Student-Run Organic Farm Thrives at Traditional Land-Grant University
A weathered wooden shed that holds wheelbarrows, hoes and other basic tools is the beacon of the Student Organic Farm, a two-acre swath within the Iowa State University Horticulture Research Farm. On a warm spring evening, a half-dozen students gather here, put on work gloves and begin pulling up weeds from the perennial beds where…
Look Who’s Coming to Dinner
Are you a non-Muslim interested in exploring the sacred month of Ramadan with local Muslim families? The Kansas City branch of the Dialogue Institute — a regional organization dedicated to increasing interfaith communication — wants you to join them at special dinners (and breakfasts) during the monthlong observance of Ramadan. The first dinner is set…
Green Dirt Farm’s Creamery Opening and Other Weekend Possibilities
What’s it called when we all scream for cheese? Green Dirt Farm is opening its creamery and tasting room (1099 Welt St.) this weekend in downtown Weston. It means more of their sheep’s milk cheese and yogurt, as well as cow’s milk ice cream (sheep’s milk ice cream is in the works for the future)….
KC Hearing Examines Payday Lending
Federal regulators looking to crack down on abuses in the payday lending industry heard from both sides of the issue at a hearing Thursday in Kansas City. “If a lender can succeed when borrowers are setup to fail, it is a telltale sign of a malfunctioning market,” said Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial…
Sympathetic Vibrations | Taking That Tone
Dave Wendler is obsessed with tone. So much so that he has spent the majority of his life striving to unearth the tonal potential of every instrument he comes across. And it’s at his unassuming home in the south Kansas City suburbs where Wendler hones his craft. Wendler is the owner and operator of Wendler Instruments —…
Cafe Europa Expands to Union Hill Neighborhood
A new neighbor is coming to Union Hill this fall that may quickly become one of the most popular residents in the area. Chef Nate Feldmiller and general manager Dan Weber recently announced expansion plans for Café Europa, which opened its original location (323 E. 55th St.) in the Crestwood shops in 2008. The second…
The Weekend Starts Today
Summer is overrated. Granted, that’s not the most popular point of view. Nevertheless, summer stinks. Sometimes literally. Oh, sure, the TV may be filled with images of people frolicking on the beach. But, honestly, how much time over the next few months will you be spending at the beach? Summer, mostly, means getting into hot…
Of Faith and Loyalty
The office of Palestinian-born shop owner Munir Yameen is a warm and congenial space, adorned by a black-and-white photo of Yameen as a young man in uniform, a smattering of carefully framed verses from the Quran and the customary photos of children and grandchildren. But the most striking photo on display is of his grandson Tarik standing…
Take 5 For Your Health
Disability Service Providers Await Budget Change Details Organizations that provide support services to Kansans with disabilities are anxious to see how the state will implement payment changes they fear will hamstring their operations. The changes are part of cuts Gov. Sam Brownback announced last week after the Legislature approved a budget that didn’t balance. Brownback’s administration…
In ‘Service,’ A Celebrated Photographer Turns His Lens On U.S. Troops
As a celebrated portrait photographer, Platon Antoniou (who goes professionally by his first name) is well-known for his close-up depictions of the powerful. He has aimed his camera at the faces of celebrities and world leaders ranging from Vladimir Putin and Moammar Gadhafi to Willie Nelson and Woody Allen. “Sometimes,” he says, “you look in…
A New Digital Series
Today, their names grace our highways, city districts, and restaurants. But before Chouteau was a trafficway, it was the name of an immigrant couple who used their honeymoon to discover new land. Before McCoys was a good place to get a beer, it was a family of missionaries whose son would use his business savvy…
To Save the Monarch Butterfly, Many are Turning to the Humble Milkweed
Monarch butterflies are disappearing. Scientists agree that in the last 20 years, populations of the black and orange insect have been in precipitous decline. But there’s much less certainty on what’s causing them to vanish. As each new scientific paper on monarch decline is published, the image becomes slightly less opaque. So far, potential culprits…
Story’s Whole Roasted Pig and Other Weekend Possibilities
Story (3931 W. 69th Terrace, Prairie Village, Kansas) celebrates its fifth anniversary in style on Sunday with a whole roasted pig from 5 to 10 p.m. That pig will be turned into heaps of pork tacos with Santa Maria pinquito beans. The special dinner is $10 (the full dinner menu also is available). Make reservations by calling…
An Old Soldier’s Virtual Heaven
The 70-year-old photo, discovered behind an old kitchen cabinet in Huntington, West Virginia, held tightly to its secrets; only the barest of clues were etched on the back in pristine penmanship. It’s a man in uniform, highly posed, perhaps in his mid-20s, holding a pipe to his mouth. He would be well into his 90s…
Why Scientists Are Falling For A Blind, Albino, Binge-Eating Cavefish
Bob Caviar has seen his share of heavy eaters. He’s the owner of Papa Bob’s Bar-B-Que in Kansas City, Kansas, and the creator of a sandwich he’s christened “The Ultimate Destroyer.” “This wasn’t designed as a challenge,” Caviar says. “It was really designed to feed families.” But the football-sized sandwich, which contains four and a…