Opinion
Omaha Postcard: Big Downtown Park Overhaul Shows How to Attract People
(Editor’s note: This article originally was posted Sept. 21, 2022) By Kevin Collison We have one restless, striving neighbor to our north. In July, Omaha finished the first phase of a $325 million overhaul of its downtown and riverfront parks, and what’s occurring 200 miles upriver offers an important lesson for Kansas City. First a…
Opinion: Twenty Years Later, Our Downtown Heart is Healthier to Live and Play, More Work Needed
(Editor’s note: This column was published Oct. 31, but the review of the “Mending Our Broken Heart’ series also is a good way to anticipate the New Year in greater downtown Kansas City.) By Kevin Collison Twenty years after The Star published its groundbreaking “Mending Our Broken Heart” series, downtown is back in the game,…
Omaha Postcard: Big Downtown Park Overhaul Shows How to Attract People
By Kevin Collison We have one restless, striving neighbor to our north. In July, Omaha finished the first phase of a $325 million overhaul of its downtown and riverfront parks, and what’s occurring 200 miles upriver offers an important lesson for Kansas City. First a little contemporary history lesson, one that I witnessed while attending…
Riding the Rails Into 2021
By Kevin Collison What a difference a year makes. One year ago, anticipation was high that greater downtown was poised for a major influx of office development including the Strata and Platform Venture projects, and the new Waddell & Reed headquarters. The Loews Convention Hotel was only a few months from opening, new restaurants and…
In Memoriam: Erin Langhofer
Three young men, one with a loaded 9 mm handgun shoved in his sweatpants pocket, came to First Friday to “meet friends and hang out”, according to police. A young woman from Overland Park, a therapist working with victims of domestic violence at the Rose Brooks Center, visited First Friday to enjoy an event that…