A crowd of people outside of Union Station listening to the symphony

The Weekend Starts Today

Memorial Day is about more than getting an extra day off. The holiday is ostensibly about remembering those we have lost. This weekend in Kansas City, the holiday also is going to be about staying dry. Still. Seemingly forever. Could someone please build the city an ark? Unless, of course, you want to get wet….

Event | Float, a Fun Twist on the Root Beer Float, is June 25 at KC Bier Co.

It’s time to welcome summer in properly with Float — a new family-friendly festival from Flatland and the Recommended Daily. At Float, you’ll get to sample innovative drink pairings featuring Kansas City Bier Co. brews, Second Best Coffee or soda with Betty Rae’s Ice Cream. The outdoor event — it’s rain or shine — will be in the…

Gov. Sam Brownback

Take 5 For Your Health

Brownback Budget Cuts Include $56 Million From Medicaid Gov. Sam Brownback trimmed more than $56 million from Medicaid in Kansas as part of larger budget cuts announced Wednesday, raising concerns that health care providers may decide not to take unprofitable patients. About $38.2 million of the $56.4 million in budget cuts comes from reducing reimbursements…

A label showing a non-GMO product

Explainer: GMO Labels

There’s a heated debate happening right now about GMOs and labels. Big food companies like General Mills, Mars and Kellogg’s say they plan to put labels on their products that tell consumers whether or not the food contains ingredients derived from genetically engineered plants. So what’s the big deal? What are GMO labels, and what do they…

A man dressed as Hans Solo

Cosplay Style, Part II: Planet Comicon Comes to Town

It’s Saturday and Day 2 of Planet Comicon. So now it doesn’t matter if you have a day job or not — all gloves are off and the spandex is on when it comes to cosplay style. Flatland was on hand to capture another round of KC’s finest players. Planet Comicon continues at Bartle Hall through tomorrow. We were on…

David Partelow cosplaying Deadpool

Cosplay Style, Part I: Planet Comicon Comes to Town

As Planet Comicon takes over Bartle Hall for the next three days, comic book legend Stan Lee — and all the pop culture A-listers slated to make appearances — will be photographed thousands of times. But we at Flatland are on hand to capture another side, the C-listers. That’s ‘C’ for Cosplayers, the elaborately adorned mega-fans who take costumed play…

A loaf of Challah

Waldo Hopfest and Other Weekend Possibilities

Baristas will mix it up at Benetti’s Coffee Experience (6109 Blue Ridge Blvd., Raytown, Missouri) for a latte art throwdown and ninth anniversary party. The party, which kicks off tonight at 6:30 p.m., is a benefit for Camp Courage. A $5 entry gets you food and beer from the Crane Brewing Company. There’s a mouse in…

A man speaking in front of a power point presentation

Consumer Protection Board Coming to KC

A federal agency dedicated to protecting the public from debt traps has scheduled a public hearing in Kansas City next month. Convened by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the hearing is scheduled to include remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray along with testimony from consumer groups, industry representatives, and members of the public. The…

Man standing against wall with ukulele

Sympathetic Vibrations | A Generous Mob

Music is art. There is no denying that. But well before your favorite artist’s music tickles your eardrums, there are hundreds of business-related decisions made about that art. And nearly all of those decisions have to do with money. In the past, if artists wanted to be heard by a national audience, they had to…

A crab cake with a chip and sauce.

Mesob is a refined take on Caribbean and Ethiopian Cuisine

Chef Cherven Desauguste and the restaurant name Mesob might ring a dinner bell for fans of Ethiopian and Caribbean cuisine. Several years ago, Desauguste and Mehret Tesfamariam partnered on MesobPikliz, a venue on Independence Avenue that featured the two cuisines. Mesob (3600 Broadway, Suite 1015) is a new restaurant venture with a shorter name, a…

Two grown men dressed as batman and robin

The Weekend Starts Today

Forecasters are calling for warm, dry weather all weekend. Thank goodness. We all know what April showers bring. May showers, however, don’t bring anything but badly overgrown lawns. Once you’ve mowed that jungle of yours, why not get out and see some of what our city has to offer? The scuffling Royals are out of…

The former Cerner Corp. headquarters in North Kansas City.

Take 5 For Your Health

Cerner Faces Another Lawsuit Over Its Overtime Policy Another class-action lawsuit alleging Cerner illegally failed to pay employees overtime wages has been filed against the health care technology company. The latest was filed in federal court in Kansas City on behalf of so-called AMS delivery consultants at Cerner, basically help desk workers who offer technical…

Competitors in a cooking contest gather food

Bacon Throwdown: Culinary Fight Club Kansas City Launches With A Sizzle

The knives — and skillets — came out on April 20 for the first event held by Culinary Fight Club in Kansas City. The Bacon Challenge, outside Extra Virgin in the Crossroads, featured four chefs competing in front of a live audience to use bacon in the most interesting and appetizing dish. Culinary Fight Club,…

A cow mooing

Why Do Cows Moo? Here Are a Few Reasons

We all learned it as kids: Old MacDonald has a farm and on that farm he has a cow that says “moo.” But why? Why do cows moo? Whenever I’m out reporting in the field I can tell many ranchers have a powerful connection with their cattle – they can almost understand them. But researchers today…

A man in a theater

From KC to Cannes: It’s a Hustle

Orson Welles’ observation on filmmaking was simple: “It’s about two percent movie making and 98 percent hustling. It’s no way to spend a life.” Kansas City-based indie filmmaker Patrick Rea knows everything about hustling. He began creating short films in 2002 to help him refine his skills as a storyteller and film director. To date, Rea has…