Archives: April 2023

Poio Mexican restaurant is closing its doors April 22

  Poio will be closing its doors for good, April 22. // Photo from Facebook Poio Mexican BBQ announced that the restaurant will close its doors at the end of the business day, April 22. This comes as heartbreaking news to the community that has gotten used to the barbecue joint as a KC staple. In September 2022 it was…

Panic Fest 2023: Black Mold has indie heart and big-budget chops

Black Mold. // Courtesy The Line Film Company This story is part of our coverage of Panic Fest 2023. Read more from our film team here. There’s a lot going on under the surface in Black Mold, as writer-director John Pata made clear in his Q&A following the film’s premiere at Panic Fest. The story of two photographers encountering hallucinatory hauntings in…

Photos: Warren Zeider at the Granada

Warren Zeiders. // photo by Isabella Galvan Warren Zeiders with Bryan Martin The Granada Saturday, April 15 On Saturday, rising outlaw country star Warren Zeiders took to the stage with opener Bryan Martin. Our photographer Isabella Galvan was there to capture the experience. Warren Zeiders Bryan Martin Categories: Music Tags: Bryan Martin, photo gallery, the granada, Warren Zeiders

Andrew Lester facing felony charges for the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl

Photo of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl. State representatives commend Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zach Thompson for filing felony charges against Andrew Lester, the man who shot Ralph Yarl—a Black 16-year-old boy—in the head and arm when he accidentally knocked on the wrong door when trying to pick up his siblings. Yarl has been in critical condition since the shooting on Thursday,…

Four Inane Questions with Coffee Lunch Coffee’s Alana Muller

Courtesy photo Alana Muller has been blessed with the gift of gab. The entrepreneurial executive leader can power through hosting a breakfast networking meeting and then facilitate a motivational corporate workshop mere hours later. Muller is the former president of KauffmanFastTrac. Her goal now? “To connect, inspire, and empower the community,” she says.  Today, Muller is the founder and CEO of Coffee…

Why Jackson County prosecutors won’t initially look at race when deciding whether to file cases

Members of the Black community have shared accounts of missing Kansas City Black women for months. In response, Jean Peters Baker, the Jackson County prosecutor, will implement a race-blind charging system.

Concerns about missing Black women helped spur Jackson County prosecutors to take race out of charging decisions. (Chase Castor/The Beacon) In part because of community concerns surrounding missing Black women in Kansas City, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has announced it will mask the race of both suspects and victims on documents that prosecutors review to decide whether to file…

Missouri agencies say ban on diversity initiatives in budget would disrupt operations

Rep. Doug Richey is proposing a narrowed version of his amendment banning diversity, equity and inclusion programming as the budget debate moves to the Senate.

State Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, speaks during a 2021 House debate Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications) If the Missouri budget becomes law with language banning state spending on diversity initiatives, Gov. Mike Parson’s administration says it would disrupt routine government operations as small as purchasing gas and as large as the Medicaid managed care program. In the days after the…

Blackberry Smoke tops the charts and our hearts at KC Live

Blackberry Smoke. // photo by Allison Scavo Blackberry Smoke with Robert Jon & The Wreck KC Live! Saturday, April 15 Based out of Atlanta, GA, Blackberry Smoke took time to give homage to Kansas City by shouting out local radio station shows, restaurants, and more. Charlie Starr spoke to the crowd as if we were all in someone’s backyard, completely…

KC protests call for solidarity in wake of Missouri’s new anti-trans legislation

“We want the right to exist in peace,” says Jadyn (she/her), a rally attendee. “Being trans is not a choice. I tried desperately for 30 years to not be trans and it made me miserable. Coming out and embracing my true self was the best thing I could have done. I will never go back. No matter what laws they pass, I will be out here fighting.”

Plaza rally. // Photo by Rachel Potucek Kansas City community members are calling for greater community action to oppose new bans and restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare for minors and adults. The Pitch followed two trans rights rallies in Kansas City this weekend to hear from people directly impacted by a wave of anti-trans legislation, including a likely ban on gender-affirming…

Startup Crawl KC returns to showcase local entrepreneurs June 9

A performer at a past Startup Crawl. // Courtesy photo Discover the new Kansas City when Startland News’ one-night tour of innovation and entrepreneurship, Startup Crawl, returns to the metro June 9 for the first time since 2019. The crawl is presented by Husch Blackwell law firm and General Admission is free. Guests of the crawl are invited to make…

Wandering Bud partners with designer Whitney Manney on artistic line of smoking accessories

The new Wandering Bud x Whitney Manney line of smoking accessories. // Photo by Lauren Pusateri Wandering Bud, our local women-led enclave of ceramicists creating one-of-a-kind smoking apparatuses has partnered with fashion and textile designer Whitney Manney for a new five-piece line of accessories featuring Manney’s artwork. In addition to hand-crafted ceramic smoking pieces and accessories, the collection includes a…

Midwest indie rep Michigander shines at recordBar

Opener Abby Holliday also impressed in first Kansas City trip.

Michigander. // photo by Tyler Schneider Michigander, the singer-songwriter moniker of indie-darling Jason Singer, visited Kansas City’s recordBar on April 11 not even a fortnite removed from the release of his new six-song EP, and the namesake of this tour, It Will Never Be the Same. The Mitten-State product presented a well-crafted 13-song set that alternated between the old and…

2023 Mental Health KC Conference set for May 11 and 12

In recognition of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month, regional and national mental health experts will gather at the Oracle Cerner Innovations Campus in Kansas City on May 11 and 12 for the annual Mental Health KC Conference. The conference focuses on bringing mental health awareness and education to anyone in the Kansas City area interested in breaking the…

Four Inane Questions with photographer Roy Inman

Courtesy photo Just ask, and Roy Inman will be quick to tell you about his—as he jokingly puts it—“checkered photography career.” His lifelong stint as an ace photojournalist has taken him “on board America’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, to the White House, and to Fashion Week in New York,” he says. “And, of course, all over my hometown of Kansas…

Panic Fest 2023: Horror thriller Black Mold grows tension in the walls of rotting memory

Agnes Albright as Brooke in the new thriller Black Mold. This story is part of our coverage of Panic Fest 2023. Read more from our film team here. Black Mold’s director, writer, and editor, John Pata, expertly builds tension throughout the thriller horror flick—feeding the audience false evils and misdirects that will have you looking over your shoulder.  The movie…

Lawrence’s new Espurresso Cat Café offers opportunity to chill with adoptable cats

Brittanie Sinisgalli and Mary Costello, meeting without outside investors for coffee. // Courtesy Espurresso Cat Café Marketing maven Mary Costello and baker/barista extraordinaire Brittanie Sinisgalli are combining their prowess to start up a new cat café in Lawrence, called Espurresso, in partnership with the Lawrence Humane Society. The two animal lovers and businesswomen have individually dreamed of opening a cat…

Kansas governor vetoes ‘born-alive’ bill, K-12 NRA gun safety training program

Top GOP lawmakers in the state vow to override Kelly’s vetoes.

Gov. Laura Kelly announced her vetoes of two GOP-backed bills Friday. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly overruled a “born-alive” bill and an NRA-backed gun program for public schools, but the Kansas GOP plans to overturn these vetoes when the Legislature returns in April. Immediately after Kelly announced her vetoes Friday, Republican lawmakers, who hold a legislative supermajority,…

Panic Fest 2023: Renfield offers viscera and vicious fun in equal measures

Renfield. // Courtesy Universal Pictures This story is part of our coverage of Panic Fest 2023. Read more from our film team here. For years Universal has fought a seemingly losing battle when it comes to finding the right avenue to modernize its stable of classic monsters. The studio’s history is intrinsically tied to the likes of the Creature from…

Kansas Legislature harbors apprehension about authorizing U.S. constitutional convention

House, Senate fall short of required two-thirds margins to commit.

Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum lobbied the House and Senate in an effort to pass resolutions committing Kansas to a convention of states to advance amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The resolutions failed to reach the required two-thirds majorities in Kansas, but Santorum was convinced the convention would eventually occur. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum…

Johnson County Community College fashion and culinary departments collaborate on Eye Candy show April 21

Left: Allison Meyer models a top and skirt of her own design. Right: Lu Lu models a dress designed by Diana Rios Lucia. // Courtesy photo JCCC Johnson County Community College will present an event Friday, April 21, at 6:00 p.m. in the WHCA Lobby featuring original fashion design, local models, and food, all benefitting scholarship funds at JCCC.  Eye Candy, the…