News & Issues
First Friday Reset Planned Following Murder at August Event
By Kevin Collison In the wake of last First Friday’s tragic shooting, organizers want to calm the event closer to its roots as a celebration of the Crossroads art scene, not the loud, crowded street party it’s become in recent years. The Crossroads Community Association announced Friday that next week’s First Friday temporarily will ban…
School of Economics Opens Downtown Program for City Kids
By Kevin Collison A program that’s been educating tens of thousands of suburban fifth and sixth graders about the business world for 25 years has opened a new downtown space to serve city kids. The School of Economics, a program launched in Blue Springs in 1994, is now open for class in a 4,000 square-foot…
Irish Fest Plans a ‘Mix Tape’ Finale for This Year’s Annual Weekend Party
By Kevin Collison This year’s 17th annual Irish Fest had a dilemma. For the first time since its soggy inception in 2003 at Berkley Riverfront Park, the festival’s favorite band, The Elders, wouldn’t be performing. “Obviously, The Elders are gone, which means we’re looking for a new tradition,” said Keli O’Neill, whose firm produces the…
‘Best-in-Class’ Entertainment Venue Planned for Plaza’s Jack Henry
(Editor’s note: Denver-based Punch Bowl Social announced in November 2019 it would be the tenant for this project) By Kevin Collison The vacant Jack Henry building at 47th and Jefferson is slated for a $44 million renovation to ready it for a hot entertainment tenant that would be new to the Kansas City market, according…
Kansas City-Area Foundations Fund 2020 Census Push
With billions of dollars at stake, a group of Kansas City-area foundations is funding an effort to ensure the most accurate count possible in next year’s federal census. The initiative comes in the form of the Metro Kansas City Census Equity Fund, with grants of as much as $10,000 now available to nonprofits focusing on…