2022 in good news: 10 stories that celebrate success, joy & pride in Kansas City
It can often feel like the news is full of negativity and difficult topics. As someone who reads almost every story The Star publishes, I’m here to tell you that 2022 was a year filled with positive and heartwarming moments too.
What follows is a collection of some of our favorite stories from this year that celebrate success, joy, pride and good news from people in our region. Thank you for being part of Kansas City’s story. Here’s to more good news in 2023:
‘Black joy means everything’: Kansas Citians highlight moments that uplift them
For Black History Month, The Star asked Kansas Citians to tell us what Black joy means to you, and to share a recent memory from your life that embodies this idea.
You submitted photos of family, of simple pleasures, nights out with friends, achievements, and moments of self care and self actualization.
Muenfua Lewis, a co-founder of By Design magazine, a Kansas City-based magazine for Black creatives, said Black joy is a preview of what the world could be. A glimpse into the world he’s trying to create. A world void of “societal implications” — freedom.
“Black Joy is part of Black resistance. It’s a peek into Black self-actualization. It’s hope that we can be our authentic selves at all times,” he said. “Black joy means everything. This world is brutal for Black people, moments of joy keep me going.”
‘Black joy means everything’: Kansas Citians highlight moments that uplift them
Beloved Kansas City company introduced a four-day work week: ‘Not as scary as you think’
This year Kansas City clothing brand Charlie Hustle’s leadership launched an experiment: a four-day work week for all salaried employees in its Crossroads headquarters. Employees of the company started getting every Friday off work without a reduction in their pay or an increase in hours this summer.
The results were clear: The brand saw a significant boost in employee morale, and no decline in sales or profits. Last month, leadership officially made the change permanent, giving 21 employees three-day weekends every week.
Four Charlie Hustle employees told The Star that the four-day model has helped create a culture of productive work days and fulfilling weekend time.
“It has been the best decision I’ve ever made,” said CEO Aaron Fulk in an email to The Star. “I get 110% Monday-Thursday from my team, and I know that we are way more productive than we ever were on a Monday-Friday schedule.”
Beloved Kansas City company introduced a four-day work week: ‘Not as scary as you think’
Exploring Kansas City’s neighborhoods
Spanning a state line and a river, the sprawling Kansas City metro contains too many neighborhoods to count. Each has its own history, places to hang out and intangible qualities — maybe more simply described as vibes — that make those who live there proud to call it home.
Over the past few months, The Star’s service journalism team has heard from residents all over the city about what you love most in your neighborhoods. We’ve been working to create guides celebrating different corners of the metro based on recommendations that you’ve shared with us.
So, keep letting us know: What are the classic go-tos, and what are the hidden gems in your neighborhood? You can email us at kcq@kcstar.com to share your neighborhood highlights.
It’s official at long last: Buck O’Neil takes his place at Hall of Fame in Cooperstown
Buck O’Neil, the beloved late Negro Leagues baseball and Kansas City icon, was officially enshrined this year at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The afternoon ceremony at the Hall of Fame included O’Neil’s presentation by his niece, Dr. Angela Terry. O’Neil died in October 2006 at the age of 94 after persevering through withering racism, helping found Kansas City’s signature Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and inspiring untold generations worldwide.
And now, even more will know of the triumph, grace and humility that helped define this giant of a man who became synonymous with Black baseball and the Kansas City Monarchs, yet never was boastful of, nor self-promoting in, his accomplishments.
It’s official at long last: Buck O’Neil takes his place at Hall of Fame in Cooperstown
TV show ‘Bel-Air’ is packed with Kansas City art. Here’s how you can get a piece of it
In the TV drama “Bel-Air,” the character of Will Smith walks into the palatial home of his relatives and stands in awe. He is surrounded by Black art of differing styles, hanging on the walls throughout the mansion.
The new show, streaming on Peacock, may take place in California, but many of those paintings were created by Kansas City artists. The series, which re-imagines the ’90s Will Smith sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” with gritty realism, is the brainchild of Kansas City native Morgan Cooper, who directed the first episode and is a writer for the show.
Cooper is using some barbers, designers and musicians from the KC area, as well as several local Black painters to build the glamorous aesthetic via their art.
As Cooper said on Twitter: “KC is in every episode of #BelAir — Thankful to provide a platform for the amazing talent in my hometown.”
TV show ‘Bel-Air’ is packed with Kansas City art. Here’s how you can get a piece of it
‘Don’t you feel it?’ KC Current stadium will be groundbreaking in more ways than one
Just over 200 hundred years after French fur traders landed here via the Missouri River and settled in rough cabins along its banks, Kansas City Current owners Chris and Angie Long with other dignitaries and family arrived Thursday at the Berkley Riverfront by motorboat to embark in earnest on an unprecedented journey of their own.
Near the site that in 1821 commenced the establishment of what would become Kansas City, the Longs and co-owner Brittany Mahomes then broke ground in more ways than one:
Literally as they dug ceremonial shovels of dirt to launch construction on the 11,500-seat, approximately $117 million ultramodern stadium. And figuratively in the sense that it’s the first of its kind to be built exclusively for a National Women’s Soccer League franchise — and certainly a rarity for any women’s professional team anywhere.
‘Don’t you feel it?’ KC Current stadium will be groundbreaking in more ways than one
Meet the Kansas City urban farmers who are changing the culture of local agriculture
Alan Young Sr. and his wife, Yolanda, didn’t set out to create a sprawling community farm when they moved to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood 35 years ago.
They bought an empty lot near their home because they wanted a safe place for their children to play with the neighbors. As the kids got older, they began to wonder what to do with the land.
“It all started with my wife’s backyard garden,” says Alan Young, 59. “After the kids grew up and left, we decided to expand our garden. People would walk up off the street and ask if they could get something. So we began selling our produce at neighborhood markets.”
Now the Young Family Farm bridges the significant divide separating the inner-city public from freshly grown produce. Their farm stand, at 3819 Wayne Ave. near Bruce R. Watkins Drive, is one of the few local businesses dedicated to addressing food insecurities in the urban core.
“I think the allure of our farm is we have reduced the transactional nature of food consumption,” says Henry. “We are not here to only sell vegetables; a relationship is happening. We give tours and help them with advice about starting their farms or gardens.”
Meet the Kansas City urban farmers who are changing the culture of local agriculture
75 years of beer, bar jokes & celebrity sightings: The stories of Kelly’s Westport Inn
If there exists such a thing as the quintessential Kansas City bar, a strong case could be made that Kelly’s Westport Inn is it. Part of that is about history.
Kelly’s occupies the oldest building in Kansas City, constructed in 1851 at the northwest corner of Westport Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. It is also one of the oldest continually operating taverns in the city, with a liquor license that dates back to 1934. The same family has owned it for 75 years as of this month. Bartenders on staff have been known to stick around for 30 or 40 years.
Warm memories don’t keep the barstools warm, though. A bar needs customers, and Kelly’s has lasted three-quarters of a century in Westport by attracting a wide variety of them. Post-college partiers on the weekends. A regular table of old-timers, known affectionately as the Squirrels, on certain school nights. Professional athletes blowing off steam after a game.
“There’s nothing trendy about what we do here,” says Colleen Kelly, a third-generation owner of the bar. “It’s just a place where everyone is welcome. Gay, straight, black, white, young, old. Our regulars don’t fit a mold. The sign above the door says ‘Welcome,’ and we mean it.”
75 years of beer, bar jokes & celebrity sightings: The stories of Kelly’s Westport Inn
‘Bigger and better every year’: Meet the Kansas City man behind phenomenon of 816 Day
No one calls Brian Benton by his government name. To everyone, he is, appropriately enough, “Bizzy” Benton.
And busy as he always is, working his day job, going out and about in the evenings, he used to always hear fellow Kansas Citians complain about a lack of fun around town. So in 2014 he started a Facebook group, “KC Where You At?,” to promote the fun. It would grow to one of the largest local pages for all things in the city, with over 30,000 members.
He began to see the outlines for what would grow into a massive annual event, mixing vendors, artists, musicians and other entertainers. He would use Kansas City’s area code to give the celebration its name, 816 Day, and annual date, Aug. 16.
“People started to know my face and know my name. I started making all these connections around town,” says the 37-year-old Kansas City native. “The idea was something small and it grew into something so big now, and it all started from a Facebook page.”
‘Bigger and better every year’: Meet the Kansas City man behind phenomenon of 816 Day
Small Kansas town became a top travel destination after years of decline. Here’s how
Sometimes when Cole Herder has a free moment he likes to get up from behind his cluttered desk at Humboldt City Hall and go stand by the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the town square. He remembers what the view once was: a city hanging by its nails, a downtown with half its teeth knocked out, a decaying hotel whose only guests were ghosts.
How things change. These days, downtown Humboldt is tingling with so many projects and new businesses that Herder, the city administrator, struggles to keep track of it all.
A music venue. A brewery. A book shop. A cocktail bar. A honky-tonk bar. A golf-simulator bar. A five-room luxury hotel. A fitness center. A gift shop. A coffee shop. A confectionery. All have either opened in recent years or are coming soon to this southeast Kansas town of 2,000.
The New York Times called Humboldt one of 52 places to visit in the world in 2022. Gov. Laura Kelly recently declared, “There’s no better example of the growth and success we’re seeing in Kansas than in places like Humboldt.” And it has begun to poach young, creative citizens from places like Kansas City, just two hours away.
“I can barely wrap my head around it,” said Rob Bingaman, an artist who recently relocated from Kansas City. “Whatever’s going on here works unlike anything I’ve ever been around.”
Small Kansas town became a top travel destination after years of decline. Here’s how
