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Central Standard

Seg. 1: Opportunity Zones | Seg. 2: Post Office Art

Segment 1: Could opportunity zones change the landscape of investment in Kansas City?

As part of the bipartisan 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, opportunity zones encouraging private investment in distressed areas have been identified in every state. We get an explainer on how it works, along with on-the-ground insights into how the five opportunity zones in Kansas City, Missouri might stand to benefit. 

  • Bruce Katz, director, Nowak Metro Finance Lab, Drexel University
  • Emmet Pierson, president, Community Builders

Segment 2: How New Deal artists brought lasting beauty -- and propaganda -- to Kansas post offices.

Between 1934 and 1943, the U.S. Treasury Department commissioned more 1,600 public art projects for newly constructed post office buildings across the United States. Twenty six of those projects are in Kansas. The little-known story is being told in a new documentary.

People don't make cameos in news stories; the human story is the story, with characters affected by news events, not defined by them. As a columnist and podcaster, I want to acknowledge what it feels like to live through this time in Kansas City, one vantage point at a time. Together, these weekly vignettes form a collage of daily life in Kansas City as it changes in some ways, and stubbornly resists change in others. You can follow me on Twitter @GinaKCUR or email me at gina@kcur.org.
Anne Kniggendorf is a staff writer/editor at the Kansas City Public Library and freelance contributor to KCUR. She is the author of "Secret Kansas City."