Streetcar Keeps Rolling Toward Riverfront Without Federal Help
By Kevin Collison A multi-modal plan to extend the streetcar line to the riverfront, including a new concept to build a separate bicycle/pedestrian bridge next to the Grand Boulevard viaduct, continues to roll, but without help from Washington. The KC Streetcar Authority’s application for $25 million for the riverfront extension was rejected recently by the…
What Moves You Forward? | Yasmine and Abby
Right off the bat, Yasmine knew what continually moves her forward: God. For Abby, it’s her art and drive to compete to be the best in her field. Flatland spoke to audience members at the TEDxKCWomen event on Dec. 1 at the Music Hall in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. We asked them what moves them…
Southwest High was Once a Premier School. What Happened?
It boasts notable graduates, including acclaimed rapper Tech N9ne, the wealthy founders of H&R Block and celebrated journalist Calvin Trillin. Now Southwest High School is in decay and part of a heated debate about the future of public education in Kansas City. The building still looks beautiful on the outside. Towering Corinthian columns and a…
Tap List | 12 Beers of Christmas & an Invitation To a Puppy Party
Forget partridges. Forget pear trees. Tapcade (1701 McGee St., Suite 200) is celebrating 12 Boulevard Beers of Christmas through Monday, Dec. 24. Each day features a new, limited-release Boulevard beer (Saison Brett is today, Rye on Rye 2017 is Friday) for $4.50, alongside specials on more than a dozen other Boulevard beers. Limitless Brewing Co….
Poi-ō Brings Wood-Roasted Chicken to West Side
By Kevin Collison Carlos Mortera comes from a long line of restauranteurs, going back to his childhood days in Querétaro, Mexico. “I’ve been cooking for awhile,” he said. “My dad and grandpa had restaurants in Mexico.” Now, his dad Carlos Sr. is helping him fire up the oven with cherry wood at his new place,…
A Digital Downside: Cyberbullying
In the old days, the mean kid at school would rough up people on the playground or shove them out of the way at the water fountain. But the advent of technology has brought with it the person who harasses classmates on social media or hacks into their online accounts. As the digital world continues…
New 25-Story Office Tower Proposed for Downtown P&L District
By Kevin Collison A 25-story tower that would be the first multi-tenant office building built downtown since 1991 is being proposed for the block southwest of 13th and Main in the Power & Light District. The $132 million project, called Strata, would be located on what’s called Block 124, and would be built above the…
TIF Commission Agrees to Study Luxury Hotel Plan–Reluctantly
By Kevin Collison A $63 million ultra-luxury hotel project proposed next door to the Kauffman Center cleared its first hurdle Wednesday when the Kansas City TIF Commission reluctantly approved a funding agreement to study the plan. The 145-room hotel is being pitched by developers Whitney Kerr Sr. and Eric Holtze for vacant land controlled by…
What Moves You Forward? | Rosanne and Clarissa
Rosanne is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and she, like many of her friends who share that background, have the motto of continuing to move forward. Clarissa, a special education teacher, finds her reason to move forward in the small successes of her students. Flatland spoke to audience members at the TEDxKCWomen event on…
SantaCon, Game of Thrones-Inspired Whisky & Other Weekend Possibilities
Hold onto your sleighs. Pull on your red hat, and leave some cookies and milk on the front doorstep. SantaCon KC 2018, the bar crawl ($40) that encourages folks to don their best Kris Kringle get-up, begins at Kelly’s Westport Inn at 4 p.m. After checking in, party buses equipped with Jell-O shots will be…
Sympathetic Vibrations | The Goodbye Girls
In September, the Facebook page for local blues rock trio Katy Guillen and the Girls was hit with a torrent of crying emojis from fans – 243 to be exact – in response to a post announcing that the band would be going on “an indefinite hiatus.” The Kansas City band of six years wanted…
New Plaza Preservation Battle, Developer Plans to Demolish Prominent Church for Apartments
(Editors’s Note: Plans for this project were first posted online by Next Kansas City) By Kevin Collison A plan to demolish a prominent church in the Country Club Plaza and replace it with a 12-story, mixed-use project is unfolding as the latest historic preservation battle over the soul of the venerable district. Legacy Development wants to redevelop…
Best Eat In The House | Sura Eats’ Bibimbap Bowl
Best Eat in the House features dining recommendations from people in and around Kansas City. For this episode, digital producer Craig Smith has a moment with the bibimbap bowl at Sura Eats (1707 Locust St.) on the second floor of Parlor, the food hall that opened this summer in the Crossroads. Flatland chatted with chef…
New VisitKC Exec Anticipates Filling a ‘Saturated’ Downtown Hotel Market
By Kevin Collison The first time Jason Fulvi visited Kansas City 13 years ago, he flew back to Pittsburgh convinced there was no need to ever return. At that time downtown was in the early stages of its current renaissance, the Power & Light District, Sprint Center and Bartle Hall ballroom expansion just starting or…
What’s the Best Advice You’ve Been Given?
Jesus learned it from his grandfather, who taught him and his father this lesson. Getting caught up in the day to day is so easy, Jesus says, but the key is to remember what’s driving you forward. Every Tuesday and Thursday through spring of 2019, Flatland will share stories of Kansas City’s neighbors. Find them online here and…












