Celisa Calacal
Race and Culture ReporterAs KCUR’s Race and Culture reporter, I use history as a guide and build connections with people to craft stories about joy, resilience and struggle. I spotlight the diverse people and communities who make Kansas City a more welcoming place, whether through food, housing or public service. . Follow me on Twitter @celisa_mia or email me at celisa@kcur.org.
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Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, was the target of a Republican-led redistricting effort aimed at booting him from office. After a legal back-and-forth, residents voted using the 2022 congressional map that kept the Kansas City area intact. -
More than a dozen Historic Northeast neighbors and community members took Mayor Quinton Lucas on a walk along the length of Independence Avenue to highlight the area’s best qualities — and point out the problems in need of city solutions. -
Shawn Harris initially pleaded not guilty in the 2025 killing of Ming during a shootout in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. As part of a new plea deal, prosecutors will seek life imprisonment charges. -
Members of the public got their first chance this week to get up close and personal with the tallest land animals on the planet. Here's what you need to know to plan your next trip. -
Team officials say groundbreaking on the $2 billion stadium could take place in the middle of 2027. The Crown Center ballpark would be designed to bring fans closer to the action than at Kauffman Stadium. -
A key part of Kansas City’s financing for a new downtown ballpark relies on evidence of blight in one of the city’s top tourist areas. Critics of the tax incentive say the deal ignores blight in underserved neighborhoods and saps future city funds that could be used to address it. -
Kansas City staff used a graphic of a rack of ribs to show how increased tax revenues from a "stadium impact area" could help pay Kansas City's share of construction costs. Economics and public policy experts say it's flawed logic: "These are magic ribs." -
One part of City Council's financing plan authorizes $615 million in bonds to fund the future stadium in Crown Center. Another creates a "stadium impact area," where certain future tax revenue increases will be redirected to pay off the debt. -
Kansas City unveiled its second public roller skating rink Wednesday at Blues Park near the historic jazz district, which is getting major investments from the city. The $1.7 million facility includes a 16,000-square-foot rink, new bathrooms and sidewalks, and its own parking lot. -
Voters approved a five-year infusion into the fund this summer. Now, affordable housing projects across are using the funds to serve some of the city’s most vulnerable families.
