What’s In Our Tap Water?
By Lauren Langdon As the “Big Muddy” winds its way through Kansas City, it might be hard to believe that approximately 660,000 residents rely on the Missouri River for their drinking water — after it has been treated, of course. But, did you know that the treatment process itself can introduce potentially hazardous contaminants to…
Oggi Lofts Expects to Open in Garment District This Summer
By Kevin Collison A former building at 600 Central St. previously known for housing a modern furniture store is in the middle of $5.7 million conversion into 25 apartments. The four-story Oggi Lofts project is expected to be completed by August and will include two studios, 20 one-bedroom and three, two-bedroom apartments. It’s named after…
Feast & Other Weekend Possibilities
Movement KC is hoping to bring people together during a week-long series of dinners called Feast. The mash-up of test kitchen and community building kicks off this Friday in Midtown with seven chefs presenting themed dinners (Southern inspiration to “Birthday Surprise”) over the next two weeks. Eze Redwood, co-owner of Wings Cafe, will present dinner on the…
Freestyle Poke Joins Emerging Delaware Street Food Scene
By Kevin Collison The Delaware storefront scene in the River Market continues to blossom, the latest addition being Freestyle Poke, a Hawaiian comfort food place that plans to open in June. Poke (pronounced POH-keh) is big in its native Hawaii and even bigger in Southern California, and Jeremiah Dupin, a Kansas City native, is bringing…
Recipe | Pretzel Bites & Obatzda
Showing authentic German food to the world has long been my mantra. And this recipe for homemade pretzel bites and an Obatzda cheese spread is one of my go-to entertaining recipes. The pretzels are easy to make. While they need several resting periods (and are not for the totally impatient), they are worth it. The…
Something Funny Happening Downtown at The Box Gallery
By Kevin Collison A “funny” and memorable show has opened at The Box Gallery downtown, a colorful look at Andrews McMeel Universal and its influence on our national popular culture since its founding here in 1970. “The Art of the Comics” displays how Andrews McMeel, a national syndication, publishing and entertainment firm based at 1130…
Tap List | Stockyards Brewing Celebrates Two Years on the Trail
Stockyards Brewing (1600 Genessee St., #100) kicks off its two-year anniversary celebration from April 12 to 15 with beer releases, a vinyl record release, and events (see calendar). Ahead of the festivities, Stockyards brewer Micah Weichert reflected on Stockyard’s first two years of operation. “A lot of people in Kansas City were surprised that we made…
UMKC Streetcar Extension Report Suggests Stops and Alignment
By Kevin Collison The future layout of the planned streetcar extension from downtown to UMKC is on the map with its proposed stops and alignment on Main Street reviewed at a recent public hearing. For the most part, the eight suggested streetcar stops mirror those in place for the MAX rapid-transit bus route now serving…
Comparing Apples to Ohio
Why Columbus? Why would Kansas City PBS use Ohio’s capital city as a school-choice benchmark for our community? It all came down to research. More specifically, it was two reports: the “Education Choice and Competition Index,” published a year ago by the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, and “America’s Best (And…
Chasing the Tortoise and the Hare
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Before dawn, dozens of youngsters rush through winter rain toward the entryway of their school. The elementary school students are heading from buses into Columbus Bilingual Academy, which caters to Hispanic families that speak little or no English. The academy is a haven for students who might have been bullied, isolated or simply bewildered…
Rightfully Sewn Finds New Home to ‘Move the Needle’ in Crossroads
By Kevin Collison Rightfully Sewn, a nonprofit started in 2015 to teach women how to succeed as seamstresses in the fashion industry, has found a permanent home in appropriately, the Crossroads Arts District. “Our goal is to create jobs and opportunities in Kansas City through the business of fashion,” said Jennifer Lapka, founder of Rightfully…
A Healthy Bond
Throughout history, marches and protests have allowed women to change the world with their feet. Perhaps no one contributed to that legacy more than Harriet Tubman. She trekked out of Maryland as a fugitive slave in 1849, and then she walked to and from the South 19 times to help hundreds more escapees reach freedom…
Crown Center Marketing Vacant Property as Office Tower Location
By Kevin Collison Hallmark is marketing another large piece of undeveloped Crown Center property, this one a 2.7-acre site northeast of 27th and Main streets that’s designated as a potential office building location. Newmark Grubb Zimmer real estate announced last week it had been selected by Hallmark to seek a developer and/or tenant for the…
Northland Ethnic Festival & Other Weekend Possibilities
The Guadalupe Center’s Taco Dinner is back. Get four fried tacos and rice ($6) at the benefit for the center’s recreation program. Dine at the center (1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez) or take dinner home. The world is your oyster or, in this case, your egg roll. The Northland Ethnic Festival is from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m….
Sympathetic Vibrations | Into the Light
Those who have only known electronic music as the cash printing, mainstream monolith that it has become in recent years might be surprised to hear that the genre actually spent the bulk of its existence in the underground. EDM is the grandchild of house music – a dance variant originating in the ’80s whose pioneering…