subject and finds the devil is in the details. Join us as we explore the complexities that make up school funding, and see how the past has influenced today’s funding. Follow Take…

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A basketball coach and player bump fists

The Weekend Starts Today

  Sunday is Make Up Your Own Holiday Day. Seriously. It is. Which, if you think about it, makes perfect sense. All holidays, after all, are ultimately made up. So we’ve decided to invent a few of our own to help you have fun this weekend. Like Thursday, which I’m officially declaring National Root for…

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Exterior of Children's Mercy Hospital

Getting Innovators To Come To Work — At A Children’s Hospital

Health care providers who work with kids are natural innovators, says Krista Nelson, Children’s Mercy Hospital’s director of innovation development. Nelson, an expert in innovation — not medicine, was hired by the hospital to run its new Center for Pediatric Innovation. “In the children’s hospital or pediatric environment, we really deal with every size of…

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Boulevard Brewing Company's Test Rye Ale

Tap List | Martin City Brewing Company Takes The Sideway

Martin City Brewing Company (500 E. 135th St.) will roll out its Sideway Everyday American Ale in mid-April. This ale joins a diverse lineup of year-round canned offerings like Hard Way IPA, Belgian Style Abbey Ale, and Highwayman Imperial Porter. “Sideway fills the low-alcohol void for the all-day drinker,” said Matthew Moore, brewery co-founder and…

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Julia, A Muppet With Autism, Joins The Cast Of ‘Sesame Street’

Julia has bright red hair, big green eyes and she loves to draw. She can be a little shy, but Elmo and Abby Cadabby don’t mind. She’s voiced by Stacey Gordon, whose son is on the autism spectrum, too.

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Testing the Water in Our Watershed

From road salt to pet waste to runoff when it rains, the Blue River and its tributaries have been polluted over time. So much so that in 2010 the EPA gave Kansas City 25 years to reduce the amount of raw sewage dumped into the watershed. Lynn Youngblood, executive director of the Blue River Watershed Association,…

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Rural Groups Push Against Proposed Cuts To USDA Spending

Farm and rural advocacy groups say cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in President Donald Trump’s proposed budget would harm rural communities, at a time when many of them need an infusion of cash. In what’s being called a “skinny budget” because it sets an outline and contains scant details, Trump’s proposal calls for…

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I Want To Eat Fish Responsibly. But The Seafood Guides Are So Confusing!

All reputable seafood guides are science-based, and yet can offer conflicting advice, because they have different goals. Some support sustainable fishers. Others aim to recover declining populations.

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J Rieger whiskey

Michael Smith’s J. Rieger Cocktail Dinner & Other Weekend Possibilities

Michael Smith (1900 Main St.) is hosting a J. Rieger & Co. cocktail dinner at 7 p.m. The four-course meal (the full menu is here) of Irish-inspired dishes includes a poached egg with black pudding paired with Green Eggs & Ale (an egg white, vanilla, lemon, orange cream citrate, Boulevard Brewing Company’s Irish Ale, and…

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Former President Donald Trump

Trump Unveils ‘Hard Power’ Budget That Boosts Military Spending

The president’s budget blueprint calls for a 10 percent increase in military spending, along with deep cuts in foreign aid and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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“The Bad Kids” Resonates with Students, Faculty at Kansas City Alternative High School

Before coming to DeLaSalle Education Center, NaKira, who is a high school senior in Kansas City, Missouri, says that she felt like she was a “bad kid.” “I felt like I had a real bad attitude problem; couldn’t nobody tell me anything,” NaKira said. “I felt like nobody was there for me, no teachers were…

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Michelle T. Johnson on food access

How Our Grocery Stores Connect to the Great Health Care Debate

When my grandmother was alive we had a running joke that if she wanted something from the grocery store she had to give me plenty of notice so that I could get it from a store near me, not the one close to her. My grandmother is gone, that store is closed, and I now…

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A man and woman standing outside a restaurant.

Couple Brings Fresh Ideas to Troost

Rashaun Clark grew up at 41st Street and Bellefontaine Avenue, a few blocks from where she and her husband are raising their three young daughters. Growing up, Rashaun felt like fast-food options were the only choice for eating out. More than a decade later, her daughters are growing up in a restaurant that serves vegan…

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