West Bottoms

For more than 40 years, Grimm Tattoo has made its home in Westport. But after a fire in April broke out in the building next door — destroying their furniture, equipment and flash designs — owner Wes Grimm decided it was time to move the tattoo shop and museum.

An out-of-state company's plan to redevelop over 20 acres in the West Bottoms has some saying the area will become Kansas City's next Crossroads Arts District. But the historic neighborhood’s small business community has raised concerns that the rapid change will price them out of the area.

An out-of-state developer’s plan to redevelop over 20 acres in the West Bottoms has some saying the area is about to become the next Crossroads Arts District. But the historic neighborhood’s small business community have raised concerns that the rapid change will price them out of the area.

Spring has brought warmer weather, a chance to spend time outdoors, and a pileup of litter and trash on highways and waterways. Ahead of Earth Day, residents in the Kansas City metro can join these community cleanups to tackle the problem.

Ky Anderson was a successful working artist in New York, with solo exhibitions of her large-scale, abstract paintings around the country. But after 25 years of painting in cramped studio spaces, she’s back home in Kansas City with a bigger studio — and she’s making new work.

Thousands of people flock every Halloween to the West Bottoms' enormous attractions, which are some of the oldest and most successful haunted houses in the country.

Xavier Foley was a child prodigy bassist who had played at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Then the pandemic hit, followed by Hurricane Ida. Now, his 30,000 Instagram followers watch him play from Kansas City's West Bottoms.

Se cree que es la primera vez que una tortillería ha sido reconocida para el premio James Beard. Este año Yoli Tortilleria es uno de los dos restaurantes del área de Kansas City que son nombrados como semifinalistas.

In the absence of citywide mask and vaccine mandates, this cozy West Bottoms restaurant put its own rules in place. For Kansas Citians who don’t want to ignore COVID precautions, The Campground offers a rare chance to take a break from their worries. “It’s not that hard,” the owner says. “It really isn’t.”

The vote came after a scathing letter from the superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, who said allowing the Australian-based BlueScope Construction to not pay property taxes contributes to educational inequalities that are tantamount to racism.

Brett Atkinson owns Wilma’s Good Food Food Truck. He's currently out of work due to metro Kansas City's stay-at-home orders — but he's not sitting…

Kansas City's relatively new problem of affordable housing is also squeezing artists out of studios.That's especially noticeable in the Crossroads Arts…