#AliveKC is an initiative of Alive & Well Communities (AWC) that is raising awareness around racial justice issues stemming from communal and historical trauma. // Courtesy of Alive and Well Communities #AliveKC was birthed by Alive and Well Communities, a Kansas City-based organization focused on spearheading the disruption of racial and communal disparities and cycles of trauma through grassroots community…
Jason Mraz // photo credit Shervin Lainez Musician Jason Mraz’s latest album, Look For The Good, saw the singer-songwriter fully embrace the reggae leanings which had popped into his music over the course of his nearly two decade career. Unfortunately, it released dead smack in the middle of a pandemic, meaning his fans haven’t had a chance to hear these…
Attendees showing off their get-ups // Photo from The Pitch If you needed a reason to break out that Halloween costume sitting in the back of your closet, Planet Comicon Kansas City is the perfect excuse. Planet Comicon Kansas City announced the addition of more celebrity guests attending their convention next month. Felicia Day from Supernatural, Barry Williams and…
Photo by Sincerely Media Conversion therapy—an umbrella term referring to a litany of debunked and harmful treatments that claim without evidence to change a person’s gender identity or orientation—has come under renewed scrutiny in the greater Kansas City metro area. Over the past month, North Kansas City, Blue Springs, and Independence explored bans with mixed results. North Kansas City passed…
The Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, KS. // Photo by Megan Burns/Unsplash In June, the Biden administration extended a federal eviction moratorium that’s set to expire tomorrow, July 31. Now the White House says the administration can’t legally stretch the moratorium further, and has pushed that responsibility to Congress. Originally the moratorium was put in place to prevent evictions before…
Mike Czenige at Overland Park mayoral panel. // Photo by Shawn Stewart On July 24, Overland Park Christian Church hosted the fourth and final Mayoral forum for Overland Park’s candidates. Reverend Bobby Love of the historic Second Baptist Church of Olathe kicked off the meeting. He was followed by Jay Holbert, Branch President of the Johnson County NAACP. Moderator India…
It’s often easy to float through life on autopilot. It can be nice when something (or someone) stops you in your tracks. That’s what Bloom Allen hopes to do on “U Should Come Around,” the Kansas City singer-songwriter’s new single. The first half of the song sees Allen reflecting on love lost as he strums at his acoustic before a…
This week on the Streetwise podcast we discuss Dog Version 2.0, jam to The Wild Type’s track “Closet Anthem,” chat with Brian Daldorph (author of Words is a Powerful Thing), and rock a bonus Nick’s music corner with Ricky Roosevelt & Alccalh’s song “No Tint.” Streetwise is hosted by Brock Wilbur, editor in chief of The Pitch. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify. Subscribe to the Streetwise newsletter, a weekly…
Mark Kirchhoff, left, a volunteer with Columbia Project Homeless Connect, speaks Thursday with Taylor Knoth, a public health nurse, at the registration table for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. // Courtesy Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent The month of April was a good one for the Dallas County Health Department. It was the second straight month with less than one new COVID-19 case…
How does one pick a winner? // Courtesy Michael Coggins As we look back at Missouri’s 200-year checkered past and share our hopes for the future, there is a vague sensation that a fraction of our celebration is absent. Out of these two centuries, one full year was robbed from us. How do we reclaim even a small personal shard…
After telling employees that they would not be required to return to the office full time in June, Cerner announced July 28 that the company would be selling its Continuous Campus near Village West next month. Cerner officials told The Star that recent analysis shows the several offices in the KC metro area have enough space to integrate employees moving…
Missouri Attorney General Schmitt testifying to a Missouri House committee. // photo by Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications State Attorney General Eric Schmitt has once again started filing lawsuits against government officials reinstating mask mandates. Yesterday, after Mayor Quinton Lucas introduced a new indoor mask mandate for the city because of the Delta variant, Schmitt said he planned on filing a…
Photo by Diana Parkhouse Since it was launched two weeks ago by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Covid Stops Here campaign has already honored over 100 businesses that have achieved widespread vaccination against COVID-19. “We believe every workplace can be a leader on vaccination, and it’s important that they do so because vaccination is key to Missouri’s…
Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson in Jungle Cruise. // Courtesy Disney Let’s start with the most important takeaway: Jungle Cruise is two-thirds of a fun movie and one-third of late-entry Pirates of the Caribbean nonsense. While it would be easy to ding Disney’s latest ride-themed movie for not being very original, if it had stuck more closely to the outline…
The American Outlaws at Sporting KC. // Courtesy Megan Swanick Team USA’s first foray into the 2021 Gold Cup has unique roots in common with the supporters group following them around: a home in the Midwest. The United States Men’s Soccer Team (USMNT) settled in to Kansas City this July to labor through a week of group stage matches in…
Photo by Veeterzy It’s officially that time of the year again, folks! The first ozone alert for the summer was issued by the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). MARC says that people who are sensitive to air pollution and have breathing or heart problems should limit outdoor activity between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Ozone pollution can cause a variety of…
Missouri Attorney General Schmitt testifying to a Missouri House committee. // photo by Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications In his lawsuit challenging mask mandates in St. Louis and St. Louis County, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt questioned the effectiveness of past COVID-19 restrictions there. “Despite having the most restrictive and unconstitutional orders in Missouri, St. Louis County and St. Louis City suffered…
Illustration by Jack Raybuck I’m a gay male in my forties and I’ve been married to my husband for nine years. There was some mild infidelity on his part (exchanging photos and flirting via text with another guy) early in our relationship. I confronted him at the time, and he lied to me. I decided to let it go, as…
A sample of what to expect. // Courtesy of Black Restaurant Week Black Restaurant Week kicked off July 23 and is in full swing. But there is plenty of time to get out, explore, and support your local Black-owned eateries. The event’s second year in Kansas City features nearly 50 restaurants including food trucks, bakeries, and professional chefs. This year’s…
The collective sigh heard ’round KC: the mandate returns If you’ve paid attention to the news over the past few days, it seemed inevitable that some form of a mask mandate would return to Kansas City: A) Missourians are just really bad at science; B) the CDC already issued an about-face regarding masking early in the week; and C) the Delta…
The Kansas City Symphony received funding through the SVOG program, and we’re so glad they did. // Courtesy Kansas City Symphony Finally, Missouri’s live music and theater community is seeing a win for revenue lost during the pandemic. U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver II today announced that 46 venues in the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri would receive $43.5 million in Shuttered…
Misunderstood: The Musical. // Courtesy Notes By Grace, LLC Kansas City composer and author Melissa Hickman will bring her latest production, Misunderstood: The Musical, to Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. The one-act play focuses on the struggles and joys of the protagonist, Eliot Bishop, as he works to overcome the obstacles of living with…
For anyone who’s been craving festival fun, The Maha Festival is back this weekend after a year-long hiatus. This year’s line-up boasts national and local musical acts as well as comedy, spoken word, visual arts, craft beer, and food features. The lineup for this year’s festival will feature performances by indie headliners: Khruangbin, Thundercat, Japanese Breakfast, Drive-By Truckers, and Shovels…
A bird’s-eye view of Hinterland Music Festival. // Courtesy Dronography Iowa Yes, the Midwest might be landlocked, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have access to live music. Concerts have been at the top of our list of things to do post-pandemic. Enter Hinterland Music Festival, whose lineup feels like a breath of fresh air. The fest runs from August…
