Lara Shipley

Stories by Lara Shipley

A profile of Munir Yameen

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…

Woman

Life, Prison, Then Life Again

The prison population is growing, and growing fast. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the number of incarcerated felons grew by 408 percent between the years of 1978 and 2014. Even more eye-opening: The number of incarcerated women in the United States ballooned 646 percent between the years of 1980 and 2010, according to a study from The Sentencing Project, a…

Patricia Corry sitting on her sofa

Getting By In Retirement

Patricia Corry, 79 “Whatever is coming down the pike, is coming down the pike” [FLEX-CONTENT] Originally from Canada, Patricia lived in Texas before moving to Kansas City. A self-described “fatalist and eternal optimist,” Patricia tries to take retirement day by day. She spends part of her time working for Reconciliation Services. Hear Patricia’s story:  …

First Day: Kindergarten in KC

Every year with the start of school, something huge happens for the kids in our communities: They start school, many of them for the first time. With funding issues, budget cuts, provisional accreditation, and superintendent changes in the news, sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of that big thing right in our midst: the wondrous,…

Us, getting by

As the debate over a better living wage for Kanas City residents continues to be an ongoing conversation, and with the KCMO city council addressing the issue in today's council meeting, reporter Daniel Boothe and photographer Lara Shipley present portraits and voices from KC workers, as part of Flatland's "Getting By" project exploring the impact...