Nick’s Picks | Steak, Jail, Tower and More …

By | September 15, 2025

New Missouri Map Signing Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is promising to sign a new congressional map this week that would make it tougher for Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver to win reelection. Kehoe is also expected to sign a ballot reform measure that raises the bar for passing citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. If approved by voters…

Read More

Convicted Felons and the Right to Vote in Kansas

By | September 11, 2025
Voter suppression in the U.S. "is a story as old as the country itself," says Micah Kubic, ACLU of Kansas executive director. "At every step of the way, every little bit that we go further and expand access, there is somebody standing on the other side trying to chip away at that and undo it." (Solomon Shields | Flatland)

It is true that in some states, mainly in the South, a felony conviction bars a person from voting. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas wants Kansans to know that felons who have served their time are eligible to vote in the Sunflower State. Anyone who says otherwise is peddling misinformation, said Micah…

Read More

Nick’s Picks | Gerrymandering, Brewing, Haunting and More …

By | September 8, 2025
Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, also known as The Queen of Haunts, poses on the steps of The Beast haunted house.

Final Redistricting Vote Missouri lawmakers are expected to sign off this week on a new congressional map that could force out Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. The full House is expected to vote on the measure today. If approved, some dramatic changes are on the way. Downtown Kansas City, the Plaza, and Brookside would all…

Read More

Many ‘Moving Parts’ Complicate Work of KC Reparations Panel

By | August 31, 2025
When the Bruce R. Watkins Drive (the view here looks south from Linwood Avenue) was constructed, it cut in two the historic, predominantly Black Ivanhoe neighborhood, which runs from 31st to 47th streets and from Prospect Avenue to Paseo Boulevard. The freeway’s history is an example of how government decisions led to injustice for Black residents. (Bill Tammeus | Flatland

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…

Read More