Work in Progress
Lady Pitmasters Work to Break Barbecue’s Gender Stereotypes
Work in a barbecue joint can involve hoisting 85-pound cases of brisket and cleaning away the soot, grease, and grime inside the pits. No place for a woman? Tell that to aspiring pitmaster Veronica Scroggins and her mentor Scott Umscheid, owner of Scott’s Kitchen & Catering at Hangar 29, located in a former car rental…
Nick’s Picks | USDA, LBJ, Streetcar and More …
Trump Set to Move Thousands of USDA Jobs to KC We are waiting to hear more details this week about a new plan by President Donald Trump to move thousands of federal agriculture department jobs to Kansas City. It is part of a new push by the White House to shift government offices closer to…
Gay Bishop Reflects Evolution of Evangelical Lutheran Church
Almost 20 years ago, I devoted a long column in The Kansas City Star to an interview with two local pastors, both in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Mainline Protestant denomination. The ELCA was then debating whether to change its rules to allow the ordination of LGBTQIA+ people as clergy. The Rev. Donna…
Nick’s Picks | White, Garner, Lucas and More …
Frank Decision Jackson County Executive Frank White has done something no one else has been able to accomplish over the past year. He’s managed to knock the stadium story off the front page. White’s fate has become Kansas City’s newest and biggest political drama. This week, we are waiting for a judge to rule on…
New Johnson County Sculpture Memorializes ‘Trail of Death’
It’s common for Aaron Squadroni to interact with people interested in his art. But usually it’s completed work in a gallery, not an unfinished piece near a lake. Squadroni, along with Leah Yellowbird, created Fire Keepers Circle, a new public artwork commemorating the Potawatomi Trail of Death. The piece is in Heritage Park in Olathe….
Nick’s Picks | Batteries, Recall, Butterflies and More …
Panasonic Plant Grand Opening Panasonic’s $4 billion Kansas battery plant finally begins operations this week. The company is hosting a grand opening ceremony today in De Soto with state and local leaders. The project is jam-packed with superlatives: At full capacity, the plant can churn out 66 lithium-ion batteries per second. But it’s unclear if…
Child care ‘is like paying a mortgage.’
Nina Ward began looking for child care when she was only a few months pregnant. Ward and her husband created a list of child care centers and set up tours, but the Kansas City couple repeatedly ran into the same problem: there were no infant spaces available. So they broadened their search and eventually found…
Developers eye idle KCK power plant as the region pursues data center projects
A defunct Kansas City, Kansas, power station astride polluted land has caught the eye of investors eager to develop an energy-hungry data center. The investors have offered to pay millions of dollars for the environmental remediation of the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities’ defunct Quindaro Power Station — and then some. The Unified Government…
Nick’s Picks | Travel, Fireworks, Lacrosse and More …
Kicking the Can Down the Road on Stadiums A Kansas deal to fund up to 70% of the costs of new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals expires tonight. But it looks like the teams and our political leaders have decided to kick the can down the road, yet again. Both teams have asked Kansas…
Kansas City’s ‘Stunning’ Array of Sacred Music
Rockhurst University music professor Timothy L. McDonald grew up near New York City where, he says, “we have a lot of sacred music, but it’s my perception that New York has not nearly as many professional and semi-professional sacred music groups as in Kansas City. “It’s stunning to me how many such groups we have…
Kansas City Establishes New Court in Undaunting Setting
Kansas City is taking court “straight to the people” with a new Community Court that convenes at a multipurpose center in the urban core, not the downtown courthouse. The off-site location at 27th Street and Prospect Avenue is essential to the specialty court’s focus on serving people experiencing instability issues, such as homelessness, by providing…
Caregivers in KC: A Community of Care
By 2030, it’s predicted that adults over the age of 60 will outnumber those under 18 for the first time in U.S. history. How are older residents and their caregivers equipped to meet the challenges inherent in aging in our area? Flatland looks at two organizations providing services intended to support people staying in…
Caregivers in KC: Planning for the Future
Becoming a caregiver is a responsibility that can sometimes arise unexpectedly. After the birth of a child with a disability, or the health decline of a parent or spouse, caregiving often comes with important financial considerations. Health care and supply costs for caregivers can add up quickly, and your income may be reduced as you…
When Going Under the Knife Does Not Mean Surgery
Chef Educator Rachel Ciordas deftly sliced collard greens into a ribbon-like chiffonade as students from the University of Kansas School of Medicine watched with a degree of awe typically reserved for an episode of the Food Network’s “Chopped.” After Ciordas demonstrated how to peel, chop, or grate the raw ingredients, the future physicians donned aprons…
Nick’s Picks | Stadiums, Heat, Concerts and More …
Pressure Mounts on Chiefs, Royals to Decide A deadline is forcing the owners of the Chiefs and Royals to finally pick a side: Kansas or Missouri? A Kansas offer that would pay up to 70% of the construction costs for building new stadiums for the teams expires at the end of the week. Kansas legislative…