Kansas City’s history of racial division and injustice is painful and often appalling. But the city now has an opportunity through the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations to show other cities — and maybe the nation itself — how to begin repairing the vast damage inflicted on Black citizens by discriminatory, foolish, destructive, and indefensible past…
It’s the last blast of summer for many Kansas Citians this week. Expect quiet commutes and empty desks as Labor Day’s three-day break has folks heading out early. Many area schools are also cutting the week short. Here are some other local stories we’re keeping tabs on this week… New Laws From Diapers to Marriage…
It started with a conversation on a Lake of the Ozarks dock. Comedian Rob Riggle was describing his recent visit to Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital. “He had hosted the hospital’s annual Red Hot Night fundraiser [in 2009] and they had taken him on a tour,” Julie Riggle McKee, Riggle’s sister, said recently. Like anyone…
Back to School Week Kansas students returned to the classroom last week, now it’s Back to School week for Missouri kids. Mayor Quinton Lucas was scheduled to greet students on the first day of class in the Kansas City school district today. In addition to the pain of getting up early, Missouri students will be…
Bus Service Shutdown? Money to run the bus service in Kansas City officially runs out on Friday, leaving thousands of riders worried about how they’ll get to work. The metro’s largest bus agency, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) has been struggling to keep the service afloat after federal pandemic money dried up and…
Work in a barbecue joint can involve hoisting 85-pound cases of brisket and cleaning away the soot, grease, and grime inside the pits. No place for a woman? Tell that to aspiring pitmaster Veronica Scroggins and her mentor Scott Umscheid, owner of Scott’s Kitchen & Catering at Hangar 29, located in a former car rental…
Trump Set to Move Thousands of USDA Jobs to KC We are waiting to hear more details this week about a new plan by President Donald Trump to move thousands of federal agriculture department jobs to Kansas City. It is part of a new push by the White House to shift government offices closer to…
Almost 20 years ago, I devoted a long column in The Kansas City Star to an interview with two local pastors, both in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Mainline Protestant denomination. The ELCA was then debating whether to change its rules to allow the ordination of LGBTQIA+ people as clergy. The Rev. Donna…
Frank Decision Jackson County Executive Frank White has done something no one else has been able to accomplish over the past year. He’s managed to knock the stadium story off the front page. White’s fate has become Kansas City’s newest and biggest political drama. This week, we are waiting for a judge to rule on…
It’s common for Aaron Squadroni to interact with people interested in his art. But usually it’s completed work in a gallery, not an unfinished piece near a lake. Squadroni, along with Leah Yellowbird, created Fire Keepers Circle, a new public artwork commemorating the Potawatomi Trail of Death. The piece is in Heritage Park in Olathe.…