Economy
KC’s plan to ‘bank the unbanked’
In the Kansas City metro, about 12 percent of households are “unbanked,” which means they aren’t using traditional financial services like banks or credit unions. About 300 people gathered Wednesday at the Plaza Library to discuss how to solve this problem. The meeting was a gathering of the Alliance for Economic Inclusion, an initiative of…
Kansas City’s cup of tea
There are four cups sitting in front of Tyler Beckett, in a small warehouse just north of the river in Kansas City. Beckett uses a spoon to sip the first sample. “It’s got that nice beautiful smokiness to it.” he says about his first taste. He takes a sip of the second sample. It’s more…
Many Americans are staying away from banks
LaJua Manning works 40 hours a week, and sometimes more than that. She’s a certified nursing assistant, working nights to take care of bedridden patients. Still, she struggles to make ends meet for her and for her two-year-old daughter. When the paychecks do come in, Manning doesn’t deposit them in a bank. In fact, she…
Me, getting by
LaJua Manning is a single mom who is involved with Stand Up KC, a group that protests for higher pay for low wage workers. As a certified nursing assistant, LaJua works overnight to take care of bedridden patients. Yet, she still struggles to get by. Her $12 an hour salary keeps her constantly juggling expenses…
From farmers market to brick-and-mortar
Levi Holland adds another sealed black bag of coffee beans to the small pile that is accumulating on a set of distressed wood shelves only a few feet from the front door at Post Coffee Co. Behind him is the 5-kilogram drum roaster that he’s running on a Wednesday after a busy holiday weekend –…