a well in pretty prairie

Residents In Kansas Town Say Water Rules Must Give — Or Feds Need To Pitch In

Pretty Prairie, Kansas, population 680, had a moment in the spotlight during the confirmation hearings for new Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran mentioned Pretty Prairie as an example of a community that’s struggling because of EPA regulations that Pruitt could ease. But residents of the tiny south central Kansas town…

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Alec Vemmer, Chris Beier and Nathan Howard

Strange Days Brewing is Coming to the River Market

Strange Days Brewing Company (316 Oak Street) has secured a 4,500-square-foot building in the River Market and anticipates being open by year-end, if plans proceed on schedule. Co-owners Nathan Howard, Chris Beier, and Alec Vemmer will share duties as brewers. “The building that we were lucky enough to find is full of character and soul too…

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The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

A ‘Game-Changing Asset’

Kansas City’s prominence as a vibrant city for art owes a huge debt to the presence of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Under executive director Bruce Hartman, the museum has helped Kansas City keep its eyes on the new, through stimulating exhibitions of national and international artists….

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The Buck O'Niel Bridge, left, and Second Hannibal Bridge, right, span the Missouri River.

No Public Inspections for Our Rail Bridges

The old Broadway Bridge, built in 1956 when Dwight Eisenhower was president, is “structurally deficient,” according to publicly available reports, and needs critical repairs. But right next to it stands a much older bridge for which detailed public records are not available. The rusty, century-old Second Hannibal Bridge, finished in 1917 when Woodrow Wilson was…

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Steve Sirois

Tap List | Callsign Brewing Coming to North Kansas City

Callsign Brewing is getting ready to report for duty. Last week, brewer Steve Sirois signed a lease for a building at 1447 Gentry Street in North Kansas City. Remodeling begins in early May and while Callsign Brewing’s projected open date will depend on licensing, Sirois is “shooting for the end of October.” The brewery’s name is related…

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The Truth About Ugly Foods: They’re Delicious, Abundant And Good For The Planet

Tim Wharton bristles at being called a “foodie,” with its connotation of lush, sumptuous “food porn.” He prefers “gastronaut,” a label popularized by late British television chef Keith Floyd, for its evocation of intrepid culinary exploration. Wharton’s provocative new book Ugly Food: Overlooked and Undercooked, written with fellow gourmet Richard Horsey, is a celebration of…

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A tractor combine

What Farmers Lobbying For The Right To Repair Their Tractors Could Mean For Your iPhone

A new tractor often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, but not included in that price: the right to repair it. That has put farmers on the front lines of a battle pitting consumers against the makers of all kinds of consumer goods, from tractors to refrigerators to smart phones. Modern tractors, essentially, have two…

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A man on a bike

It’s the Journey: Biking in the Metro

Kansas City has one of the highest rates of automobile commuting in the nation. So, what does that mean for the cyclists sharing the road? Public Works? The Cost of Our Aging Infrastructure is a months-long project taking you underneath the pavement to tackle the state of our water and sewers. We track the state of highways and…

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Dogfish Head

Food Trucks Get Rolling & Other Weekend Possibilities

When the sun is shining and your lawn is calling, that’s when you should go for a Saturday afternoon beer. Underdog Wine (2980 Gillham Road) is happy to oblige. It’s hosting a Beer:30 tasting in Union Hill featuring Dogfish Head from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. You’ve got to be 21 years old to attend the tasting. Everyone…

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New KC Education Nonprofit Announces Next Round of Funding

A new Kansas City, Missouri, nonprofit has announced the second round of funding as part of a decade-long effort to improve academic achievement among public school students in the city. SchoolSmartKC, a project that started as part of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, this week said it was making at least $1.5 million available to…

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