News & Issues

‘Supersizing Urban America’: How U.S. Policies Encouraged Fast Food To Spread

A new book examines how federal government policies made it easier for minorities to open fast-food franchises than grocery stores. Today the landscape of urban America reflects this history.

Read More >
The small town of Haxton, Colorado.

As High-Tech Farms Take Hold, Can Farm Towns Hold On?

Brandon Biesemeier climbs up a small ladder into a John Deere sprayer, takes a seat in the enclosed cab, closes the door, and blocks out most of the machine’s loud engine hum. It is a familiar perch to the fourth-generation farmer on Colorado’s eastern plains. He turns onto a country road, heading south to spray…

Read More >
The band Portugal. The Man.

Top Five Ways To Spend Your Weekend

A Little Bit Country If you get the chance to see a musical legend, see that legend. It doesn’t matter what genre. Willie Nelson certainly fits that bill. Decades before he became famous for weed, Willie was writing classics like “Crazy,” “On The Road Again.” The opening acts for this triple bill at Starlight Theater…

Read More >
The Hashmis at home

New Rule May Worsen Backlog For Social Security Disability Claimants

By the time Stephenie Hashmi of Lenexa, Kansas, was in her mid-20s, she had achieved a lifelong dream: She was the charge nurse at one of Kansas City’s largest intensive care units. But even as she cared for patients, she realized something was off with her own health. “I remember just feeling tired and feeling…

Read More >

Plans to Redevelop Washington Square Park in Downtown Kansas City Remain Work in Progress

By Kevin Collison Three years after being hired by Union Station Kansas City to explore options for redeveloping property it owns on the north side of Washington Square Park, VanTrust Real Estate remains undecided about the best plan moving forward. “We’ve looked at everything from a single use to a mixed-use of office, residential and…

Read More >

Local Storytelling. Fact-Based Reporting. Trustworthy Sources.

Help support the nonprofit media landscape in Kansas City and provide a platform for underrepresented voices across the region.