Kansas City stories: Culture, sports, and history highlights

This collection of stories explores the diverse people, places, and cultural movements that shape Kansas City's local identity.

One story recalls the impact of old city maps and segregation east of Troost Avenue, while another highlights Womontown's rise as a midtown lesbian enclave. A collaborative project between The Star and the Kansas City Public Library maps out local history, and a profile of William Jewell College reveals Civil War-era connections.

Kansas City's sports culture stands out through building-sized Chiefs murals and the unique CPKC Stadium built for women's pro soccer. Home movies from the 1920s showcase early radio technology, while a Kansas City-based streetwear brand blends Asian and Samoan backgrounds. Stories also cover LGBTQ dating events using 'Shark Tank' style pitches, a roundup of songs inspired by Kansas City, and an opinion on why North Kansas City is ideal for a Royals stadium. Arts and cultural institutions, like the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the jazz legacy at 18th and Vine, round out this portrait of local flavor.

Read the stories below.

No image found

Homes in the Longfellow neighborhood. By Tammy Ljungblad

NO. 1: A LESBIAN ENCLAVE IN MIDTOWN KANSAS CITY? INSIDE WOMONTOWN’S RICH LGBTQ+ HISTORY

Its creators envisioned an urban community where women could enjoy the benefits of city life without fear of harassment. | Published June 6, 2024 | Read Full Story by Natalie Wallington

No image found

Charles Hammer (wearing a dark suit coat), reported for the Star on a 1963 stand-in by Black patrons denied entrance in their own neighborhood to the Pete Karos Cafe at 3115 Prospect Ave.

NO. 2: BLACK AND WHITE PATTERNS: DOTS ON OLD CITY MAPS SHOW THE DAMAGE DEVELOPERS DID TO KC

J.C. Nichols wrote racial covenants into deeds that forbade sales to Black people and Jews, not just for the present but also into the limitless future. | Published June 26, 2024 | Read Full Story by Charles Hammer

No image found

William Jewell College in Liberty opened in 1849 on a hill in Liberty, Missouri. The Baptist-affiliated institution was one of the first colleges west of the Mississippi River. Jewell Hall, which harbored Union soldiers during the Civil War, was completed after the founder died during its construction. By Monty Davis

NO. 3: THIS KANSAS CITY AREA COLLEGE HAS SOME SURPRISING HISTORICAL TIES TO THE CIVIL WAR

This small college was originally planned for Booneville or Fulton, not the Kansas City area where it is now. | Published July 31, 2024 | Read Full Story by Randy Mason

The What’s Your KCQ? project has answered questions about local statues, holiday traditions, famous Kansas Citians and bygone industries in 2024.

NO. 4: STAR COLLABORATION WITH KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY WINS HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARD

Over six years, the project has published more than 130 pieces, examining everything from bells on the Plaza to Prohibition-era mob bosses. What question should we answer next? | Published November 13, 2024 | Read Full Story by The Kansas City Star

No image found

Tiffany Watts and her co-founder Lo Cowan created Where To Find Us to give people who are LGBTQIA an experience she and her business partner felt was missing from the queer dating scene in Kansas City.

NO. 5: KC WOMEN CREATE LGBTQ DATING EVENTS WHERE FRIENDS PITCH FRIENDS ‘SHARK TANK’ STYLE

“This is the opportunity for people to make matches in real life without jumping through the hoops of a dating app.” | Published December 2, 2024 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

In a scene from one of the old home movies discovered by Leawood film collector Joe Tomelleri, an unidentified woman poses with an elephant at a circus along with a radio from the Sterling Radio Corporation in 1929 in Kansas City.

NO. 6: SEE HOW THESE HOME MOVIES FROM ALMOST 100 YEARS AGO PROMOTED KC’S LATEST TECH GADGET

The new technology of home movies was used to promote another new technology that was blowing up on the scene in Kansas City in the 1920s. | Published January 2, 2025 | Read Full Story by Randy Mason Monty Davis

A Chiefs-themed mural by muralist Sike Style Industries is seen along Main Street near Tom’s Town Distilling Co. on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Kansas City. By Emily Curiel

NO. 7: IF KANSAS CITY CHIEFS ACHIEVE SUPER BOWL ‘THREE-PEAT,’ THIS ARTIST’S MURAL WILL RISE

“When the inevitable-we-feel-like-it-could-happen happens, then there will be a giant mural for that,” said Kansas City muralist Phillip “Sike Style” Shafer | Published January 17, 2025 | Read Full Story by Eric Adler Emily Curiel

No image found

Some of the most iconic people associated with “Kansas City” songs include Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (right), the Beatles, Wilbert Harrison and Tech N9ne. By Provided photos

NO. 8: KANSAS CITY HAS INSPIRED DOZENS OF SONGS. BUT WHICH ONE IS THE BEST?

The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Tech N9ne and Melissa Etheridge have all performed songs inspired by the City of Fountains. But which anthem is the best? | Published May 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dan Kelly

No image found

Fans celebrate after Team USA scores during the first half of the USA vs. Canada rugby match at CPKC Stadium on Friday, May 2, 2025. Canada won the match 26-14. By Dominick Williams

NO. 9: HOW THE KC CURRENT’S CPKC STADIUM BECAME A CATALYST FOR GROWTH IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

“Spine-tingling,” World Rugby official Sally Horrox calls Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium. | Published May 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Vahe Gregorian

No image found

Mark Launiu is the co-founder and director of community engagement and events for MADE MOBB, a Kansas City-based streetwear brand he started with two fellow Asian American entrepreneurs. Together, they created a brand that merges their diverse cultural upbringings into a unified and original expression.

NO. 10: ASIAN AND SAMOAN HIP-HOP LOVERS SHARE THEIR STORY THROUGH A KC STREETWEAR BRAND

That’s what makes our brand special, we’re building a new kind of community made up of people from all walks of life. | Published May 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by J.M. Banks

No image found

A visitor walks their dog past the booth of David Gilbertsen and Joy Wallace from Amherst, Wis., before the Brookside Art Annual on Friday, May 3, 2024, in Kansas City. By Emily Curiel

NO. 11: KC IS HOME TO WORLD-CLASS ARTS & CULTURE. HELP THE STAR REDESIGN HOW WE COVER IT

Tell us how you enjoy Kansas City’s arts and culture to help us build sustainable coverage for years to come. | Published May 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by Hannah Wise

No image found

A 2023 rendering from stadium design firm Populous shows a concept of what a new Kansas City Royals stadium located in North Kansas City might look like.

NO. 12: NORTH KANSAS CITY IS THE BEST LOCATION FOR A NEW ROYALS STADIUM | OPINION

Both Clay and Jackson county taxpayers contribute an eighth-cent sales tax to the zoo. We should play ball north of the river. | Opinion | Published June 14, 2025 | Read Full Story by David Slater

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.