Claims of Faulty Jail Cell Doors at Lansing
When news broke last week that prisoners at the Jackson County Jail could unlock their own cells and walk freely around the facility, it may have been familiar news to Shawn McDiffett, an inmate at the Kansas state prison in Lansing. In a letter to KCPT in August, McDiffett insisted that his fellow inmates can…
Chapter 5 | Is This The Ends?
Singers have Broadway. Aspiring pitmasters? They come to Kansas City because if you can make a burnt end that makes Kansas Citians sit down and take notice, you can make barbecue anywhere. Our city’s esteem for barbecue — combined with pitmasters’ desire to perfect their craft — means that even our iconic barbecue dish is…
A Battle Over Bringing Local Renewables To Rural Electric Co-ops
In the 1930s, rural electric cooperatives brought electricity to the country’s most far-flung communities, transforming rural economies. In Western Colorado, one of these co-ops is again trying to spur economic development, partly by generating more of their electricity locally from renewable resources, like water in irrigation ditches and the sun. Local leaders say that’ll be…
Erasing Red Ink, Sesame CEO Offers Vision To Preserve Home Of Big Bird
It is one of the most recognizable shows on television — a mainstay for nearly a half-century, with a theme song promising, “Sunny day, sweepin’ the clouds away.” Yet dark financial clouds have hovered over Sesame Street’s parent company in recent years. Sesame Workshop President and CEO Jeffrey Dunn took office little more than two…
Common Grounds | Flip the Script: A Police Take on the Issues
One of the story lines of this election year has been alarm over law and order in cities and police shootings of unarmed black Americans. This week in our Common Grounds coffee conversation series, we head to Kansas City, Kansas, where we get a police take on that polarizing issue. We bring together five KCK…
Fed Up Fest & Other Weekend Possibilities
Live acts. Surprise beers. The chance to help feed the hungry. Your heart and belly will be full at Fed Up Fest, a benefit for the Harvesters Community Food Network, at CrossroadsKC at Grinders (417 E 18th Street) from 2:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday. Catch acts on two stages (including Sylvan Esso and the Phantastics),…
An Iconic Artist’s Paintings Throughout the Metro
Born in 1916 in Auburn, New York, Eric Bransby’s career began while studying at the Kansas City Art Institute as a student of the renowned muralist Thomas Hart Benton. Bransby’s career — highlighted recently in an NPR article — is also the focus of a new documentary, “A Last Mural.” Here we highlight the many…
Bob Dylan, Titan Of American Music, Wins 2016 Nobel Prize In Literature
The prolific musician is the first American to win the prize for lifetime literary achievement in 23 years. While Dylan long enjoyed favor as an outside shot for the award, few expected him to win.
The Weekend Starts Today
Aw, the sweetness of hate. Hate can actually be healthy, believe it or not, especially when channeled into something as silly as sports. What Royals fan among us, after all, doesn’t healthily hate Madison Bumgarner? Or, for that matter, the Oakland Raiders. Coming off a bye week and a bad loss, our beloved Chiefs face…
Take 5 For Your Health
For Some Ironman Triathletes, Kansas City Is Like Training In Hawaii For a handful of triathletes training in a pool at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, Kansas, simply swimming laps is too easy. Instead, they’ve got their legs constricted so their arms do the work of dragging their bodies through the water. Kansas…
Chapter 4 | The Quest for the Best (Remembering L.C. Richardson)
Magic in Kansas City doesn’t involve cards or top hats. True magic is what happens to brisket when smoke and fire are applied in the correct ratio and for the right amount of time. True magic is burnt ends. In Chapter 4, we dive into how and why we chase and crave that magic in Kansas…
Low Wheat Prices Could Hit Kansas Rural Economy Hard
This year was a very good year for growing wheat, but that means it could be a very bad year for wheat farmers. There’s a glut on the global wheat market and prices for winter wheat – which is grown all up and down the Great Plains, from Texas to North Dakota– wheat prices this…
Do You Need Extra Screening For Breast Cancer? The Picture Is Blurry
Many women have dense breasts, and they may benefit from other forms of cancer screening beyond mammograms. But none of the options is ideal, and the available data don’t make the decision easier.
The Son in ‘The Butcher’s Son’
Vi Nhan Tran was smuggled out of Vietnam and captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia before finding refuge in a Red Cross camp in Thailand. It’s a story of a lifetime — and all before he was three years old. Tran’s only memory from that part of his life is busting his head open…
Commentary | An Abusive Election Cycle Won’t Soon Be Forgiven
Recently on Facebook, a friend asked the question of what people thought about a woman’s mother maintaining a friendship with the woman’s emotionally abusive ex-husband. As you can imagine, the question elicited a range of opinions. But one of the overwhelming themes of the comments was that of loyalty and trust. The question of how…