News & Issues

Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.

Veronica Scroggins trims beef for brisket at Scott’s Kitchen & Catering at Hangar 29 in Kansas City, North. (Chase Castor | Flatland)

Lady Pitmasters Work to Break Barbecue’s Gender Stereotypes

Work in a barbecue joint can involve hoisting 85-pound cases of brisket and cleaning away the soot, grease, and grime inside the pits. No place for a woman? Tell that to aspiring pitmaster Veronica Scroggins and her mentor Scott Umscheid, owner of Scott’s Kitchen & Catering at Hangar 29, located in a former car rental…

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Nina Ward said she's seen personally and professionally the challenges of navigating the child care market in Kansas City. She struggled to find care for her now 1-year-old daughter, A'ja. (Photo courtesy of Nina Ward)

Child care ‘is like paying a mortgage.’

Nina Ward began looking for child care when she was only a few months pregnant.  Ward and her husband created a list of child care centers and set up tours, but the Kansas City couple repeatedly ran into the same problem: there were no infant spaces available. So they broadened their search and eventually found…

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Investors have offered to buy the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities’ defunct Quindaro Power Station and develop a data center on the site. (Vaughn Wheat/The Beacon)

Developers eye idle KCK power plant as the region pursues data center projects

A defunct Kansas City, Kansas, power station astride polluted land has caught the eye of investors eager to develop an energy-hungry data center. The investors have offered to pay millions of dollars for the environmental remediation of the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities’ defunct Quindaro Power Station — and then some. The Unified Government…

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Gas might not be as cheap as it was when these pumps operated, but AAA is reporting that gas is about 24 cents a gallon cheaper than it was a year ago in the lead-up to the Fourth of July. (Mike_Birdy | Freerange Stock)

Nick’s Picks | Travel, Fireworks, Lacrosse and More …

Kicking the Can Down the Road on Stadiums A Kansas deal to fund up to 70% of the costs of new stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals expires tonight. But it looks like the teams and our political leaders have decided to kick the can down the road, yet again. Both teams have asked Kansas…

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Younger man assists older man walking through dining room.

Caregivers in KC: A Community of Care

By 2030, it’s predicted that adults over the age of 60 will outnumber those under 18 for the first time in U.S. history. How are older residents and their caregivers equipped to meet the challenges inherent in aging in our area?   Flatland looks at two organizations providing services intended to support people staying in…

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