Nick’s Picks | Barnes, Redistricting, Shutdown and More …

By | October 6, 2025

Kay Barnes Replaces White This week, former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes will officially roll up her sleeves to temporarily lead Jackson County government. She will take over from Frank White, who was ousted by voters in a special recall election last week. But the official handover won’t take place until the results of that…

The End of the Pesticide Arms Race?

By | October 1, 2025

To spray or not to spray, that’s the question for farmers. Pests can be the make-or-break factor for a season’s harvest. Between 20% to 40% of global crop production is lost to pests annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Conventional chemical pesticides have traditionally addressed this challenge, but their…

Nick’s Picks | Verdict, Shutdown, Buc-ee’s and More …

By | September 29, 2025

Frank White Recall Election Voters will finally deliver their verdict this week on Jackson County Executive Frank White.  A special recall election is set for Tuesday. Recall supporters are angry at White over his handling of property assessments. Opponents counter that the construction lobby is trying to clear the path for a “sweetheart stadium deal.”…

9/11 Pain Continues as Justice System Plods Along

By | September 28, 2025

Every email I get from Danielle Reddan, director of the Victim Witness Assistance Program in the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of Military Commissions, starts the same way: “Dear Survivors & Families.” More than two decades after the murder of my nephew, a passenger on the first plane that Osama bin Laden’s misguided theological thugs…

Hundreds of Bee Species Face Decline in Missouri and Kansas

By | September 25, 2025

To Tom Schroeder, every bee is a work of art.  His own words, backed up with hundreds of photos in his camera roll from the prairies and woods of Kansas City WildLands. With more than two decades of volunteering with the group, he’s become a bee enthusiast– but not an expert, he’ll clarify. “We’re the…

Nick’s Picks | Fall, Streetcar, Recall and More …

By | September 22, 2025

Good morning, it’s the First Day of Fall. And Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts tonight. Here are some of the local news and trends we’re tracking this week… New Missouri Map Awaits Governor’s Pen Missouri’s new congressional map is stuck in limbo, more than a week after lawmakers approved a rare mid-decade redistricting…

Nick’s Picks | Steak, Jail, Tower and More …

By | September 15, 2025

New Missouri Map Signing Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is promising to sign a new congressional map this week that would make it tougher for Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver to win reelection. Kehoe is also expected to sign a ballot reform measure that raises the bar for passing citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. If approved by voters…

Convicted Felons and the Right to Vote in Kansas

By | September 11, 2025

It is true that in some states, mainly in the South, a felony conviction bars a person from voting. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas wants Kansans to know that felons who have served their time are eligible to vote in the Sunflower State. Anyone who says otherwise is peddling misinformation, said Micah…

Blocked from seeing her son, a Missouri mother fights to change the state’s guardianship law to help others like him

By | September 10, 2025

When Twila Foley brought a Christmas gift for her son, Christopher, to his nursing facility in Plattsburg, Missouri, she was not allowed to enter the building’s lobby. Instead, she watched him open his gift — a pillow with a picture of his dog, Oakley, printed on it — through a glass door. Christopher asked the…

Nick’s Picks | Gerrymandering, Brewing, Haunting and More …

By | September 8, 2025

Final Redistricting Vote Missouri lawmakers are expected to sign off this week on a new congressional map that could force out Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. The full House is expected to vote on the measure today. If approved, some dramatic changes are on the way. Downtown Kansas City, the Plaza, and Brookside would all…