Doug Anning and Kirk Isenhour

Commentary | A Local Love Story with International Echoes

As Doug Anning and Kirk Isenhour turned to walk up the aisle after an Episcopal blessing of their same-sex commitment to one another, the packed church erupted. I have never seen a sanctuary full of such joyful people. They were applauding, shouting, cheering, even crying. At the time, I posted a blog entry about it…

For Innovators, Winning Isn’t Everything

Last year’s Innovator of the Year, Alicia Herald, put winning the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program’s marquee award into perspective. “I think it’s a fun title, and you get a beautiful celebratory bowl,” said Herald, CEO of myEDmatch. “But internally amongst the Pipeline family, we think of the event as the celebration of how far all…

Eric Harland, the organizer for KC's Culinary Fight Club, says there is a melting pot of talent in the region. (Photo: Jonathan Bender | Flatland)

Culinary Fight Club Comes to KC

The knives are about to come out in Kansas City. The pots and pans and spatulas will get a turn, too, when Culinary Fight Club Kansas City – a live competitive cooking event with roots in Chicago – launches in April. Think of it as “Iron Chef,” for home cooks with a live audience, secret…

Vinyl record on turntable

Sympathetic Vibrations | It’s A Groove Thing

We are currently living in a music consumer utopia. Services like, Tidal, Apple Music, Spotify, and Google Play offer more than 30 million tracks, available on-demand and anywhere you have a data connection – all in exchange for a monthly subscription price that is less than what you would have paid for a single album…

Delve into our local past with Bloody, MO. (Video | Brad Austin)

Welcome to Bloody, MO

When the Border War was more than a football game, when mafia men used fear and bullets to rule Kansas City, when a woman nicknamed “La Pistolera” held records for local and Federal outstanding arrest warrants. Step into Flatland’s digital series, “Bloody, MO” for a Civil War-through modern day video peek into Kansas City’s bloody…

Blue Man Group Performs

The Weekend Starts Today

We are officially in the winter doldrums. The lack of light and frigid, slick weather has everybody bummed. But don’t let cabin fever get you down. Or keep you inside. Rage, rage against the dark and cold by getting out and about this weekend. You can begin your battle against the blues with Blue Man…

Nick Haines questions a Kansas City councilwoman

KCPT Crime Discussion Yields Many Proposed Solutions

If there was one main takeaway from a Tuesday evening crime caucus in Kansas City, Missouri, it’s that there is no consensus on the best way to stem the tide of violence plaguing the urban core. Along with audience members, a nine-member panel that included representatives from law enforcement, academia, community organizations, and politics discussed…

KCPS Chooses Bedell for Superintendent Post

Kansas City Public Schools announced Wednesday that it has selected Mark T. Bedell to be its next superintendent, pending contract negotiations. “The KCPS school board appreciates the thoughtful input we received throughout this process,” Board Chair Jon Hile said in a news release. “The board, like our community, has set high expectations for quality leadership in…

Rexhep Hoxha from 'Besa: The Promise.' holding Hebrew prayerbook

Extraordinary Documentary Sheds Light on Today’s Clash of Faiths

It’s a story almost nobody knows, with particular relevance for a world in which religious misunderstanding fuels hatred and murder. Coming January 24th to the Kansas City Jewish Film Fest, “Besa: The Promise” tells a tale of hope and redemption amidst the horrors of the Holocaust. As a special attraction, the film will be followed by a…

Jonathan Butler at MLK event in Kansas City, Mo.

One on One with Jonathan Butler

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 19, and has been updated with video from the event. Click on the play button above to hear excerpts from Jonathan Butler’s speech at Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Jan. 18. Long before Jonathan Butler held a hunger strike at the University of Missouri, sparking a campus-wide protest…

Music | 7 Questions With…

Every Tuesday at 6pm on The Bridge, local music writer and Middle of the Map Fest organizer Chris Haghirian and The Bridge’s Sarah Bradshaw shine a light on the people, music, and events in the 816 area code during “Eight One Sixty“. One regular feature, 7 Questions, gets to the heart of a guest’s passions, past, and… purchase history. This week, 7 Questions goes deep with Madisen Ward and Ruth…

Kansas City Mayor Sly James, bottom right, announced the formation of a Citizen Task Force to prevent violence in November, 2015. The task force held a public meeting last week. (Photo: Elle Moxley | KCUR)

Take 5 For Your Health

Kansas Citians Demand Urgency From Citizens Task Force Against Violence None of the houses Kansas City Councilwoman Alissia Canady lived in growing up east of Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, are occupied. Most of the schools she attended have closed. “When you look at the areas where violent crime is occurring, you see vacant…

Grand Junction, Colo., is now the first city in the U.S. to fuel its vehicle fleet with natural gas produced from human waste. (Photo: Rebecca Jacobson | Harvest Public Media)

The Other Natural Gas: Making Energy From Waste

Every day, a facility on the outskirts of Grand Junction, Colorado takes in eight million gallons of what people have flushed down their toilets and washed down their sinks. The water coming out the other end of the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant is cleaner than the Colorado River it flows into. The organic solids strained from…

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) calls a play during the first half of the NFL wild-card win against the Houston Texans last Saturday. (Photo: George Bridges | AP)

10 Reasons the Chiefs Could Win Tomorrow

Saturday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs take on the New England Patriots in the NFL playoffs. Even if you aren’t from KC, there are plenty of good reasons to root against the Patriots. They are, after all, the most villainous team in sports. Mostly because they are cheating cheaters who cheat. Granted, almost everybody cheats…

Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., listen as President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. (Photo: Susan Walsh | AP)

Sounding Smarter

This week, two small U.S. naval vessels reportedly entered Iranian territory, close to an important Iranian military base. U.S. Navy said the boats “inadvertently drifted” into Iranian waters due to mechanical failures. In other words, we were totally spying on Iran. Terrorists in Pakistan have begun targeting polio vaccination centers. According to analysts, the radicals…