Kansas City Royals

Royals leaders have released renderings of their much anticipated new stadium, although they have yet to announce the final location for the $2 billion project. Kansas City-area residents aren't all convinced they should be the ones to pay for a move, especially because the team is on the verge of the franchise's worst season in history.

The Royals are choosing between a stadium and entertainment district in Kansas City's East Village or in North Kansas City.

Trevor Vance has been keeping the field at Kauffman Stadium perfectly manicured for nearly 40 years. On August 1, Royals fans will receive a lawnmower-riding Vance bobblehead and see the groundskeeper throw out the game's first pitch.

Almost 300 workers who help fans at Royals home games will get raises and better work rules when their newly ratified contract goes into effect.

Summer is well underway, and Major League Baseball is halfway through its 162-game season. The Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals have both had seasons to forget on the field up to this point. However, despite both having losing records, Missouri’s MLB teams have markedly different attendance numbers.

The Urban Youth Academy helped plant the Kansas City Royals' flag in the Historic 18th and Vine district, but many residents of nearby neighborhoods have only mustered lukewarm acceptance. Will the lack of enthusiasm affect the push for a new downtown ballpark? Plus: Kansas lawmakers want a quicker switch to teaching reading in a way that actually works.

This is the first time that stadium workers have negotiated a contract since John Sherman bought the team in 2019. In new charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the union alleges the Royals have "not bargained in good faith," and threatened and surveilled workers.

Little progress has been made on an agreement that would guarantee workers fair wages and increase affordable housing near the new stadium. At a rally at City Hall, workers and Kansas City-area demanded the Royals sign a contract to ensure those protections.

The Kansas City Royals — and every other team in Major League Baseball, for that matter — factor advanced statistics into almost every decision they make. That's a far cry from where the game was just two decades ago.

The Urban Youth Academy helped plant the team's flag in the Historic 18th and Vine district, but many residents of nearby neighborhoods have only mustered lukewarm acceptance. Will the lack of enthusiasm affect the push for a new downtown ballpark?

Kansas City is headed back to the polls on June 20. The new City Council needs to address an urgent need for more affordable housing, recent spikes in violent crime, economic development and neighborhood livability issues like trash services, infrastructure and short-term rentals.

The Kansas City Royals want a new stadium, and area labor groups see it as inevitable. Trade unions want the stadium to be 100% union-built, and labor groups are fighting for an agreement that makes sure it benefits workers and the community. Plus: Despite its monumental impact, the latest farm bill may find itself part of a tug-of-war in Congress.