Johnson County Has More Binge Drinking But Wyandotte County Has The Bigger Problem

Editor’s note: A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in poor or fair health; fewer than…

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The Weekend Starts Today

Last week, the Chiefs won their first playoff game in, like, forever. This weekend, they’ll try to keep their playoff hopes alive against the mighty, Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. If you want to watch the game along with your fellow fanatics get down to Power & Light. Outside, under the canopy, the team…

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Tanesha Horton, 21, of Kansas City, Kansas, says she worries about the health of her son, D'won, who was born in November. (Photo: Alex Smith | Heartland Health Monitor)

Kansas’ Infant Mortality Problem Pushes Experts To Rethink Their Approach

Editor’s note: A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in poor or fair health; fewer than…

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The two finalists: Ronald Taylor and Mark Bedell (Credit: KCPS)

KCPS Names Superintendent Finalists

Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) on Tuesday announced the two men in the running to replace former superintendent Stephen Green, who left last year to lead the DeKalb County School District in Georgia. The two finalists are Ronald Gerald Taylor, superintendent of Willingboro Township Public Schools in Willingboro, New Jersey, and Mark T. Bedell, assistant superintendent for…

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‘Die Moving Forward.’

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 12, and has been updated with video from the event. Click on the play button above to hear part of the keynote speech from the Rev. Dr. Gary V. Simpson, senior pastor of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, New York. Who knew that the…

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KU Med student Maria Iliakova examines a patient at the free JayDoc clinic in Kansas City, Kansas.

A Growing Gap Between Wyandotte And Johnson Counties: Primary Care Physicians

Crossing to Health A male in Wyandotte County can expect to live about seven fewer years than a male in Johnson County. A female in WyCo can expect to live nearly six fewer years than her JoCo counterpart. About 21 percent of residents of WyCo consider themselves to be in fair or poor health; fewer…

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group shot of ribbon cutting

A Healthy (Re)Start for Raytown

Technically, it was a ribbon-cutting for a new health facility, but the christening of a new gym and community center in Raytown was more like removing bandages from an old wound. That’s because the facility, at 10301 E. 350 Highway, is housed in a refurbished building that the YMCA of Greater Kansas City closed three…

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Worlds Apart: When it comes to health, side-by-side Kansas counties are starkly different

At her home studio in Westwood, Kansas, yoga instructor Marilyn Pace leads a class of 5-to-8-year olds. With the help of songs, games and other kid-friendly teaching methods, she guides her small students through poses like the cobra, the triangle and the downward-facing dog. Tatjana Alvegard takes her daughter, Kaya, to Pace’s classes regularly. “I…

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A platter of steaks at a steakhouse in Omaha, Neb. (Photo: Brian Seifferlein | Harvest Public Media file)

Dietary Guidelines Deliver Win for Midwest Meat Industry

New federal guidelines for healthy eating announced Thursday do not urge Americans to eat less meat, delivering a big win to Midwest meat farmers and ranchers. Initial recommendations by scientific advisors suggested Americans could be more environmentally friendly by cutting back on meat. Although the final version of the dietary guidelines issued every five years by the U.S. Departments…

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A Field Guide to Sneaking Your Pet Into Arrowhead

A laundry list of restrictions await every football fan wanting entry into Arrowhead, but after an image of a man cuddled with an orange cat in his stadium seat went viral earlier this week we couldn’t help but wonder what other kinds of loving pets we can get into the home of the Chiefs. [FLEX-CONTENT]

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Ammon Bundy, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, arrives for a news conference at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge after meeting with Harney County Sheriff David Ward near Burns, Ore. Ward and two other Oregon sheriffs met Thursday with Bundy, the leader of an armed group occupying a federal wildlife refuge and asked them to leave, after residents made it clear they wanted them to go home. (Photo: Rick Bowmer | AP)

Sounding Smarter

North Korea claimed this week that it successfully exploded a hydrogen bomb, a test which came in the run-up to President Kim Jong Un’s 33rd birthday. It’s a story about nuclear weapons where the names “Fat Man” and “Little Boy” are actually referring to a head of state. Jihadi Abu Rumaysah is suspected of being the…

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Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels and chocolatier Christopher Elbow toast their latest collaboration: Chocolate Ale with Raspberry. (Photo: Jonathan Bender | Flatland)

Chocolate Ale with Raspberry? That’s Our Jam.

Christopher Elbow sells drinking chocolate year round, but nothing quite like what the Boulevard Brewing Company is slated to release next Tuesday, January 12. Chocolate Ale with Raspberry is a new iteration of the Chocolate Ale that Boulevard and the chocolatier have produced in collaboration four of the past five years. “Raspberry and chocolate is…

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Making Buddhism Matter, in KC

“Come inside.” Lama Chuck Stanford is standing just inside Kansas City’s Rime Buddhist Center on a frosty Sunday morning in late December, urging the morning’s volunteer greeter to come in from the cold. She can welcome people once they come indoors, he says. It’s what other greeters do. As visitors arrive to the entryway of the…

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The Kansas City Chiefs had much to celebrate during last weekend's win over the Oakland Raiders. The victory takes us to this weekend's playoff game in Texas. (Photo: Reed Hoffmann | AP)

The Weekender

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the Weekender’s last hurrah on Thursday. Starting next week, we’ll be appearing on Wednesday afternoon — just to give you a little extra head start on making plans. You’re welcome. This weekend is all about football. The red hot Chiefs are going for their first playoff win since the Clinton administration began, and the city is…

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Kansas Woman Says Health Reform Law Helped Her Launch Business

A Lawrence businesswoman has become something of a poster child for the Affordable Care Act. Meg Heriford, owner of the Ladybird Diner, didn’t seek the spotlight but has been thrust into the role by former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius, who also served two terms as Kansas governor, still has a…

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