Two-Way

Melissa Ferrer Civil found community, and a path toward better mental health, through poetry. Now, she’s spreading the good word.

Twenty-three years after the final issue of Forum magazine rolled off the presses, the Kansas City Artists Coalition’s local arts magazine is roaring back to life thanks to the efforts of a new editor. Here's what readers can expect, and what the reborn publication means for the local arts community.

Taylor Swift, The New York Times, and the World Cup have all taken note: Kansas City is a nice place. But does that just mean we’re ‘boring?’

As troops took to the battle fields of Vietnam, internal fighting among American service members threatened to weaken the Army's ability to wage war. "An Army Afire" explores how commanders confronted the crisis.

The groundskeeping legend, known in the discipline as "The Sodfather," worked for the Kansas City Chiefs for 26 years. This week, the 94-year-old is in Glendale, Arizona, where he's hard at work preparing State Farm Stadium for the Super Bowl game and Rihanna's halftime show.

"Winter Soulstice" includes an almost all-Kansas City cast of musicians, including saxophonist Todd Wilkinson, singers Allena Ross and Wanda Jae, and trumpeter Chris Van Leeuwen.

Some working-class residents say a horizontal boundary between Northland Council districts — a radical change — would give them greater voice and political clout. Northland civic leaders argue it would be divisive and negative, and would actually reduce funding for low-income neighborhoods.

In Kansas and Missouri, public defenders have struggled for years with low pay and high caseloads.

The earnings tax is Kansas City's largest single source of revenue. City leaders say the failure to renew it would be disastrous.

The Kansas City Council considered an affordable housing requirement for developers several years ago, but the measure failed. Supporters are trying again.

The pianist joins Ari Shapiro to discuss Amplify With Lara Downes, a video series on Black musicians who have experienced renewed creativity regarding racial injustice.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Ryan Delaney is in Germany this month to report on how that country handles keeping its schools open.