Kansas City’s efforts to host the World Cup go back all the way to 1988. Now the tournament is finally here, after four years of preparations that not only reshaped the metro’s infrastructure, but also solidified its identity as a true soccer city.

The EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, became the deadliest in modern history — killing 158 people. Although little damage is now visible to the naked eye, to the survivors, volunteers and healthcare workers, the scars remain.

Established after the Civil War, Decoration Day was a reunion-like event at cemeteries. Today, it's largely disappeared into Memorial Day.

The eight-state highway's origins started in Springfield, Missouri, a century ago on April 30, 1926. The route helped keep some Missouri and Kansas towns afloat during the Great Depression and after World War II.

"The Ghost of the Colonial Hotel" was unveiled this week at the exact moment a telegraph was sent officially naming Route 66, 100 years ago.

Bluffs up to 120 feet tall once hugged the Missouri River by Kansas City, making it difficult to traverse the landscape and expand the growing town. So in the mid-1800s, a Catholic priest named Father Bernard Donnelly recruited hundreds of Irish immigrants for a dangerous but critical task: digging streets for the city from rocks and mud.

In Kansas, the name John Brown is shorthand for a violent period of the state’s history in the lead-up to the Civil War. One hundred and seventy years later, how do you teach about the abolitionist as schools face scrutiny over lessons?

Con el nuevo estadio innovador del KC Current, el fútbol soccer femenino se ha consolidado como una parte fundamental de la identidad de Kansas City. Es una de las razones principales por las que esta ciudad patrocinará la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026 y por la que Estados Unidos es tomada en serio en el fútbol soccer. Pero tras siglos de prejuicios, financiación desigual y prohibiciones directas, los aficionados no dan por sentado este dominio.

On International Transgender Day of Visibility, Kansas should remember the accomplishments of Dr. Alan L. Hart, a doctor and author born in Halls Summit in the late 19th century. In 1917, he made history by becoming one of the first known trans men in the country to undergo gender affirming surgery.

With the trailblazing Current stadium, women's soccer staked its claim as a vital part of Kansas City’s identity. It's a central reason why this city will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and why the United States gets taken seriously in soccer at all. But after centuries of prejudice, unequal funding and outright bans, fans don't take this dominance for granted.

As the United States’ first federal highway system, Route 66 connected people and places across the country. It was a symbol of adventure but also independence, especially for Black travelers through Missouri.

Starting in the 1820s, Maramec Iron Works grew into a state leader in iron production. Years later, Lucy Wortham James donated the property that became Maramec Spring Park.