Picnic for Area Refugees Helps Newcomers Assimilate
When Ahmad al-Abboud brought his wife and five children to the United States from war-torn Syria, he carried with him a vision of this country — of scantily clad people kissing in the streets — he feared would clash with his conservative Muslim culture. But what he found upon settling in Kansas City in April…
Hello Atelier | How a Hobbyist Turned Passion into Product
Flatland has teamed up with Hello Atelier, a Kansas City-based podcast that explores what it means to be a working artist. Hosted by Betsy Blodgett, the weekly podcast takes you into to the studios of designers of all different mediums to learn about their inspiration, their design process and the personal stories behind their art. Hello Atelier is presented by Phonicalia,…
Speak, a Sandwich Shop with Deli Roots, Opens
Todd Schulte quietly opened a sandwich shop with the soul of a deli last week. After a year of working to fine tune pastrami and searching for proper sliced rye, Speak is now operating out of a shared space with Uncommon Stock, a sister soup company, at 1000 W. 25th St. On a recent Tuesday…
Take 5 For Your Health
Need Disability Help In Kansas? Thousands Wait An Average Of Seven Years At his apartment in Olathe, Kansas, 42-year-old Nick Fugate catches up on washing dishes and remembers the 22 years he spent doing it at a local hotel, trying to stay on top of a never-ending-stream of plates, glasses and silverware. Nick recalls minor…
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),…