News Hearts broken over girl killed in Cass County wreck One day after Savannah Nash celebrated her 16th birthday on May 8, she picked up her Missouri driver’s license. One week later, she died in a traffic accident. The Harrisonville High School freshman, an honor roll student and Future Farmers of America competitor, was driving alone on Thursday afternoon, only 100 yards from her house.
News Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is busy behind the scenes Jay Nixon is a hands-off governor. That’s the word in the statehouse. He’s out of sight, disconnected, a distant presence rather than a dominating force, Republicans and more than a few Democrats say. But six hours spent with the two-term governor just two days before final adjournment revealed a chief executive anything but disengaged.
Royals Punchless attack sinks Royals in another 2-1 loss to A’s While the Royals’ rotation is much improved over recent seasons, one run isn’t often going to be enough. It was Ervin Santana who paid the price Saturday night for failing to pitch a shutout in a 2-1 loss to the Oakland A’s.
Kansas State University Kansas State defies expectations and turns triple play in Big 12 Sports Kansas State has had a great sports year by winning conference titles in football, basketball and now baseball.
Business Some relief may be ahead from soaring gasoline prices Gasoline prices have climbed in the last month because of low stockpiles and refinery outages, but a decline in wholesale prices raises hope that the worst is over.
Business As 'The Office' ends, other workplace shows find a big TV audience When “The Office” crew clocked out Thursday night, the workers had been at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. for nine seasons, or about twice as long as the average job tenure for most Americans. But even as everyday workers tend to complain about their jobs and bosses and quickly jump ship for better opportunities, viewers have shown remarkable loyalty to TV programs about the workplace.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR MAGAZINE Photographer’s work helps Joplin residents reconstruct their memories About 20,000 envelopes of families’ photos survived the tornado May 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo. Through the efforts of a local historian and an army of volunteers, those families can reclaim pieces of their past they had thought were gone forever.
House + Home Fabulous faux finishes cover a multitude of flaws, bring personality to a room Textured finishes for walls and cabinets are trending toward a lighter look. You shouldn’t be able to tell what application process is used — or where it starts and stops. And you can create the trendy look yourself.
Books Novels for young adults are reaching more (adult) readers When so many adult fiction offerings read like variations on a theme of emotional impotence, is it any wonder readers are turning to young-adult novels for spellbinding stories and authentic connection?
Visual Arts Spencer Museum’s collection inspires two artists to take different paths Ann Hamilton and her former teacher, Cynthia Schira, have teamed up for a joint exhibition at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas. “An Errant Line” derives its most compelling moments from the human drama of the presepio.
Editorial KC improves basic services, but more progress is needed Kansas City is using facts to more efficiently spend hundreds of millions in tax revenues to deliver better basic services to local residents. Citizen satisfaction reports and a new study show some progress has been made. But much more is needed.
Steve Rose Hostess unions, the bell Ding Dongs for thee Hostess has a new owner, who is opening the plants that make Twinkies, Ho Hos and Ding Dong brands. Only they are reopening without any unions. That’s one big step for American capitalism. And one big step backward for unions.
