Commentary |Faith in KC’s Southeast High School

The last time I had seen Ke’Montay Smith was last spring at the final graduation of the soon-to-be-closed Southwest High, where she was a student. She was wearing her snappy ROTC uniform and was part of the color guard. But now here she was at Southeast High School’s orientation night in August. This lively, bright…

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Goodbye Thomas, Hello Aep Thai Restaurant on West 39th Street

A Kansas City chef driven to discover the secrets of street food in Thailand is about to bring that knowledge home. Chef Jakob Polaco plans to apply his globe-trotting cooking experience to Aep (pronounced “ape”) — a Thai street food-style restaurant slated to open December 1 in the former Thomas restaurant space (1815 W. 39th Street). Before…

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A Complete Guide To Early And Absentee Voting

Early voting is set to account for one-third of all votes cast this election. Does your state allow early voting? And how do the campaigns use this data? Find out with our complete guide.

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A video about water quality.

Watching Our Water | Researching New Ways Farmers Can Fight Gulf’s ‘Dead Zone’

Farming in the fertile Midwest is tied to an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. But scientists are studying new ways to lessen the Midwest’s environmental impact and improve water quality. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts the so-called “dead zone,” an area of sea without enough oxygen to support most marine…

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Illustration of donald trump and casino coins

Trump’s 1999 Bid to Buy KC Casino Still Under Wraps

A monthslong investigation into Donald Trump’s aborted 1999 attempt to buy a Kansas City casino sits somewhere in the bowels of the Missouri State Gaming Commission in Jefferson City. But the public can’t see it. State officials estimate the size of the file at more than a thousand pages. Since January of this year, the…

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KC Bier Co.

KC Bier Co.’s Oktoberfest & Other Weekend Possibilities

Raise a stein or two this weekend at Kansas City Bier Company on Saturday and Sunday. Oktoberfest returns with dancing, a stein holding competition, a lederhosen competition, and the tapping of a Festbier. Make it an Oktoberfest weekend. The Lee’s Summit Oktoberfest is today (5 to 11 p.m.) and tomorrow (10 a.m. to 11 p.m.), while…

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A cast on stage

Sympathetic Vibrations | A Brave Composition

If there is a musical equivalent to rock climbing without a rope, local musician J. Ashley Miller is doing it. Miller, 34, has spent the last year developing a “brutalist pop opera” despite having no formal training in the genre and limited theater production experience. The project, “Echosis,” will debut this weekend with a two-night…

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Watching Our Water | Cities Cope with Polluted Ag Runoff, Create Their Own Pollution, Too

Standing on a platform above the eastern bank of the Missouri River at the Kansas City, Missouri, Water Services’ intake plant is like being on the deck of a large ship. Electric turbines create a vibration along the blue railing, where David Greene, laboratory manager for Kansas City Water Services, looks out across the river….

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A man on a stage.

The Ripple Effect | KCPT’s look at Ewing Marion Kauffman’s legacy

The name Kauffman is synonymous with Kansas City, from Kauffman Stadium to the Kauffman Foundation to the Kauffman Scholars program. In celebration of his 100th birthday, we take a look back at the life of a man whose great impact ripples beyond the boundaries of our city. As a young man, Ewing Marion Kauffman opened Marion Laboratories,…

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A man singing into a microphone.

The Weekend Starts Today

Fall officially starts this weekend, but it sure won’t feel that way. Yes, the autumnal equinox is tomorrow, but temperatures are expected to hit a decidedly un-autumnal 90 degrees. In other words, it’s faux-fall, and Flatland has a few ways to get out and enjoy it. An entertaining, if frustrating, Royals season is winding down….

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