Archives: July 2021

New food truck alert: Danny’s Burger Shack

Daniel Kidwell and his son Everett, working at Danny’s Burger Shack outside of an auto parts store in Waldo. // Photo by Brock Wilbur Danny’s Burger Shack is a family affair. Daniel Kidwell and his wife Niki decided to follow their dream, less than a month ago, by opening up a mobile kitchen whose aim is to produce some of…

Here’s why the CDC recommends wearing masks indoors even if fully vaccinated

August 2 marks the return of a mask mandate to KC. This is the science behind that decision.

Masks provide a layer between you and the virus, but the best action to take is vaccination. // Photo by Joey Daugherty Vaccinated people need to mask up again, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On July 27, the CDC recommended that everyone in areas with high COVID-19 infection rates wear masks in public indoor spaces,…

Nonprofit LaunchCode wants to help hire 150+ women in tech, hosts launch event today at 5 p.m.

LaunchCode wants to provide women with tech training for free. // Courtesy LaunchCode The world would be a better place if Big Tech employed more women and non-binary folks. LaunchCode wants to help them acquire a share of the thousands of high-wage jobs that sit unfilled in the wake of the pandemic. LaunchCode is a nonprofit that provides job-seekers with free, accessible training…

Premiere: Chasing Gold follows Overland Park discus thrower Mason Finley on his journey to the Olympics

Local director Edward Schroer puts the spotlight on an oft-overlooked sport in this documentary short film

Up close and personal with Olympic athlete Mason Finley. // Photo by Markel Randle You might not know much about the sport of discus, or what it takes to be successful at it. Luckily, in a dreamy and artful documentary short that follows KC native Olympic discus thrower Mason Finley, you can get intimately acquainted with what it takes to…

Peep this list of Pitch-approved August events

Free weekly art fair. // Courtesy Art Garden KC While we’ve heard that August is sometimes considered the Sunday of Summer, weekends in Kansas City are just heating up (it’s the humidity!). May we present to you a positively balmy list of events around town, complete with showing out at Show-Me Pride Fest in Theis Park, finally learning your crush’s…

Board of Police Commissioners approve updated residency rule

Mayor Quinton Lucas introducing new KCPD funding legislation. // Screenshot from KCMO City Communications Youtube The KC Board of Police Commissioners voted to approve the change to the police residency policy during its monthly meeting. The approved change allows officers, police workers, and reserve workers to live within 30 miles of KC city limits in the state of Missouri. The…

Police Board of Commissioners challenged to change KC drug prosecution practices

Jean Peters Baker. // Screenshot from KCMO City Communications Livestream The Board of Police Commissioners met today for their monthly meeting and along with it came an abundance of police reform discussion. One discussion brought before the Board was a presentation on low-level drug-related crimes by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. The presentation highlighted a year-long effort of collecting…

Patrick Mahomes becomes new member of Sporting Club ownership group

Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) prior to the Kansas City Chiefs vs Detroit Lions at Ford Field, September 29, 2019. Sporting Kansas City announced today that Kansas City’s crowned jewel Chief’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes became a new member of the Sporting Club ownership group. “I am grateful for the opportunity to join Sporting Kansas City’s ownership team and…

Wyco bootcamp E-Ship Rising celebrates one year, strives to foster business know-how

E-Ship Rising graduate Virgina Boiling takes photos with a bearded dragon for her business, Mother of Dragons. // Courtesy Sheyvette Dinkens ​”Millennials are starting businesses at younger ages than their counterparts in previous generations,” reads a blurb from E-Ship Rising’s website. E-Ship was originally conceived by Sheyvette Dinkens, local author, community advocate, and educator, and Tovah Madden, Founder of the…

Parade of Hearts calls for more artist submissions

Photo courtesy of Will Gregory The Parade of Hearts organization is in need of 50 more artist submissions for the 2022 heart sculpture initiative. Artists can only submit one application with a maximum of three heart designs. Submissions that exceed that amount will not be considered. Artists selected will receive a commission of $2,000. Visit theparadeofhearts.com to fill out an application….

Frito-Lay strike ends after nearly a month

Hundreds of workers at the Frito-Lay facility in Topeka are on strike. // Courtesy of Abigail Censky Labor strikers in Topeka reached an agreement Saturday with Frito-Lay, ending their three-week-long strike for better wages and the end of overtime between shifts. The contract will guarantee all employees get one day off a week and bring an end to “suicide shifts”—two…

Creature Feature: Avalon is the affectionate, chill cat of our dreams

Avalon. // Courtesy KCPP We teamed up with KC Pet Project to host a weekly “creature feature” on a loveable and adoptable animal here in the KC Metro. This week’s local Adopt an Animal features Avalon, a 15-year-old domestic shorthair mix. She resides at the Kansas City Campus for Animal Care (7077 Elmwood Avenue in Kansas City, MO), where you can adopt…

Truman Medical Center requiring all workers to be vaccinated by September 20th

Truman Medical Center // Courtesy of Truman Medical Center Truman Medical Center/University Health will be the first health care center in the region to implement a vaccine mandate for all employees. The announcement came Monday as more hospitals and medical centers across the country are requiring employees to get COVID-19 vaccines. “We recognize the importance of leading by example,” Charlie…

‘Roll out’ to Tacos and Tequila Festival featuring Ludacris

Courtesy Tacos and Tequila Festival Want to spend a whole day eating street tacos and drinking margs? You’re in luck (if you’re 21 or over). Tickets are available now for the inaugural Tacos and Tequila Festival at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas, on September 25. The event starts at 3 p.m. and features over 50 different chef-inspired tacos, 40…

Overland Park’s Smokey’s on the Blvd BBQ closes

Owner Winston Riley of Smokey’s on the Blvd BBQ. // Courtesty of Smokey’s on the Blvd BBQ In news that no Kansas-Citian wants to hear: Due to pandemic-related issues, Smokey’s on the Blvd BBQ in Overland Park served its last Q’. The establishment opened in 2012 and quickly became a destination in the KC community for those seeking a saucy…

Missouri health official calls COVID vaccine falsehoods ‘a bunch of baloney’

Delta variant summer surge accelerates as online messages on safety compete for attention

Robert Knodell, acting director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, addresses a group of state employees on May 24, 2021. // Courtesy the Missouri Governor’s Office Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s top adviser on COVID-19 is lashing out at vaccine falsehoods on social media, adding to the chorus of health officials around the state working to get shots…

Once more unto the breach, Cassandra

Human unwillingness to surmount the pandemic means it’s unlikely we will stop global warming

Still from the film “Homo Sapiens” (2016). // Courtesy Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion GmbH. As I started a week’s vacation Friday evening, I happened upon a film called “Homo Sapiens” (2016) by Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter that features scenes of abandoned human-built structures around the world in the process of being reclaimed by nature. The effect being that of an eschatological…

Junior Achievement of Kansas City organization honors mentors who inspire the youth

DEG’s innovative group of founders and leaders. // Courtesy DEG The next generation is set to save us all—with a little help from the current one. Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City—the organization that has made the economic success of Kansas City’s young people its number one goal—announced the 2021 Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureates yesterday. DEG, a…

Arquesta Del SolSoul is back after a pandemic-induced pause

The members of Arquesta Del SolSoul. // Courtesy of Arquesta Del SolSoul After a pause for COVID-19, Arquesta Del SolSoul is performing again. Their first performance back will be July 23 at Lemonad(e) Park, where they are playing with Blvck Hippie and Dreamgirl.  The band is a six-piece Kansas City-based music collective composed of Les Izmore, Brad Williams, Chalis O’Neal,…

GOP legislators in Missouri oppose vaccine efforts as state becomes COVID hotspot

COVID-19 vaccines are administered at a vaccine clinic by Phelps Health in Rolla on April 1, 2021. // Photo courtesy of Missouri Governor’s Office This story was originally published by ProPublica Amid the current surge in COVID-19 cases in Missouri, a recent Facebook conversation between two Republican state lawmakers is telling. Around Independence Day, State Rep. Bill Kidd, from the Kansas…