Archives: March 2024

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Politics

Loud Light Kansas Politics Recap: Kansas vs. Ty Masterson, marijuana, anti-trans bills, and more

Davis Hammet,

The Pitch has partnered with a local political awareness organization called Loud Light. Their goal is to engage and empower individuals from underrepresented populations to build community power. And impact decision-makers. Each week of the year that the Kansas statehouse is in session, they release a short video recapping what the legislature is up to. Knowing the nitty-gritty of what’s happening with your…

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Theater

Trigger Warming: The Unicorn’s Backwards Forwards Back uses video game framing to deprogram the trauma of war

One soldier struggles with VR therapy for PTSD in the confines of Call of Duty: Post-Modern Warfare.
Brock Wilbur,

Backwards Forwards Back. // Photo by Cynthia Levin/Unicorn Theatre A few years back, I co-wrote a book about the tenuous connection between video games and violence. The basic through-line was that, for as long as we’ve had school shootings, we’ve had politicians who jump to blame violence in video games as the cause, because video games and heavy metal music…

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Politics

Poll finds Missourians want better access to birth control. Bipartisan bill could grant it

Legislation that would allow women to pick up annual supplies of birth control won bipartisan support this year in the Missouri House.
Anna Spoerre,

What used to be a recovery room for patients after abortion procedures has for the past few years instead served as an office for nurse practitioners at the Planned Parenthood location in Columbia, which was forced to stop providing abortions in 2018. // Photo submitted by Planned Parenthood Great Plains Missourians overwhelmingly support access to contraceptives, but some fear their…

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Movies

Possession horror flick Baghead channels a roulette wheel of spirits into tenuous vessels

Brock Wilbur,

Not every film needs to reinvent the wheel. Especially when it comes to horror, that wheel can be, itself, a cycle of the same stories returning to the front of our collective fears, as culture churns through another existential cycle. It’s why so many storylines from the ur-text for weird predicament storytelling—the original Twilight Zone of course—can always be welcomed…

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Food & Drink

KC Sipps: A new local soju, plus spicy events this weekend

Your Kansas City dining guide.
Sarah Sipple,

Art by Cassondra Jones Looking for delicious plans? Whether you want to impress a date, show your fam the best of KC, or just get out of the house, we’ve got you covered… all while supporting (mostly) local.  Here is your weekly roundup of the best food and drink offerings around Kansas City. Cheers! Something new Chingu: Chingu, the Korean…

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Politics

Senate Democrats’ attempt to protect IVF in Kansas voted down

Immediately following the abortion measure’s passage — during which Republican senators opined on the “emptiness of abortion,” and characterized the procedure as one that “kills innocent children” — Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, tried to pull Senate Bill 554 out of committee for a floor debate.
Rachel Mipro,

Sen. Dinah Sykes said the Kansas Legislature needs to show support for Kansas women by passing IVF protections. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — In-vitro fertilization in Kansas remains unprotected after a Democrat-driven measure to hear guardrail legislation on the Senate floor failed Tuesday. Senators held a brief discussion of in-vitro fertilization after approving legislation that would force abortion providers to…

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Food & Drink

We tried to rank 20 locally available edibles, but in the process we forgot how numbers work

Don't worry. We're pretty sure this still makes sense.
Patrick Moore,

Photo courtesy of Adobe Edibles are not for everyone. And even those that like them, probably have at least one story about a bad experience. My horror story involves eating two 1,000mg brownies in Los Angeles, where I was living at the time. A friend of mine Venmo’d me the money to buy the brownies, on the condition that I…

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Music

Sleater-Kinney made it worth braving the rain Monday night

A classic gig at The Truman with support from Palehound.
Andrew Dodderidge,

Sleater-Kinney. // photo by Andrew Dodderidge Sleater-Kinney with Palehound The Truman Monday, March 25 For the second straight time, Sleater-Kinney brought the rain. Walking west on 16th Street to head into The Truman on Monday night, pools of puddles soaking into my shoes and socks, I made the connection: how could this happen again? Sleater opened for Wilco back in…

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Politics

Kansas Legislature sends Democratic governor bill banning under-18 transgender health care

Bill imposes licensing, liability penalties for doctors who violate statute.
Tim Carpenter,

Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Wichita, said passage of Senate Bill 233 to ban transgender medical care for Kansans under 18 illustrated “radical transgender ideology” and “mutilation of minors” should be stopped. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature voted to send an intensely divisive bill Wednesday to Gov. Laura Kelly forbidding gender transition surgery, prescribing of puberty blockers and…

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Politics

Financial funnels of MO cannabis and why the purchase process at pot shops can be so annoying

Joe Ellett,

Art by Cassondra Jones While it may seem like those working in the cannabis industry are happy-go-lucky pot-burners, when it comes to banking, they don’t have it so easy. Simply put, since cannabis is only legalized at the state level—remaining illegal federally—licensed cannabis companies cannot deposit finances within federal banks. Their revenue remains illegally acquired at the national level.  There…
Food & Drink

Play it cool: Ten spots with speakeasy vibes in Kansas City

Sarah Sipple,

Le Lounge // Photo by Sarah Sipple The whole point of a speakeasy is to keep it hush-hush, hiding illicit activities like liquor sales and nightclubs during the time of prohibition. But in 2024, we can redefine speakeasy, for the casual diner or partier, to represent more of an ambiance than a truly secret operation. Therefore, the following spots match…

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Politics

Tennessee congressman sued over tweets wrongly identifying man as KC parade shooter, illegal alien

Asked about the possibility of future defamation litigation against public officials, an attorney working as Denton Loudermill’s legal advocate said: ‘We are just getting started’
J. Holly McCall,

Denton “Denny” Loudermill, the Kansas man who was erroneously accused of being the shooter at the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade, has filed a defamation suit against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas, alleges Burchett shared photos of Loudermill on his personal social media account saying he was one of the…

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Culture

Groupie Candles adds ambience to aroma alongside applicable playlists

Emily Jacobs,

Courtesy of Jenny Lefort Jenny Lefort has a unique love for music and candlemaking. Through her business, Groupie Candles, she found a way to combine the two, creating fragrant candles that come with a scannable playlist. But this did not begin as a business venture for Lefort. Roughly two years ago, the style of craft-making began as merely a hobby….

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Music

Save Our Stages Kansas City: recordBar and the future of live music at a crossroads in the Crossroads

Patrick Sprehe,

Steve Tulipana. // photo by Ben McBee Save Our Stages Kansas City is a series of conversations with KC independent music venues. We’ll discuss the pandemic’s (continuing) effects, some challenges facing smaller venues, the value and economic impact these spaces have on our city, and what we can do to support them now and in the future. The Wednesday before…

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Music

Lawrence Music Census extends community input deadline to end of March

Nick Spacek,

The Roseline at the Bottleneck. // photo by Nick Spacek For those Kansas City musicians who frequently make their way down the road to Lawrence, it may behoove you to take part in the Lawrence Music Census. The Lawrence Music Alliance, the City of Lawrence, eXplore Lawrence, and several local partners got together with Sound Music Cities to administer this…

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Theater

Whodunnit Clue brings cast member Teddy Trice back to his hometown stage as the central foil in murder(s) most foul

Brock Wilbur,

Who doesn’t love a good drunken evening of murder, mayhem, and a candlestick in the conservatory? PNC Broadway in Kansas City brings bloody mystery-comedy Clue to the Kauffman Center stage for a quick run, April 2 – 7, 2024. Led by Broadway Director Casey Hushion (Associate Director of Mean Girls, choreography for the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), blackmail and…

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Culture

Four Inane Questions with: Chef Jasper Mirabile Jr.

Michael Mackie,

Courtesy of Jasper Mirabile Jr. Hard to believe, but Jasper’s Restaurant turns 70 years young on April 1. Since its inception in 1954, Jasper’s has become a cornerstone of Kansas City’s culinary scene—especially when it comes to celeb sightings and unparalleled carbo-loading. (We see you, Paul Rudd!) Chef Jasper Mirabile Jr. took over the reins of the beloved ristorante from…

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Politics

Loud Light Kansas Politics Recap: Anti-abortion bills (again), flat tax dies (again), and anti-DEI bills (again)

Davis Hammet,

The Pitch has partnered with a local political awareness organization called Loud Light. Their goal is to engage and empower individuals from underrepresented populations to build community power. And impact decision-makers. Each week of the year that the Kansas statehouse is in session, they release a short video recapping what the legislature is up to. Knowing the nitty-gritty of what’s happening with your…