As Bird Flu Strengthens In China, Midwest Farmers Prepare For The Next Outbreak
Midwest farmers are warily watching as one strain of a highly contagious bird flu virus infects and kills humans in China and another less-worrying but still highly contagious strain infects a Tennessee poultry farm. Two years after a devastating bird flu outbreak in the Midwest, many farmers here say they now have a better idea…
The Day Before The Fall of Saigon
Nguyet Ha-Le was born in Thai Binh, Vietnam, in 1953. She was born into a large family – the fifth of 10 children. Life was comfortable in North Vietnam. Her parents were teachers with generational wealth that allowed them to live in a three-story, stone house with maids for each of the children. But only…
Dogs Are Doggos: An Internet Language Built Around Love For The Puppers
DoggoLingo is a rising language on the Internet that’s full of cutesy suffixes and onomatopoeias. It might even change the way you talk to your pet.
Pig & Swig & Other Weekend Possibilities
B is for barbecue. And it’s for bourbon. And it’s for bliss. Pig & Swig is Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m. in the Power & Light District. The outdoor festival features samples from Kansas City barbecue joints (Joe’s Kansas City, Plowboys BBQ, and Hawg Jaw Que & Brew, among them), as well as bourbon and…
Hello Atelier | Painting the Music
This week, we welcome Melissa McCracken to Hello Atelier. Melissa paints songs. Specifically, she paints the colors that she sees while listening to songs. Melissa has synesthesia, a neurological condition which, in her case, causes her to visualize colors when listening to music. Through her paintings, Melissa tries to share what she experiences. To grab…
The Entitlement We’re All Given
This week a White Privilege Conference comes to town. Although I’m sure it will be very instructive for many people, I won’t be going. Not because I’m against the conference in theory; I’m just incredibly self-protective these days about certain conversations. See, I’m as sick of hearing about white privilege as many white people are. Actually, it’s…
About The Coffee | Catering to the ‘Coffee Curious’
Marty and Tooti Roe are “tools in the toolbox” for anyone in the Kansas City coffee scene. Their shop, About the Coffee, started as an equipment service and repair company, but has morphed into a go-to for the coffee-inclined across the region, whether that’s roasting, brewing or experimenting with new equipment. Marty points to our innate Midwestern…
The Weekend Starts Today
Sunday is National Honesty Day. Really. It is. The holiday was created expressly to encourage truthful communication, especially in personal relationships and politics. Which, pretty obviously, is a total pipe dream. Nevertheless, we at least promise to tell you the truth about what’s happening around town this weekend. Like the Royals. Their offense, honestly, stinks…
Son of Fallen KC Firefighter Speaks Publicly About Doubts Over Trial
All James and Tracy Kilventon want is for justice to finally be done. After almost 30 years of investigations, a trial, guilty verdicts, unsuccessful appeals and continuing questions, they say, justice still eludes them. But the recent release of one of the defendants convicted in the 1988 death of James Kilventon’s father and five other…
Residents In Kansas Town Say Water Rules Must Give — Or Feds Need To Pitch In
Pretty Prairie, Kansas, population 680, had a moment in the spotlight during the confirmation hearings for new Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran mentioned Pretty Prairie as an example of a community that’s struggling because of EPA regulations that Pruitt could ease. But residents of the tiny south central Kansas town…
Strange Days Brewing is Coming to the River Market
Strange Days Brewing Company (316 Oak Street) has secured a 4,500-square-foot building in the River Market and anticipates being open by year-end, if plans proceed on schedule. Co-owners Nathan Howard, Chris Beier, and Alec Vemmer will share duties as brewers. “The building that we were lucky enough to find is full of character and soul too…
A ‘Game-Changing Asset’
Kansas City’s prominence as a vibrant city for art owes a huge debt to the presence of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Under executive director Bruce Hartman, the museum has helped Kansas City keep its eyes on the new, through stimulating exhibitions of national and international artists….
No Public Inspections for Our Rail Bridges
The old Broadway Bridge, built in 1956 when Dwight Eisenhower was president, is “structurally deficient,” according to publicly available reports, and needs critical repairs. But right next to it stands a much older bridge for which detailed public records are not available. The rusty, century-old Second Hannibal Bridge, finished in 1917 when Woodrow Wilson was…
Tap List | Callsign Brewing Coming to North Kansas City
Callsign Brewing is getting ready to report for duty. Last week, brewer Steve Sirois signed a lease for a building at 1447 Gentry Street in North Kansas City. Remodeling begins in early May and while Callsign Brewing’s projected open date will depend on licensing, Sirois is “shooting for the end of October.” The brewery’s name is related…
Rev. Adam Hamilton Strains to Prevent Schism in United Methodist Church
Forgive the Rev. Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the 20,000-member United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, if his attention seems divided these days. One minute, he’s celebrating the opening of a new $81-million sanctuary — complete with a breathtakingly large stained glass window — at its main campus in Leawood. The next, he’s worrying that…