state officials tour the hospital

Take 5 For Your Health

Kansas Issues Request For Proposals To Privatize Osawatomie State Hospital Kansas is seeking a private partner to operate Osawatomie State Hospital under a proposal that would allow the contractor to shift more than half the hospital’s beds to other parts of eastern Kansas. A request for proposals to operate Osawatomie State Hospital was posted Nov….

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Back to Life

Could Kansas City become a major league moviemaking mecca like Austin, Texas? For years that’s been the dream of many in the local film community. It’s a vision of multiple big-league feature films that will lure stars and filmmakers away from Tinseltown and here to the City of Fountains. But it’s probably not going to…

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Donald Bjuland at the salvation army linwood center

Carving A Niche

Pulling off a turkey dinner that serves approximately 1,500 people, about two-thirds of whom are homebound and have their meal delivered, does not happen without a lot of manpower. So The Salvation Army of Kansas and Western Missouri, which puts on such a meal each Thanksgiving in Kansas City, relies on an army of helpers…

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A Roundup bottle spraying.

Why Scientists Disagree On RoundUp’s Cancer Risk

After dueling reviews of research studies, scientific panels from the U.S. government and the World Health Organization are having a hard time agreeing whether glyphosate, the most common weed killer in the United States, can cause cancer. Known by the brand name RoundUp, glyphosate is sprayed on farm fields and lawns all across the country….

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How You Can Stop Antibiotic Resistance (And Still Eat Bacon)

“This is an avoidable disaster,” says one expert. And there are at least three things you can do to help.

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Lifted Spirits Distillery

Lifted Spirits Distillery Opens & Other Weekend Possibilities

[Update: The Lifted Spirits Distillery announced this morning that their grand opening has been pushed back until December 2.] Based on our collective mood, new additions to the liquor cabinet are most welcome. Lifted Spirits Distillery, a new microdistillery in the Crossroads, is holding its grand opening tonight at 5 p.m. at 1734 Cherry St. The…

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A man singing on stage.

Sympathetic Vibrations | KC’s Musical Cup Runneth Over

Sympathetic Vibrations will be on a short hiatus through the end of the year while Flatland and The Bridge collaborate on a written series called “Making the Band,” wherein rock sorceress Michelle Bacon and I will take a closer look at the lesser known cogs in the music industry machine here in KC. Look for…

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Alex Merrell

Hammerhand Coffee Finds Its Place in Downtown Liberty

Alex Merrell, co-owner of Hammerhand Coffee, didn’t originally plan on opening on a corner spot (22 N. Main Street) in downtown Liberty’s historic square. Merrell and three investors had selected a space at 1 N. Water Street, based one block east and south around the corner of the Clay County Courthouse. But earlier this year, the…

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A journalist on a phone

How Gus Saved My Job

It was early in my career at The Kansas City Star, really early, and I was in dire straits. I needed help. Lots of it. I was a newly-minted labor reporter at the newspaper, and my stern and demanding editors had sent me on one of my first out-of-town reporting trips — to Kentucky and…

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A bluegrass band posing with their instruments.

The Weekend Starts Today

November 20 is National Absurdity Day. To mark it, we should celebrate all that is unreasonable, illogical or inappropriate. Which, given recent events, seems like a wholly reasonable, logical and appropriate thing to do. One good way to do that is to take a brief respite from politics and enjoy some of what the city…

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Crane Brewing's beer flights

On Tap | Crane Brewing Company’s Taproom Is Ready To Serve Flights

Grandma’s fridge is gone, and the mismatched tables will go back to bingo halls or Rotary clubs or wherever mismatched tables retire. Crane Brewing Company is gearing up to open its permanent taproom on Friday, November 25. “We always wanted a spot where people who enjoy our beer can come to the source and meet…

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Take 5 For Your Health

Water Task Force Leaning Toward Sales Tax Proposal A group appointed to study funding sources for Gov. Sam Brownback’s 50-year water plan is leaning toward proposing a dedicated sales tax. Earl Lewis, assistant director of the Kansas Water Office, presented the preliminary results of the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Monday at the annual Kansas…

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An artist between two landscapes

Five Reasons to See ‘Surveyor’ at Epsten Gallery

You Like Craft Before any artwork can be perceived conceptually, it has to be taken in on a simple, aesthetic level. The work of Israeli artist Yuval Yairi, on display at Epsten Gallery from now until Jan. 22, is worthy of your aesthetic appreciation. These works are, quite simply, elegantly done. Some are big and…

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Question 2 sign

An Election Outcome You Might’ve Missed

It might be easy for social services supporters in Jackson County to be asking “What if?” in the wake of Tuesday’s election, when residents resoundingly approved creation of a Children’s Services Fund through a new eighth-cent sales tax. After all, the projected proceeds could have been nearly three times larger, if not for bureaucratic snafus…

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A man and woman standing on their farm.

These Colorado Veterans Are Finding Peace On The Farm

Ben and Leticia Ward’s farm in Fountain, Colorado, just outside Colorado Springs, doesn’t look like an army base. But it’s not hard to uncover whiffs of military influence at Little Roman Farm. A stack of sturdy fiberglass bins next to a greenhouse seem benign, ready to be put to use as brooding bins for chickens…

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