history

Leila's Hair Museum, the most unusual attraction in Independence, Missouri, closed in September. Thanks to the founder’s granddaughter, the massive collection of wreaths made out of human hair is finding new homes at museums across the country.

Eight crew members and 37 passengers — many from the Kansas City area — died in one of the deadliest air crashes in U.S. history. A book explores how, for some residents and families who responded to the disaster, the impacts can be lasting.

The state's new congressional map uses Troost Avenue as a dividing line, and groups majority Black neighborhoods in east Kansas City with rural communities in the middle of the state. Community leaders worry the new divide will mean the needs of underserved urban neighborhoods go ignored.

Raquel Reyes’ family owns a paleteria in Kansas City, though her family lineage traces back to another famous American Girl doll. Her author, Angela Cervantes, is a Kansas City resident herself.

"Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism's Past, Present and Future," a traveling exhibit curated by the Poynter Institute's MediaWise project, will be at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City through Sep. 12.

Staff said Freedom's Frontier, a National Heritage Area that recognizes historic, cultural and natural resources, would have ceased to exist without federal funding.

Dozens of rare and historic Civil War battle flags stored at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka are falling apart and in desperate need of restoration. Learn more about the museum’s preservation efforts. Plus: The Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers will face off on the football field this weekend for the first time since 2011.

The White House recently targeted the Latino museum in a listing of Smithsonian exhibits and messaging criticized as woke or anti-American.

Fort Scott got its start as a pioneer town. Anchored by the Fort Scott National Historic Site, the city has evolved to include agro-tourism, historic tours, and outdoor excitement — making it a great destination for a day trip or weekend getaway.

Dozens of rare and historic Civil War battle flags stored at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka are falling apart and in desperate need of restoration. But repairing just a single flag can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Former Kansas City Star photographer Raymond Corey captured behind-the-scenes images and everyday rural life in the Midwest for decades. A new exhibition of his work highlights 50,000 negatives donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by his family.

Crews of volunteers are digging into the ruins of a 168-year-old mansion in Lecompton, Kansas, that belonged to a territorial governor. The work is done through the Kansas Historical Society's annual archaeological field school. Plus: Children’s author Derrick Barnes from Kansas City is known for books that are all about making Black kids feel seen.