Thank you, Kansas City, for your support through an epic news year
To our readers:
Welcome to the shores of 2021. You made it. Never it seems has a New Year baby’s arrival taken longer or been more heralded.
But before we leave 2020 to the judgment of history, before we begin to fully embrace new resolutions, hopes and challenges, I’d like to offer two simple words that come from the heart:
Thank you.
In the epic year of news we have just come through, your subscriptions and readership meant so much in helping The Star cover all the most important stories, across a wide variety of topics, in our ever-changing city. We appreciate you staying engaged with your community and supporting local journalism.
If 2020 was a litmus test on the necessity of public service journalism, The Star and other news outlets earned the word “essential.”
The year started well enough. In fact, it started loudly, with Arrowhead Stadium and the Chiefs drowning out the rest of the NFL on the way to Kansas City’s first Super Bowl parade in 50 years.
February joys would soon turn to March tears.
The pandemic reshaped our coverage dramatically, as we followed daily infection rates and deaths, the 10 days that led to shutting down the city, the plight of the elderly in nursing homes and the heroic efforts of those fighting on the front lines.
The Star’s Editorial Board was also a vocal advocate for protecting public health, highlighting the efficacy of mask mandates, condemning public officials who compare commonsense precautions to Nazi Germany and warning of the consequences of poor decisions in the midst of this outbreak.
In May and June, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, our staff chronicled the protests roiling the city night after night.
The Star surfaced other equality issues with its reporting, showing how gun violence is connected to mistrust of police in underserved communities, uncovering decades of systemic racism in the Kansas City Fire Department and apologizing for our own role in supporting the city’s racist policies of the past.
The Star wrote extensively about how the Kansas City Police Department has impeded investigations into its own officers, protecting them from legal scrutiny and creating the appearance of a cover-up. The police department’s deteriorating relationship with the minority community amid a spike in violent crime and its rejection of needed reforms prompted the Editorial Board to call for new leadership.
Beyond the pandemic and the protests, The Star jumped feet-first into many other stories of public concern.
Throughout the fall, The Star exposed stories of abuse and neglect in Missouri reform schools, prompting lawmakers to vow better oversight that will protect students in the future.
We also investigated a local principal who had been accused by several teachers and students of harassment and creating a toxic culture at his school, prompting a new probe by the school district. The principal was placed on “modified duty,” and by year’s end, the district announced his impending resignation.
The Star played a crucial role vetting candidates ahead of the 2020 election, uncovering that the prosecutor who downgraded Kansas Republican Roger Marshall’s 2008 reckless driving conviction to a minor traffic infraction was the son of Marshall’s business partner. A week before he was ousted in the August primary, Kansas Congressman Steve Watkins admitted on video to The Star that he had voted at the wrong address in 2019, a key point in his pending criminal case.
And in December,The Star reported on how Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s administration plans to change environmental regulations to help an industrial agriculture company build a massive 10,000-hog operation northeast of Kansas City over the objections of local residents.
The Star’s Editorial Board also provided valuable community service journalism, interviewing dozens of candidates and making endorsements in Kansas and Missouri elections. While doing that reporting, Editorial Board members uncovered credible abuse allegations against two candidates, shining a light on their troubling histories and calling for investigations.
Many more good stories await us - and you - in 2021. First, we would like to hear from you about stories you think we should be covering this year. Please share your ideas with us.
Because of our subscribers, we will continue to be a leader in this community and a strong voice for the voiceless as our community continues to recover from the pandemic.
Along those lines, we are working with United Way to help support COVID-19 crisis recovery, which assists access to childcare, healthcare and rent/mortgage payments, among other things. You may make a donation here.
And thank you again for supporting The Star and your city.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 10:05 AM.
