News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Take 5 for Your Health
Amid Financial Troubles, Company Closes Two Kansas Ethanol Plants Financial problems at one of the world’s leading biofuels companies are causing ripples in the Kansas economy. The Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy, opened a state-of-the-art ethanol plant in October 2014 near Hugoton. Gov. Sam Brownback greeted the grand opening as a shot in the arm for the…
Interfaith Group Seeks to Welcome, Not Shun, Syrian Refugees
Responding to calls for a halt to the settlement of Syrian refugees in the United States, an ad hoc group of Kansas City faith groups, organized under the name “People of Faith for Peace,” held a rally Sunday at the Liberty Memorial. About 100 people braved the afternoon’s rainy weather and answered the organizers’ call…
Does a New Apartment Project Mean New Life in Argentine?
Two historic buildings in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, are getting new life – and community members there are seeing the revitalization project as a symbol of a community comeback. “It’s a really big deal,” Graciela Duarte said, an Argentine resident who was serving as a tour guide recently for the Simmons Villas…
Climate Change: Why Pope Francis Considers It a Crisis
As the United Nations climate change summit wraps up this weekend in Paris, three local groups sponsored a gathering at Queen of the Holy Rosary Church in Overland Park to discuss Pope Francis’s call for action on the environment (Laudato Sí), and to learn what action they can take locally to combat global warming. The Kanza…
Sounding Smarter
At the Climate Summit in Paris, Leonardo DiCaprio delivered a powerful speech about the dangers of global warming. Afterwards, Leo got into a private jet, flew to one of his several mansions and spent some time chilling on a giant yacht. Coca-Cola said on Friday that it may have to close some bottling plants in India if the government…