Mike Sherry
Contributor and Former Senior Reporter
Stories by Mike Sherry
The State of Our Metro Bridges? May Not Want to Shut Your Eyes
When it comes to the sorry state of Kansas City bridges, City Manager Troy Schulte says the one that keeps him up at night is the old Broadway Bridge over the Missouri River. But a Flatland analysis of bridge inspection data reveals that there are enough problem bridges in the metropolitan area to keep Schulte…
Lethal Injection Drugs at Center of Death Penalty Fight
Historical accounts peg Peter Johnson as the first person executed in Missouri — hanged in 1810 for killing another man in a township southwest of St. Louis. More than two centuries later, Missouri is still meting out the death penalty. But now, the method is lethal injection, a process that is ensnaring Missouri and other…
KC-Area Philanthropists Come Up Big To Fight Pediatric Cancer
With the infusion of $10 million in philanthropic support, two of the region’s largest medical centers have established four high-level research positions aimed at making Kansas City an international hub in the fight against pediatric cancers. Children’s Mercy Hospital and The University of Kansas Cancer Center announced the new endowed chairs Monday evening at the…
Calls for Peace, not Pacifism
It was dark and cold outside Saturday as celebrants filled the venue on Kansas City’s West Side. But this crowd was not gearing up for a party in the final hours of the year; it was instead a predawn gathering at the Rime Buddhist Center for the city’s 31st annual World Peace Meditation. [FLEX-CONTENT] By…
Carving A Niche
Pulling off a turkey dinner that serves approximately 1,500 people, about two-thirds of whom are homebound and have their meal delivered, does not happen without a lot of manpower. So The Salvation Army of Kansas and Western Missouri, which puts on such a meal each Thanksgiving in Kansas City, relies on an army of helpers…
The Day That Was
No matter how you feel about Tuesday’s outcome, Election Day is over. Unrelenting attack ads and mailers marked brutal campaigns from president on down. In the end, Kansas City-area voters voiced their opinions on everything from tobacco taxes to judicial retention. Here’s our social media rundown of how a long, divisive campaign season ended with Tuesday’s…
Healing the Invisible Wounds of Combat
It’s the serviceman who beats himself up about being unable to save a dying buddy. Or the truck driver who follows orders to run over children in the road, because they might be placed there to facilitate an ambush of a convoy. While it has been more than half a century since the United States…
New KC Mental Health Center Hailed As National Model
Supporters of a new mental health crisis center in Kansas City hailed the facility as a model for the rest of the state — and beyond — during its ceremonial opening this afternoon. “Other communities in Missouri are going to have their eyes on this project because they want to emulate it,” said Mike Nietzel,…
Playing Catch-Up with Missouri Mental Health
When Missouri’s second mental hospital opened in the late 19th century, State Lunatic Asylum No. 2 in St. Joseph was designed to provide lots of natural light and fresh air. Yet as war and economic calamity frayed the nation’s psyche, over-crowding swamped the hospital’s lofty goals. The census of the St. Joseph facility peaked at…
KU Cancer Center Makes Bid To Join Elite Club
Four years ago, former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius returned home as U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services with a prize the University of Kansas Cancer Center had been seeking for years: certification as a nationally recognized center through the National Cancer Institute (NCI). But amid the hoopla, KU Cancer Center Director Dr. Roy Jensen…