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…

Read More >

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…

Read More >
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…

Read More >

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]

Read More >
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…

Read More >
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…

Read More >

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…

Read More >
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…

Read More >

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…

Read More >
After 10 years showcasing local and national talent, the RecodBar closed on Saturday, Jan. 2. On Friday, Jan. 1, owners Steve Tulipana and Shawn Sherrill played with their band, Roman Numerals. Using four cameras, Flatland's John McGrath shot a music video of their performance of "The Rule of V".

Sympathetic Vibrations | RecordBar’s Last Song

Halfway through Making Movies’ farewell set at RecordBar on Saturday, lead singer/guitarist Enrique Chi quipped, “We’re trying to play long because we don’t want to leave this place.” Chi’s joke resonated with the sold-out crowd, and likely the larger Kansas City music community, that reluctantly bid farewell to the space that has housed an institution…

Read More >