Kansas City magazine April 2024

THE UNSPEAKABLE CASE OF SARAH GONZALES-MCLINN: HAS JUSTICE BEEN SERVED?

WHERE TO LIVE 12 OF KC’S

HOTTEST SPOTS AND HOW MUCH THEY COST

NOW

HEART CARE EXPERTS

We Know The Heart We know the heart. We’ve mapped it. Repaired and rehabbed it. We’ve strengthened, and saved it.

We know the people to whom those hearts belong and celebrate the triumphs of their recovery. We know your heart, and we know there is an unstoppable human spirit at the center of it.

Experts at caring for the hearts of Kansas City.

Find a cardiologist at HeartCareKC.com

COMPREHENSIVE CARDIAC

CENTER CERTIFICATION

7 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS

DUCHESSA

Let Our Team Be Your Team Malfer & Associates has the experience to get your home sold fast and for more money. Our dedicated team is here to guide you through every step of the process, ensuring a seamless transition into your dream home. With 350+ years of real estate experience, Malfer & Associates will give your real estate journey the care it deserves.

Our world-class service, extensive local and national networks, and robust marketing plans set the standard for success in this Spring market. #1 Top Producing Real Estate Team at Compass Kansas City Malfer & Associates listings sell 33% faster than all other listings in Kansas City.

KRISTIN MALFER CEO/PRESIDENT | REALTOR FOUNDING PARTNER COMPASS REALTY GROUP KANSAS CITY

913.800.1812 MALFERKC.COM Malfer & Associates is a team of real estate agents affiliated with Compass Realty Group, a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.

Coffee Creek Crossing

Terrybrook Farms 10307 W 172ND TERRACE | $1, 300,000

16840 BLUEJACKET STREET | $975,000 Listed by: Katie Scurlock

Berkshire Estates

Parkway 133

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UNDER CONTRACT!

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Westwood

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14455 ABERDEEN COURT | $720,000

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Listed by: Dawn Boedeker

Woodland Reserve

Camden Woods

Listed by: Catherine Owens

8929 QUAIL RIDGE LANE | $1, 475,000 Listed by: Alex Owens

oting LeBlanc in Kansas City

OUR MISSION

We love Kansas City like family. We know what makes it great, we know how it struggles, and we know its secrets.

Through great storytelling, photography and design, we help our readers celebrate our city’s triumphs, tend to its faults and revel in the things that make it unique.

PUBLISHER

Kathy Boos MANAGING EDITOR

Dawnya Bartsch ART DIRECTOR

Kevin Goodbar ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR

Molly Higgins FOOD EDITOR

FIVE CO N V E N I E N T LO C AT I O N S TO S E RV E YO U

Tyler Shane MUSIC EDITOR

Nina Cherry PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Dominique Parsow ART INTERN

Maci Gunter COPY EDITOR

Kelsie Schrader WEB COORDINATOR

Madison Russell SALES

Angie Henshaw WRITERS

Nina Cherry, Molly Higgins, Nicole Kinning, Rachel Layton, Reece Parker, Ian Ritter and Tyler Shane PHOTOGRAPHERS

KANSAS CITY

OVERLAND PARK

8919 Parallel Pkwy. Suite 14420 Metcalf Ave. 460 Kansas City, KS Overland Park, KS 66223 66112 913.299.3300 913.387.3500

PRAIRIE VILLAGE

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8226 Mission Rd. 15151 South Black Bob Rd. Olathe, KS 66062 Prairie Village, KS 66208 913.764.5600 913.378.9610

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Zach Bauman, Annie Bolin, Caleb Condit, Maci Gunter, Jeremey Theron Kirby, Samantha Levi, Laura Morsman, Rebecca Norden and Nate Sheets SUBSCRIPTIONS

kansascitymag.com/subscribe or call 913-469-6700 Scan here to subscribe to our newsletter and magazine.

Kansas City magazine is published monthly by 435 South, LLC. No part of this publication can be reprinted or reproduced without the publisher’s permission. Kansas City magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Kansas City magazine adheres to American Society of Magazine Editors guidelines, which requires a clear distinction between editorial content and paid advertising or marketing messages.

KIDSMILEKC.COM OLATHE

South Black Bob Rd. Olathe, KS 66062

INQUIRIES

Kansas City P.O. Box 26823 Overland Park, KS 66225-6823 (913) 469-6700

PRAIRIE VILLAGE 8226 Mission Rd. Prairie Village, KS 66208

@kansascitymag KANSASCITYMAG.COM

8

Kansas City April 2024

@kansascitymagazine

A Hair-Raising

Good Time

Springfield

When you visit the city in the Ozarks - Springfield, Missouri - ask a local! Whether you’re looking for hair-raising fun for the kids at the Discovery Center or drama that will bring the house down at the city’s historic theaters, we'll show you the top entertainment options in Springfield. We love our city and know the best places to eat, drink and play. See you soon in Springfield, Missouri!

features

APRIL 2024

50 Cover Story 12 Hot Metro Neighborhoods

68

Has Justice Been Served?

A look at the complicated case of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn

10

Kansas City April 2024

78

House of Dumplings

A new restaurant is a one-stop shop for Chinese food and furniture

We tell you how much house you can get for $380k and the best place for coffee

44

Contemporary Lake Retreat Indoor earthy textures connect this modern home to the outdoors

welcome to

JEFFERSON CITY Discover the scenic views, old-world architectural charm and exciting events Missouri’s capital city has to offer all year long.

2+

miles from the Katy Trail — North Jefferson City Spur

Photo left: Missouri River Bridge Photos from top: Katy Trail State Park, Missouri State Capitol, Central Dairy Ice Cream Parlor, Missouri State Penitentiary

FOOD

SHOPPING

HISTORY

ENTERTAINMENT

restaurants with award-winning cuisine

quaint shops and boutiques

museums and architectural treasures

live music, shows, special events and festivals

VisitJeffersonCity.com

april

IN THIS ISSUE

21 loop

29 beat

37 current

77 savor

22 What Say You?

29 Rocket Man

37 Ethereal Spring

77 Birthday Party Classic

We asked people on the street what they think about a ballpark in the East Crossroads

Internationally known Tom’s Elton Tribute band is headed to Yardley Hall

A gauzy, light, monochromatic color palatte is taking over this spring

The classic sheet cake is making a comeback

32 KC Arts Shakeup

38 Flower Power

KC is seeing lots of new faces in top art leadership roles

Local florists tell us how to make the perfect bouquet

A new Chinese restaurant serves up an array of tasty dumplings

33 Backbeat

40 Collage Luggage

82 Drink

Meet trombonist and rapper Kadesh Flow

KC artist Christian Murray created wearable art for Chiefs player Rashee Rice

Local juicery makes smallbatch sparkling water

23 Let’s Play Ball A look at the proposed East Crossroads ballpark

24 Top Marks KC’s own art school won national accolades for its number of Fulbright scholars

44 Lake Retreat

IN EVERY ISSUE

Editor’s Letter................ 14 Up Front........................... 16 Calendar......................... 30 Surreal Estate............... 88

ON THE COVER:

Photography by Laura Morsman

12

Kansas City April 2024

A contemporary Lake of the Ozarks house takes inspiration from nature

78 Delicious Dumplings

84 Perfect Day Writer Emily Farris dishes on her latest book of personal essays and her favorite place to get coffee

86 Newsfeed The latest in KC food news

Jonas barrish realtor. dad. husband.

‘80s music addict. orchid-whisperer.

w

3x

#1 Realtor – Jonas Barrish inner #1 Team – GRID #1 Company – Compass America’s Best 2023 Top 1.5% in U.S. Top Realtor – Jonas Barrish The Kansas City Star 2023 #1 in Kansas City Top Team – GRID

+KC Business Journal 2023 THE LIST Top Team – GRID

bursting with ideas (& bald by choice) rock-level strength to negotiate best rates, contract adjustments & whatever it takes to get your 5-star review

family man at heart + dogs (bc dogs)

appetite for style, art, creative solutions, & cherry Starburst

Guinness World Record* for dotting every i & crossing every t

Jonas Barrish | GRID Real Estate Broker 913.626.4708 @jonasbarrishrealestate © 2024 Jonas Barrish, a real estate licensee, and GRID, a team of real estate agents, are affiliated with Compass Realty Group, a licensed real estate broker, and abide by Equal Housing Opportunity laws.

on like a refrigerator 24/7, tick tock

*just kidding on the record; don’t sue me Guinness World Record ppl

F R O M T H E E D I TO R

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

WHEN I MOVED to Kansas City five-plus years ago, I was immediately struck by how hospitable

everyone was. I thought to myself, “this was a good place to land.” And over the years, my initial thoughts have been proven right.

Every time I venture into a neighborhood or part of town I don’t know much about, I seem to meet friendly, helpful people. Having lived here for several years now and given the nature of my job, I thought I knew about most of the metro’s neighborhoods, but after reading writer Ian Ritter’s feature on the area’s top spots to live, I quickly came to the conclusion that my knowledge is lacking. As they say, you don’t know what you don’t know. It was interesting to learn how far your money will go in different areas of town and where to get the best cup of coffee in KC’s hottest neighborhoods.

I can also say with confidence that, once again, the many stories about the city’s thriving arts community are impressive.

From the Kansas City Art Institute’s national recognition as a Fulbright Scholar Top Producer to local artist Christian Murrray’s usable collage luggage, the city is not lacking in creative spirit.

Even this issue’s restaurant review is about a surprisingly creative, out-of-the-box restaurant endeavor. As you’ll learn in food editor Tyler Shane’s piece about the fairly new Rakar Dumpling House in Leawood, this restaurateur combined his love of food and furniture, creating a space where you can both buy a vintage Asian stool and eat a bowl of steaming dumplings. Sounds like the perfect combination to me.

Dawnya Bartsch MANAGING EDITOR

dawnya@kansascitymag.com

Contributors

Rachel Layton, Writer Writer Rachel Layton, a UMKC graduate student and winner of Memphis magazine’s Very Short Story Contest in 2020, wrote this issue’s story about the complicated case of sex-trafficking victim and murderer Sarah Gonzales-McLinn.

14

Kansas City April 2024

Ian Ritter, Writer This month’s feature on the metro’s hottest neighborhoods was written by Kansas City-based writer Ian Ritter. He is currently working on a Missouri River research project that takes up much of his free time.

Annie Bolin, Photographer Kansas City photographer Annie Bolin photographed artist Christian Murray and his collage luggage. Bolin is an avid traveler, having gone solo to 10 countries. When she’s not behind the camera, she’s thrifting or watching The Office reruns.

WitneSS the ozarkS in a Symphony of bloomS

Take in the picturesque views this spring at Top of the Rock Ozarks Heritage Preserve.

Explore the Lost Canyon Cave & Nature Trail and the Cathedral of Nature and witness a colorful masterpiece in motion. Top of the Rock Ozarks Heritage Preserve is proudly part of the Johnny Morris Foundation.

Scan to plan your journey topoftherock.com

UP FRONT

Love Letters The story about KC’s new romance novelonly bookshop Under the Cover (605 E. 31st. St., KCMO) and its owner Carley Morton elicited lots of enthusiastic responses and well wishes.

I visited here just Friday.

The experience was awesome! Carley was so warm and funny and helpful, and I came away with the best books! Will definitely be back!

– Sara Bland

Say What?

Boom Town Our story about the ruins of an abolitionist-era village known as Quindaro and its recent $1 million gift from the state of Kansas to turn it into an historical attraction garnered lots of positive remarks.

“The title was originally “How an ADHD Diagnosis Saved My Marriage,” so now the headline is “How an ADHD Diagnosis Saved My Marriage …

For a While Anyway.”

– Emily Farris, local author and podcaster

Numbers From This Issue

36,000 Pounds of concrete used to form the foundation of Ferment, the twisted stainless steel treelike sculpture in the Nelson-Atkins sculpture garden Page 88

2013

The year rapper and trombonist Kadesh Flow received his master’s degree in business administration Page 33

32

The number of people who signed Sarah Gonzales-McLinn’s clemency application Page 68

I love this.

Shout-out

– Jaci Kalush

Thank you to Kansas City magazine’s food editor Tyler Shane and her husband Garrett Heil for posing for this issue’s cover.

Wonderful news!

– Alicia Walsh

Lovely little shop; friends and I enjoyed shopping last weekend.

– Theresa Dodds

So when is someone going to write a romance about someone meeting at this shop?

– Sam Morris

Contact Us

Kansas City P.O. Box 26823 Overland Park, KS 66225-6823 (913) 469-6700

Email

editor@kansascitymag.com

16

Kansas City April 2024

Behind the Scenes Scan QR code to check out Kansas City magazine online.

Photographer Samantha Levi shooting model Lexi Chicalas @lexichicalas for this month’s story on spring fashion.

PHOTOGR APHY KELLY POWELL; PROVIDED

Feedback

GASCONADE RIVER Dixon, MO

AND SHE LOVES TO SHARE. Gentle rivers full of twists and turns through spectacular scenery make an outdoor adventure in the heart of the Ozarks worthy of any family scrapbook or journal. Here, the warm sunshine reflects on the water just as it did centuries ago, giving all who visit a sense of life in simpler times. And there’s always something to do on and away from the water. Spend a day or a week and discover what makes Pulaski County the perfect spot for your next outdoor adventure.

Come Say “Hi” to Mother Nature.

For more info, visit pulaskicountyusa.com.

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Expert ER Care When does the human spirit show up? When minutes matter? In an expert’s hands? In moments of bravery? Maybe there’s no way to calculate the human spirit, but we see it every day in the AdventHealth ER. If you or a loved one are injured or experience chest pain, stroke symptoms or severe stomach pain, don’t hesitate. We’re standing by to help you feel whole.

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In case of a life-threatening emergency, call 911

loop PHOTOGR APHY K ANSAS CIT Y ROYALS

L EAD ING T HE CONVERSAT ION IN KA NSAS C I T Y

Crossroads Kingdom

By Reece Parker

THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS have set their sights on the Star Press Pavilion in the

Crossroads as their new home. It’s not unheard of. Lots of large cities like Los Angeles, Houston, Las Vegas and St. Louis have inner-city stadiums, but should Kansas City follow suit? What do citizens really think about the new plans for their city?

(Continued on next page) kansascitymag.com April 2024

21

LO O P

Christian SHAWNEE

“I think it will be a good thing to build [the city] up. The breweries down here are really gonna like it. I like the fact that they are reviving downtown and getting people to come down here more instead of going to Independence.”

Carlos DOWNTOWN

“If you look at every other major city like Houston, Vegas, most of the stadiums are in the center. Let’s say if every game holds 30,000 to 40,000 people coming from outside or around the greater Kansas City area, imagine those 30,000 people being at a local business owner’s front door. It will have a massive effect, a huge increase of cash being spent in the city where it needs to be spent, and local businesses will be reaping the rewards.”

Matt

Joel

IOWA

DOWNTOWN

“I love the downtown feel of a stadium in other cities, and I think here would be awesome.”

“I’m not opposed to the stadium moving to a new location, but I think the location chosen is horrible. It doesn’t seem to have taken into consideration all of the businesses impacted by it, and it seems like it’s a very selfish decision.”

Does a ballpark belong in the East Crossroads?

Well, that depends on who you ask.

(Continued from page 21)

Walker NORTH KANSAS CITY

“I think that this city’s trajectory is upward. That building right there [the Star building] is doing nothing. It’s an ugly eyesore to the city I love. I think [a stadium] will bring more commerce to the city.”

Josie WESTERN 49-63

“I personally don’t think it’s a good idea. I think one of the nice things about Kansas City, especially here in downtown, is traffic here is not as bad as other cities.

I feel like doing that is going to make traffic really, really bad, and then I feel like people may not want to come down to this area anymore. Taking out businesses, especially local businesses, is not something I support, and I think that is another thing Kansas City excels at. We have a lot of local businesses, so taking out those businesses I don’t think is fair, and it also eradicates the option of having new businesses in the area.”

Macy NORTH KANSAS CITY

“I don’t like it. While I love Kansas City and while I feel like we have so many little communities where people come and hang out such as the Crossroads, I just think that to put a stadium in the middle of a city that is not really big enough is just cause for a lot of traffic. I think that there could be good to it—like the more people that we have come in, the more support we have for small businesses—but I’m just not really for it. Our city is just not super accommodating.”

22 Kansas City April 2024

Trey OVERLAND PARK

Greg MIDTOWN

“I love the Kansas City Royals, I love Kansas City, and honestly, if it’s gonna, in the long run, serve the city better then I think that’s awesome. In the short run, I think there’s going to be some pain to it, but change is hard—it always is. Honestly, I think it could be really good for the city in the long run, and that’s what matters.

It’s an investment.”

“I think it’s an interesting location, but I have to say, as a community member, I would have liked to see more community engagement. We’re big into all those local businesses that are going to get impacted down there due to parking, due to lack of business and competition. So I wish there had been more open transparency before a location was set. I think it’s pretty cool.

There’s just a lot of uncertainty, and uncertainty scares people.”

Photography by Maci Gunter

C R O S S R OA D S K I N G D O M

Not only is it an extremely expensive proposal, estimated to cost more than $2 billion-plus, but one that some say would change the character of a unique Kansas City arts and entertainment-focused neighborhood.

The Proposal

Let’s Play Ball

What a ballpark in the heart of the Crossroads might look like

By Dawnya Bartsch

PHOTOGR APHY K ANSAS CIT Y ROYALS

IN MID-FEBRUARY, the Royals owners threw the East Crossroads a ninth inning

curveball, announcing their desire to build a new ballpark in the footprint of the former Kansas City Star building rather than any of the previous locales that had been kicked around. The reaction from the community at large has been swift and mixed. It’s not only an extremely expensive proposal, estimated to cost more than $2 billion-plus, but also one that some say would change the character of a unique Kansas City arts and entertainment-focused neighborhood.

The masterminds behind the Crossroads proposal see it as adding another piece to an already vibrant downtown area, not far from the city’s convention center, the Kansas City Music Hall, the Power and Light District, the Kauffman Center and numerous hotels. Royals owners say the proposed stadium and surrounding infrastructure improvements would be paid with a combination of not-yet-determined taxes, tax breaks and private investment.

The 17.3-acre East Crossroads site, a six-block area, would be directly south of the T-Mobile Center, encompassing the former Kansas City Star building and sitting adjacent to Interstate 670. The plan’s footprint would stretch from Grand Boulevard to Locust Street and 18th Street to Truman Road. Along with the Star building, there are around 20 other property owners in the area, the next largest stakeholder being the Church of the Resurrection at 16th and Grand. The new ballpark would seat approximately 34,000 fans, about 3,000 less than “The K.” City planners are hoping that eventually new parks will be built above the sunken interstate, not only covering an eyesore, but also connecting many of these attractions and making it easier for people to move around. The Royals are hopeful it will be ready for the 2028 season.

Kansas City’s baseball legacy began at an inner-city ballpark, Municipal Stadium, located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and East 22nd Street. The minor league Kansas City Blues of the American Association and the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues played there initially. Various baseball and football teams called the Municipal Stadium home through the years, eventually giving way to the new Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums, which were ready for play in 1972 and 1973, respectively. kansascitymag.com April 2024

23

LO O P

A RT C L A S S

The Fulbright Scholar Program is one of the nation’s most prestigious international academic exchange programs and offers around 400 annual awards.

Top Honors

KCAI proves it’s a premier institution THE KANSAS CITY Art Institute stepped into the national limelight,

becoming Missouri’s first art college to be named a Fulbright Top Producer after two of its faculty members were selected this year.

“Fulbright Awards are incredibly prestigious, and having two faculty members from KCAI being chosen is a testament to the talent, creativity and commitment of our faculty,” says Allison Puff, KCAI’s executive vice president of academic affairs. The Top Producer designation means that in a school’s classification, it produced the highest number of Fulbright participants.

“Experiences like this stretch the conventions of traditional learning and allow scholars to bring back new knowledge, techniques and connections to benefit our students,” Puff says. “Recognition as a Fulbright Top Producer is an honor and a true testament to the caliber of faculty we have at KCAI.” Professors Laura Berman, who is in the printmaking department, and Cyrus Console-Soican, who teaches in the liberal arts department, are studying in Australia and Romania, respectively.

Berman began her work at the Centre for Creative and Cultural Research at the University of Canberra in Australia in February. Her area of study is inspired by a course she developed at KCAI called Color in Printmak-

24 Kansas City April 2024

ing. The course looks at “color through the materiality of ink, historical, cultural and psychological approaches and how ink functions,” she says.

“Receiving a Fulbright is the pinnacle of an artist’s career, and it’s exciting to have the opportunity to do my research through a new cultural lens,” says Berman, who will spend six months at the Australian university meeting artists, creating art and researching Australian printmaking methods.

Console-Soican has spent the 2023-24 academic year writing and translating contemporary Romanian poets and teaching at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Romania. He is the author of three poetry books, including Brief Under Water.

“I’m excited to represent the Kansas City Art Institute and the American literary community as part of the U.S. Scholar program,” Console-Soican says.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is one of the nation’s most prestigious international academic exchange programs. It offers around 400 annual awards, sending U.S. citizens to more than 135 countries to teach, research and carry out professional projects.

KCAI was founded in 1885 and is one of the oldest art and design colleges in the country.

PHOTOGR APHY SHUT TERSTOCK

By Dawnya Bartsch

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beat

W H E R E YO U WA N T TO B E I N A P R I L

Tom’s Elton Tribute

By Molly Higgins

TOM’S ELTON TRIBUTE is coming to KC for one night only with an

authentic Elton John tribute show.

Englishman Tom Cridland plays the part of Elton John on lead vocals and piano. An Elton John superfan, Cridland struggled with alcohol addiction, but after meeting his idol and becoming friends with Elton John’s drummer, Nigel Olsson, Cridland was inspired by John’s long-term sobriety, and he’s been sober since 2017.

Photography by Arlindo Homem

Cridland taught himself to play the piano and learned every one of John’s hits, playing completely live with no backing tracks or lip-syncing. In order to maintain the authenticity of the act, he wears custom rhinestone-encrusted suits hand-embroidered with imagery from Elton John and Bernie Taupin songs. His shoes are even custom-made to match the metallic leather oxfords and brogues John wore during his Million Dollar Piano residency in Las Vegas.

The detail-oriented act and costuming help to recreate an authentic Elton John show. Cridland and the band GO: will play classic hits like “Bennie and the Jets,” “Tiny April 25. 7 pm.

Dancer,” “Rocket Man” and “Candle in the Wind.”

Yardley Hall.

↓

kansascitymag.com April 2024

29

april B E AT

2–7 Clue

PNC Broadway in Kansas City presents Clue, a fun whodunit comedy musical based on the beloved classic Hasbro children’s board game and 1985 cult film of the same name. Audiences will try to solve the mystery before the final twist. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the study with the knife? Or Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench?

WHAT YOU WA N T TO D O TH IS MO NTH BY MOL LY HIGGINS

April 2-7. Times vary. Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

5–7

Ravel’s Boléro With Foley’s Soul Bass

30 Kansas City April 2024

pm. April 7. 2 pm. Helzberg Hall.

6

Harlem Globetrotters

Nearing their 100th anniversary, the Harlem Globetrotters are again making a stop in KC, showcasing their athleticism and tricks against the Washington Generals. Although mainly seen as entertainers, they have truly changed the way basketball is played. Moves such as the jump shot, slam dunk and a half-court hook shot are a direct reflection of the creative moves made famous by the entertaining team.

April 6. 2 pm. T-Mobile Center.

Peter Frampton English guitarist and singer-songwriter Peter Frampton first gained popularity in rock bands The Herd and Humble Pie over half a century ago. Since, he has become a successful solo act, with collaborations in recording sessions and live performances with legends like George Harrison and David Bowie. Recently becoming a 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee, Frampton hits KC on the Never Ever Say Never Tour.

April 5. 8 pm. The Midland.

7

Dan + Shay

Nashville pop-country duo Dan + Shay are hitting KC on their Heartbreak On The Map Tour, aptly named after the third song on their fifth—and newest album—Bigger Houses. They are joined on tour with openers Ben Rector and Hailey Whitters. April 7. 7 pm. T-Mobile Center.

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

5

Kansas City Symphony presents Ravel’s Boléro with Foley’s Soul Bass, with Michael Stern conducting one of Maurice Ravel’s most popular works.

Boléro’s insistent rhythm and singular melody transform throughout the program, from a quiet, soft beginning to a thunderous, uproaring ending.

Featured soloist Xavier Foley is a virtuoso player of the double bass and an imaginative composer, effortlessly blending classical sensibilities with the creativity of jazz. April 5 & 6. 8

C A L E N DA R

11

Maya Angelou Book Award Winner Taylor Byas Taylor Byas’ poetry collection I Done Clicked My Heels Three Times won the 2023 Maya Angelou Book Award. Byas will be reading her poems and answering audience questions.

April 11. 6 pm. Kansas City Public Library, Plaza Branch.

11

Kane Brown

Tennessee native country singer Kane Brown garnered a mass social media following nearly a decade ago with his first EP, Closer, in 2015.

Since then, he’s continued to top charts, fusing pop and R&B elements into his classic country sound. Brown’s making a stop in KC for his In the Air Tour, with Tyler Hubbard and Parmalee opening. Apr 11. 7 pm.

T-Mobile Center.

11–14

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in Concert

Kansas City Symphony presents Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in concert, screening one of the most popular franchises in history while the symphony, with guest conductor Justin Freer, performs the epic score from Alexandre Desplat live.

In this epic finale to the Harry Potter film concert series, the battle between good and evil in the wizarding world becomes an all-out war to defeat Voldemort. April 11–13. 7 pm.

April 14. 2 pm. Helzberg Hall.

13

Grimmz Fairy Tales

Modern-day hip-hop street performers Jake and Will Grimmz bring the stories of the Brothers Grimm to life with a contemporary musical spin.

Blending hip-hop and humor, Grimmz Fairy Tales modernizes the classic stories with tales such as Snow White and the Seven Shawties, Hanzel & Gretel: Lost in the Hood and many more. April 13. 11 am & 2 pm. Starlight Theatre.

Croce Plays Croce 50th Anniversary Croce Plays Croce is a special night of music featuring guitarist, pianist and singer-songwriter A.J. Croce performing a complete set of classics by his late father, folk-rock “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” singer-songwriter Jim Croce. A.J. honors his late father’s short-lived career, which eventually garnered decades of posthumous fame, in this show, which will also feature A.J.’s originals, along with songs that influenced both him and his father. April 13. 7:30 pm.

Muriel Kauffman Theatre.

19–21

Jeffrey Kahane Plays Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto

Conductor Michael Stern crafts a program featuring works

by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Beethoven and Mozart. Pianist Jeffrey Kahane brings Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 to life in this masterwork for the piano that combines great talents across the centuries. April 19 & 20. 8 pm.

April 21. 2 pm. Helzberg Hall.

24

Brittany Howard

Nashville-based powerhouse vocalist and Grammy winner Brittany Howard rose to popularity in the 2010’s folk-rock band Alabama Shakes. Currently a solo artist, Howard’s solo debut Jaime was massively popular with critics and fans alike. Howard is on tour for her second album,

13

What Now, which was released in February of this year. April 24. 8 pm. The Truman.

24

Silversun Pickups

Formed in Los Angeles in 2000, rock-indie band Silversun Pickups gained widespread popularity with their radio hit “Lazy Eye,” which can still be heard often playing on 96.5-NotThe-Buzz. Their sixth and most recent album, Physical Thrills, was released in August of last year but was written during the pandemic and deals with themes of isolation, boredom and a sense of newfound freedom in the wake of uncertainty. April 24. 8 pm. The Midland.

25

Simply the Best: The Music of Tina Turner

Kansas City Symphony presents

Simply the Best: The Music of Tina Turner with vocalist Tamika Lawrence. This show celebrates the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Tina Turner and her decades-long iconic career and immeasurable musical legacy, featuring hits like “Proud Mary” and “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” April 25. 8 pm. Helzberg Hall.

27

Batman Live in Concert

Celebrate the 35th anniversary of iconic 1989 Tim Burton-directed DC Superhero film Batman, played on a large screen with live instruments. The beloved film, starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, will be accompanied by a live orchestra conducted

by James Olmstead. Guests are encouraged to dress up as their favorite DC superhero as they experience the classic in a new, exciting way. April 27. 8 pm.

Kansas City Music Hall.

kansascitymag.com April 2024

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C H I L D ’ S P L AY

The Coterie, founded in 1979 and located at Crown Center, is known for premiering dozens of plays for children and young adults.

Even during the pandemic, they went about showcasing local talent and producing new and timely plays online.

Arts Shake-up

on our mission and values, [introducing] new generations to diverse stories and characters,” Davis says.

The Coterie, founded in 1979 and located at Crown Center, is known for premiering dozens of plays for children and young adults. Even during the pandemic, they went about showcasing local talent and

By Rachel Layton producing new and timely plays online—most notably, A Kids Play About Racism in August of 2020.

FROM THE BALLET to the jazz museum, KC’s art institutions have Davis is no stranger to youth theater. She is the former artistic placed new top talent in their executive suites. director of Bay Area Children’s Theatre, where she launched many Let’s start with Kansas City Symphony’s new music director, Matthias original programs, including the world premiere of The Imaginaries: Pintscher, and Kansas City Ballet’s new executive director, David Gray, An Immersive Musical, a work that looks at what happens when a both appointed in early summer of 2023. Then there’s the new American child discovers a way to cross over into an imaginary world and also Jazz Museum executive director, Dina Bennett, appointed in August, where the audience participates, becoming part of the performance. and Kansas City Fashion Week’s new CEO, Teisha Barber, announced Along with Coterie director Jonathan Thomas, Davis plans to establish this past summer. All are very accomplished in their respective careers. funding for new and innovative programming that will support the The latest shake-up is at the Coterie Theatre, a nonprofit children next generation of KC art makers. and young adults theater that, along with programming, provides writThis month’s Coterie play is Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock ing and drama classes. Its new producing and artistic director, Khalia Experience. The play is based on a Mo Willems’ children’s book of Davis, a San Francisco Bay Area native, the same name, where Wilbur, a rat will oversee the strategic artistic vision not used to wearing clothing, learns to GO: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience for the organization. “I’m deciding what embrace his originality and love of rock runs from April 5–May 19 at the Coterie Theatre, shows to program in our season based ‘n’ roll through various costumes.

Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd., Suite 144, KCMO. thecoterie.org.

↓

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Kansas City April 2024

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

Many of KC’s art institutions have welcomed new leaders this past year

B AC K B E AT

B E AT

“As independent artists, it’s really easy to get caught up on how the biggest major label artists release music.”

↓ LISTEN: “I Can” ft. Gr3ys0n and Shwabadi, available on all platforms April 5.

GO: Brass and Boujee, April 12 at 9 pm, The Ship, 1221 Union Ave., KCMO.

Child of Jazz

Trombonist and rapper Kadesh Flow to release new single, “I Can”

By Nina Cherry AS RYAN DAVIS ––better known by his stage name Kadesh Flow––approached the

end of his sophomore year at the University of Alabama, he decided he wanted to start a band. A jazz trombonist and rapper, Davis sought to bridge the gap between two worlds he had previously kept distinct.

“I view hip-hop as a child of jazz,” Davis says.

Although the unique fusion quickly proved to be a natural pairing, clubs were hesitant to book him at first.

“Tuscaloosa is not an original music town,” Davis says. “Like a lot of college towns, especially in the Deep South, they mostly had cover bands. I told venues I would play covers and would come in and play all original music.”

Ultimately, Davis and his songs would pack the house at the college cover bars.

Soon after completing his Master of Business Administration in 2013, Davis got a job for Cerner as a business analyst and relocated to Kansas City. Simultaneously, he began gaining traction posting anime and video game-inspired raps on YouTube.

Photography by Nicole Bissey

“By the time I got to Kansas City, I didn’t know how long it would take before I fully immersed myself in the artist thing,” Davis says. “I just knew I was going to do it. It took a year and some change to just get to know the community. I wanted people to know I was genuine.”

Davis quickly made a name for himself in the KC music scene. In 2017, he found himself burning the candle at both ends, balancing a demanding nineto-five job with an increasingly busy schedule as a performer. He left the corporate world to dedicate himself completely to his craft that year.

Equally skilled at improvising and freestyling, Davis now consistently packs the house throughout the metro with his energizing performances and memorable songs. You can catch him showcasing the breadth of his artistry later this month with Brass and Boujee–– an 18-piece jazz big band led by fellow trombonist, composer and arranger Marcus Lewis––along with fellow emcee Kemet Coleman on April 12 at The Ship.

This month, Davis is set to release a new single, “I Can,” featuring Pennsylvania-based rapper Gr3ys0n and British rapper Shwabadi. Consistently releasing music is essential, Davis says.

“As independent artists, it’s really easy to get caught up on how the biggest major label artists release music, which is every few years in some cases,” says Davis, who plans to drop another single, “Anyway,” next month.

“But it doesn’t make sense to not be releasing music incessantly.”

Amid his upcoming releases, Davis is preparing for a whirlwind of a summer. In addition to a busy lineup of local performances, he’s set to embark on an East Coast tour in July with other musicians that are a part of Nerdy People of Color––a collective of self-proclaimed nerds with various talents.

But aside from gigging, writing music always remains at the forefront for Davis.

“Writing is the only thing I don’t ever stop doing,” Davis says. “There’s always something to reflect on.” kansascitymag.com April 2024

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SPONSORED

Undaunted.

34 Kansas City April 2024

SPONSORED

Despite a surge in banned book attempts across the country, author Jacqueline Woodson stays hopeful and keeps writing.

By Laura Spencer Kansas City Public Library Photograph by Kenney Ellison

Jacqueline Woodson has written over 30 novels for young and adult readers, as well as picture and chapter books, and she’s won many literary awards.

Throughout her career, Woodson has tackled challenging issues, such as child abuse, drug addiction, and racism. But some of her titles, including Brown Girl Dreaming, a memoir about growing up in the 1960s and 70s in the segregated South and Brooklyn, New York, have faced challenges or bans.

“What’s so great about literature is that it allows us to begin these conversations,” Woodson says. “And when they (readers) don’t have that, you know, it just feels like their lives get so much more siloed.”

As the second of the four-part speaker series celebrating the Kansas City Public Library’s 150th anniversary – and timed to this year’s International Women’s Day – Woodson appeared on March 8 at the Central Library.

Before the event, I caught up with her by phone to ask a few questions: Continued on next page kansascitymag.com April 2024

35

SPONSORED

And just that those ideas came out of my head into the world, whether I was writing, reciting, or making them up as I went along. So, I just loved the power of it.

You’ve talked about not always seeing yourself in the books you were reading. Was there one book that really struck you, or was there a kind of revelatory moment when you saw yourself or your own experience in the work?

The book that I first saw myself in the world was Stevie by John Steptoe because it was based in the city … it was just transformative in that way that suddenly here I was, here my people were, here was story on the page, and that story was an extension of my story. So, it was empowering.

And then, of course, Mildred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is another one. Virginia Hamilton’s Zeely was one of the first books that really took me back to the South Carolina of my own childhood … stories that I read helped me see myself in the world as a writer.

In an interview that you did with NPR in 2019, when your novel Red at the Bone was released, you said, “The most dangerous thing you can do as a writer writing books that young people will read is to try to teach them something.” And instead, you said that you write because you have questions, not because you have answers.

What role did the library play in your life when you were growing up?

The public library played a huge role because my mom worked full time. We had to go to the library straight from school and stay there until she picked us up at 5:45 p.m. It was kind of like our after-school program or daycare, the safe space where we were able to do our homework. And then once our homework was done, we had access to all these books. So that’s kind of the foundational sense of it.

And because we didn’t have a lot of books in our house, my mother always made sure we had a library card – and that we didn’t have overdue books.

When you were thinking of career choices as a child – you’ve said you considered being a teacher, a lawyer, or a hairdresser but what made you happiest was writing. What was it about writing or telling stories?

There’s just such freedom to storytelling. The idea that you can create these worlds and put them on the page and engage with others through that creation.

I felt like there was a way in which my own self, my own body, was legitimized through storytelling – I had this way of communicating with the world that not a lot of people did.

And the world, of course, was my small community and my friends and the people who listened to my stories.

Someone could be in a bad mood, you tell them a story, and suddenly, they’re laughing and forgetting that bad mood.

36 Kansas City April 2024

My curiosity is manifested through the narrative … I feel like every time I write a book, it is because I have all these questions. And by the end of the book, whether or not the questions are answered, I’ve had a catharsis that has left me satisfied … because the narrative has taken me through the experience, I needed to go through to get to some other side of it.

In the children’s picture book called The Other Side – the copy that I had was the 10th anniversary edition – you wrote in the author’s note that when you read it to young people you “see in their faces their own eagerness to knock down the fences in their lives.” Does it seem like that book has even more resonance today?

Yeah, it’s a complicated time – and what complicates it more is that books like The Other Side are getting taken out of libraries … and watching what’s happening in the world, in relation to the literature – it’s a heartbreaking time.

Myself, I just keep writing, you know, just keep writing, just keep having conversations … and just keep having deep belief and faith that the young people will find their way.

Because they have before. When the way has been blocked for them, they’ve risen up.

I mean when you look at the history of young people in the Civil Rights movement. Or when you look at the history of the young people here in New York fighting against school segregation … Or when you look at young people around the world, fighting against the climate crisis, or fighting against what’s happening in Israel and Palestine.

There are so many ways in which young people have again and again said, “Not on my watch.” And I love that about them.

THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED AND CONDENSED.

CURAT ING A BE AU T I FU L L I FE

Top: Dear Society Ivory Sheet Oversized Button Down Skirt: Dear Society Champagne Biase Maxi Skirt Model: Lexi @lexichicalas

Sheer Spring

By Molly Higgins A MORE MATURE and refined sense of femininity seems to be the

focus of the spring and summer runway collections. Moving past the Barbiecore and girlhood trends that dominated last year, the newest looks show romantic detailing like lace and sheer layered fabrics, giving a sense of sensuous curves.

Looks seen on the runways of Prada, Dior and other designers embody these “Botticelli vibes” by layering and bunching thin fabrics Photography by Samantha Levi

like tulle, mesh or chiffon in white and other light colors to create a floating, ethereal look.

While gauzy floral appliques or floral-esque colors are not groundbreaking for spring runways, the style is being updated to a more monochromatic color palette that focuses on whites, creams and light lilacs. This year’s take on the style plays on texture and emphasizes material rather than an overt pattern.

Looks featuring sheer pieces continue to trend on and off the red carpet, urging those wearing it to embrace the sensuous, celestial aesthetic. But don’t worry, you don’t have to bare it all—the look can be achieved with a light, flowy blouse or sheer socks. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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TREND

Rebecca Ederer, owner of KC floral shop Beco Flowers

“Flowers with lots of petals and texture like ranunculus, peonies and dahlias are definitely in demand.”

Petal Talk

With spring fully abloom, we talked with local floral experts to get their insight on trends and flower dos and don’ts

By Molly Higgins SPRING IS IN the air, and that means flowers are taking center stage yet again.

With graduation and wedding season ramping up, flowers abound—as tokens of appreciation or congratulations, as a burst of color to welcome spring into your home and, of course, as an ever-important element of all things wedding.

Amy Loux and Amyann Plemons, owners of KC’s Daylight Flora, call spring their favorite season for flowers. “That’s when we’re seeing a lot of the new, fresh, delicate blooms pop up,” Loux and Plemons say. “Some of our favorites are spirea, sweet pea, tulips, daffodils and lilacs. In the summer, we’re seeing more flowers that can handle the heat—marigolds, zinnias, dahlias, and one of our all-time favorites, cosmos.”

For spring and summer events, customers tend to gravitate toward bolder and brighter colors than in other seasons, and they include various textures and greenery to add more visual interest. “Color and maximalism are definitely trending in the floral and wedding industry,” says Rebecca Ederer, owner of KC floral shop Beco Flowers. “Flowers with lots of petals and texture like ranunculus, peonies and dahlias are definitely in demand.”

38 Kansas City April 2024

Every floral expert agrees that the best thing to do is let the florist take the lead and trust their design process. The floral world has changed drastically over the last decade, with more focus on local and sustainable plants and more designs incorporating greenery and textured accents. Loux and Plemons urge folks to choose a florist with whom you align aesthetically and “trust them to work their flower magic” to get something unique to you.

“The more specifications we are given, the more likely the client will be disappointed,” Ederer says.

“Trust your florist. It’s ok to give broad instructions such as color palette and style, but don’t overthink it.”

For making flower arrangements at home, Ederer urges folks to stick with arrangements of two or three different kinds of flowers in the same color palette.

Even something as simple as a monofloral arrangement, which uses one classic flower like all roses or all hydrangeas, is a great, classic look.

Sarah Jaeger, owner of EverWild Florals, cautions against ordering from “big flower” national chains who are only “order gatherers,” Jaeger says.

“They take the customer’s order, sell it to a floral shop, and the wire service takes a 30 percent cut,” Jaeger says.

“So if a customer orders a $100 arrangement through these companies, they only receive $70 worth of flowers.

Always call a local floral shop with good reviews to get the freshest flowers and most value for your money.”

One of the biggest mistakes floral experts agree customers make is not remembering to change the water daily to ensure the plants are getting fresh, cold water. They recommend not adding all the “flower food” from the packet at once and instead parsing it out. They also suggest keeping plants out of direct sunlight and in a temperature-controlled environment when possible because heat and excessive air flow will hasten dehydration.

“As flowers age differently in arrangements, I like to pull out the fading blooms, and you will be surprised at how long some of the flowers and greenery keep going,” Ederer says.

Photography by Jana Marie

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kansascitymag.com April 2024

39

CURRENT

I N T E RV I E W

↓ Find bags at hollywoodsomeday.com or follow on Instagram at @hollywoodsomeday.

How did you get involved in this type of collage art?

I never considered myself an artist until recently. I’m not a traditional artist. I can barely draw a stick figure.

But my best friend recognized when I was making some collages in Turkey and Italy that I had a skill, and he really encouraged me and pushed me. After I got out of the military, he paid me to make a large collage with Rolling Stone magazines, vintage ads, music posters, anything that was aesthetically pleasing. Once I did that, I saw how excited it made me feel—and not just the result but the process. There’s something about having a bunch of papers spread out, looking through them, smearing globs of glue into an abstract image.

How did this collaging project transform into a piece used by a Super Bowl champion? In 2020, Covid

Hollywood Dreamin’

We talked with Christian Murray, whose handcrafted collage briefcase Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice sported heading into Super Bowl LVIII Molly Higgins

slowed down everything for everybody and gave me time to really focus on my art. I started grabbing items off the street in New York—so many people throw away incredible stuff, especially in the Upper East Side. So I started taking these items and compiling it into other pieces, doing decoupage and collages. Near the end of last year [and now living in Kansas City], I did a briefcase. I DMed Rashee Rice and [eventually] gave him the bag at a signing in Overland Park, and he loved it.

This was before Thanksgiving of last year. Months go by, I hadn’t heard anything. On the Chiefs’ Instagram page, [I saw] Rashee’s photo [walking into the locker room in Las Vegas]—and he’s rocking my briefcase. It already had 50,000 likes. I’m just overwhelmed, excited and astonished. This one little small decision months ago—before they were even playoff contenders, with all the ups and downs this year—that now he’s walking into the Super Bowl in Vegas with my art, with my piece.

KANSAS CITY ARTIST Christian Murray grew up in a rural Nebraska town with a

population that hovers around 6,000, but he always dreamed of making it to Hollywood, and eventually he did.

Shortly after high school, Murray left his hometown of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and joined the Air Force to see the world and turn his goal of going to film school into reality. He was stationed in Italy and Turkey, where he began taking pictures and creating collage art pieces. It was here that Murray hatched his brand, Hollywood Someday, as a reminder of his long-term creative goals.

After his time in the military, Murray landed in Los Angeles, beginning and eventually dropping out of film school in order to take opportunities to travel the world again, this time as creative director for rapper The Game.

After traveling for years and living in New York, Murray settled in Kansas City to be close to family, and he continued working on his brand, which now focuses on collage art and wearable pieces. Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice, a breakout rookie, was seen sporting a Hollywood Someday collage briefcase in his highly publicized Las Vegas Super Bowl arrival.

We talked to Murray about his creative process, his collage art worn by Rice and his big hopes for the future.

40 Kansas City April 2024

What’s next for Hollywood Someday? Having some-

thing that is art and also usable is important to me.

I’m working on more briefcases right now, and I’m doing a decoupage collage on high-top Crocs. The next thing is to move into shoes and wearable items beyond even luggage. I want to get my stuff into the hands of bigger [brands], trying to get collaborations.

The Rashee briefcase was a Samsonite briefcase that I bought at a thrift store. My goal is to go to these companies and get a branding deal, to fuse art with something like a Samsonite briefcase together [for a limited] release at a high price. I want to be able to bridge the gap between regular luggage companies and luxury, and I want to be the creative that allows them to attach art and the future of art with a great brand—something where I’m using my style and adding it to a brand that already exists.

Photography by Annie Bolin

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Kansas City’s largest diaper drive competition is back!

1 in 2 families in Kansas City struggle to afford diapers.

You can help by participating in our community wide diaper drive.

Donate diapers online NOW! Organize a drive with a group

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CURRENT

44 Kansas City April 2024

HOME

CAST IN CONCRETE Earthy textures and rich jewel tones blend harmoniously in this Lake of the Ozarks home.

By Nicole Kinning Photography by Nate Sheets

SOME 150 MILES from Kansas City

sits a beautiful lakeside home in Sunrise Beach on the banks of the Ozarks. Designed by Tara Davis and her team at local design firm Cicada Company, this home is the epitome of lakehouse luxury.

“This is [the clients’] second home, so they didn’t have anything to bring with them,” Davis says.

“Cicada was able to provide full architectural designs, interior finishes, as well furniture and styling throughout.”

Davis says the homeowners have an industrial sense of style, which made it easy for the designer to fold in mid-century flair and pops of color throughout.

“We mixed in a lot of those vintage and antique pieces that make things seem like they’ve been around a while or that it’s just a very eclectic juxtaposition,” Davis says. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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Everywhere you turn, you’ll find a walnutfinished piece, from the basement’s cabinetry and the primary bedroom’s headboard to the kitchen bar stools.

WOOD FINISHES

The designers contrasted natural and rough-hewn elements with industrial design in many ways, including using walnut, a native Missouri tree. Everywhere you turn, you’ll find a walnut-finished piece, from the basement’s cabinetry and the primary bedroom’s headboard to the kitchen’s bar stools and the living room’s custom coffee table. Natural logs are tucked into the tiled wall along the fireplace, adding another woodsy touch to the home.

46 Kansas City April 2024

HOME

CONCRETE FIXTURES

A number of concrete details were used to add texture and interest to the home. “We had a custom concrete countertop in the kitchen,” Davis says. “We did some concrete furniture scattered throughout, and then the primary bathroom has a concrete tub and sink with an integrated drain. There are slots in the [sink’s] countertop for the drain, and there’s a light fade to it.” kansascitymag.com April 2024

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“It added so much texture and drama to the space.

It’s not just a big white living room anymore.”

TILE DETAILS

Davis and her team chose to use unique tiles as a focal point in several spaces. The living room’s fireplace is covered in hand-cut black zellige tile, and each piece varies in hue and texture based on how the morning light hits them. “They all have a little bit of a different color,” Davis says. “It added so much texture and drama to the space. It’s not just a big white living room anymore.”

Small, uniform black tiles are seen behind the range and against the island in the kitchen. On the face of the peninsula in the home’s lower level is a geometric patterned tile. “It adds just the right amount of texture without being the main character of the space,” Davis says.

48 Kansas City April 2024

HOME

“We really wanted to ensure that the basement level was more accessible and usable for all the guests, so we turned it into guest quarters.”

GUEST-FRIENDLY BASEMENT

“Being on the lake, we really wanted to ensure that the basement level was more accessible and usable for all the guests, so we turned it into guest quarters,” Davis says. The team installed a large bi-parting glass door to the walkout to increase traffic flow, and they set up a bar with a built-in banquette for games and puzzles, along with a comfy media space. Within that reconfiguration, they converted an outdoor storage room into an indoor bunk room that can sleep up to five people.

JEWEL TONES

Davis and her team jewel-boxed the office, opting for a gray-green paint and dark floral wallpaper on the ceiling.

“It’s kind of unexpected, and it’s a great way to bring some texture and color to the space,” Davis says. “We also added glass doors so when you’re inside, it doesn’t feel like you’re completely closed off.”

More jewel-tone touches are seen throughout the home, which include olive-green velvet dining chairs, earthy green cabinetry and ink-blue bunks in the guest quarters. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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50 Kansas City April 2024

WHERE SHOULD YOU MOVE

Here are 12 of the metro's hottest neighborhoods and what you can expect for your money in each.

By Ian Ritter

MONEY SURE DOESN’T buy what it used to, but it never did, so get used to it, as Yogi Berra

PHOTOGR APHY BY L AUR A MORSMAN

or Redd Foxx (probably) said.

If you can accept the repeating theme over the last few years that housing prices in the KC metro are much higher than 12 or even six months ago, you can focus on the state of the current situation. Before the snapshot changes again.

In January, the National Association of Realtors put the “national median existing-home price for all housing types” at $379,100. The average in the metro varies depending on where you look, but KC’s median figure of around $250,000, supposedly well within the range of first-time home buyers’ FHA loan range, is quite a bit lower than $380K.

Kansas City, the metro’s most populated city, with an estimated 510,000 people, experienced a median sale price of $255,000 in January, according to Redfin, and the median home listing price in KC was $247,500 in February, according to NAR’s Realtor.com.

That’s pretty good in comparison to other areas around the nation. Good luck trying to buy in Dallas for under the $380K national average. Our southern neighbor’s February median listing price was $439,000, states Realtor. com. Meanwhile, Denver clocked in at an even $600K median in February while smaller Omaha sported higher values at $335,000.

But even though KC’s median housing prices are well below that of the country’s and some of its peer cities, don’t expect to find a slew of homes under that $380K mark.

While buyers seeking a house at the national median might find a lot of variety in some locales, $380,000 will get you laughed out of other towns and neighborhoods around KC. Homebuyers in the hunt feeling bummed that they’re priced out of their first-choice location can take heart that they’re not going through the same process in Atlanta or Nashville, where prices have truly skyrocketed.

Beyond that, there’s always St. Louis. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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BLUE SPRINGS

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

Buyers can find newly constructed homes in Blue Springs and still slide under the $380,000 mark, Jim May, associate broker with Zuvers Real Estate Services, says. A recent Trulia search shows several new three-bedroom houses in the city for less than the national average.

LOCAL PERK

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Bean Counter Café recently relocated to Blue Springs’ Main Street from a different longtime location. It’s a favorite among breakfast diners and caffeine fans.

52 Kansas City April 2024

B

ACK IN THE DAY, meaning the 1990s and before, people

used to move to Blue Springs for the scenery. About 20 miles east of downtown KC, off Interstate 70, the city of just under 60,000 people is surrounded by lakes Jacomo, Lotawana, Tapawingo and then, of course, Blue Springs Lake.

The lakes are still there, but prospective home buyers are looking at Blue Springs for different reasons nowadays, says Jim May, an associate broker with Zuvers Real Estate Services. May, who is also a former city councilman and a member of the Blue Springs Planning Commission, says now new residents come to the city simply for affordability.

“Blue Springs is one of the few suburbs that I still think has rapid growth,” May says. “For those folks that don’t want to live downtown, it’s a good, safe area that people are trying to move into.”

Young people and first-time buyers are attracted to the area because of its growing restaurant and entertainment options.

Blue Springs has its own school district, with about 15,000 students spread over 22 facilities. The district also serves some families in neighboring Independence and Lee’s Summit.

PHOTOGR APHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

Blue Springs is getting yet another water feature, but this time it’s not a lake. The city plans to open the $41.5 million Blue Surf Bay Waterpark this spring. Voters in 2021 approved a sales tax initiative for the indoor-outdoor facility, which includes a 40-foot tower with four slides attached, a wave pool, surf simulators and more.

A lap pool, rock-climbing wall, diving platform and more attractions are set for indoor areas.

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

BEACON HILL/ IVANHOE NORTHEAST T

PHOTOGR APHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

HE PROCESS OF gentrification is now a constant

on the Troost Avenue thoroughfare just south of downtown KC, where there’s ongoing construction on high-rise apartment buildings and commercial endeavors.

Beacon Hill and Ivanhoe Northeast are two neighborhoods on the east side of Troost, and, not surprisingly, there’s significant interest in historic homes around the area, including the much-loved Kansas City Shirtwaist houses.

The flagship location of Ruby Jean’s Juicery, which has outposts in metro Whole Foods Markets, is a neighborhood destination located at 30th Street and Troost Avenue (a campaign is underway to change the name of Troost to Truth). Kansas City Public Schools headquarters is also at the intersection and next to The Wonder Shops and Flats, an historic bread factory building turned mixed-use development.

You’re not going to find a house in Beacon Hill proper for $380,000, says May, who sells houses in this area, but you might find houses in the $380,000 range in Ivanhoe Northeast or another East Side neighborhood.

Beacon Hill’s development is already plotted, and some of the newly built homes are standout designs that tend to go for at least $500,000, so buyers looking for the national average will have to look in the neighboring area for a deal.

The problem buyers face on the East Side is a lack of product that’s ready for purchase without a significant costly overhaul, May says. You might find a “deal” on a $300,000 house, but homes built in the 1920s that aren’t well-maintained could cost another $200,000 to renovate.

At the same time, there is a considerable push for housing to remain affordable for the East Side’s low-income residents, but a climate of ever-increasing housing and land prices makes the area’s future uncertain.

LOCAL PERKS

The 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District is just north of the area. New entertainment venues and residences are opening around the commercial strip that was once home to a portion of the clubs where Kansas City’s rich jazz history percolated over the first part of the 20th century, thanks to musical masters like Charlie “Bird” Parker, Mary Lou Williams, Count Basie and many others.

Vine Street Brewing Co. is billed as the first African American-owned brewery in Missouri. Located at 20th and Vine streets, the brewery is next to The Prospect, a daytime cafe and nonprofit offering food-access programs for underserved Kansas Citians.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Anchor Island, on the corner of Troost and 41st Street, is an LGBTQ-friendly environment with tropical-themed lattes and standard coffee drinks. On 31st Street, just west of Troost, is Sister Anne’s Records & Coffee, where you can get expertly made coffee drinks while browsing used and new vinyl. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

“There’s a lot of two-car garages out there, four bedrooms, three baths,” Shannon Stumpenhaus, an agent with Compass Stumpenhaus says, referring to the new-housing marketing under the $380,000 price tag. Stumpenhaus says most of the homebuyers she’s seeing are younger families who like Liberty’s schools and are looking for affordable homes.

“This is such a popular place for people who have kids,” she says. “I’ve seen parents moving back to the area because they want to be by their grandkids.”

Coming housing stock includes dozens of planned new lots, and Montage Liberty, a 1,000-acre mixed-used development with single-family housing, is in the planning stages.

LIBERTY Y

Property Taxes You’ll Pay at the $380K Price Point

OU’RE NOT IN the

Founded in 1822, downtown Liberty attracts regional residents on weekend trips who admire the area for its historical preservation and small businesses. Attractions include boutiques, art galleries and restaurants. The walkable town square also hosts regular community events.

Several homebuyers also pick Liberty because it’s close to the Kansas City International airport, says Stumpenhaus. The growing workforce of full-time remote employees creates a demand for housing with easy access to KCI without having to drive through downtown KC.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Just southwest of the downtown area on Mill Street is Hammerhead Coffee, an outfit that roasts small batches of single-origin beans. North of the downtown square is Holy Grounds Coffee and Book Shoppe, located in the 180-year-old St. James Church, where proceeds go toward restorating its steeple.

Into tea instead? Check out Anna Marie’s Teas, which offers a huge variety of teas and hosts tea-time events that regularly sell out.

54 Kansas City April 2024

BY COUNTY, ANNUAL PAYMENT, PERCENTAGE OF ASSESSED VALUE JOHNSON, KS

$4,721, 1.24 percent JACKSON, MO

$4,864, 1.28 percent CLAY, MO

$4,940, 1.3 percent PLATTE, MO

$4,332, 1.14 percent WYANDOTTE, KS

$6,156 1.62 percent

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

LOCAL PERKS

country in Liberty, Missouri, but it can feel that way. The town’s center is surrounded by relaxed, hilly terrain.

Liberty’s quaint business-lined historic downtown bolsters the smalltown mindset, despite being surrounded by new housing projects. Also the seat of Clay County, Liberty has just over 30,000 residents within about 30 square miles and is served by Liberty Public Schools.

About 25 minutes north of downtown KC, just east of Interstate 35, Liberty is also home to the private William Jewell College and a short drive from the Worlds of Fun theme park.

The biggest attraction might be the affordable housing landscape for homebuyers who don’t mind not being in the center of everything, says Shannon Stumpenhaus, an agent with Compass who’s sold houses in the area.

BY STATE, ANNUAL PAYMENT, PERCENTAGE OF ASSESSED VALUE MO

$3,712, 0.98 percent KS

$5.434, 1.43 percent Source: Smartasset.com

PARKVILLE/ RIVERSIDE P

ARKVILLE AND RIVERSIDE are two adjoining cities along

the Missouri River just east of Kansas City and across the water from KCK. Both in Platte County, the hilly towns, sought after for their laid-back vibes, total about 11,000 in population.

Parkville, the larger of the two, has just over 7,000 residents. Although Parkville was established in 1844, the city of Riverside wasn’t incorporated until 1951. The Park Hill School District serves both communities.

Parkville is home to Park University, a liberal arts college offering select degrees. The university’s International Center for Music regularly hosts visiting master classical musicians from around the globe. Next to the university is the Parkville Nature Sanctuary, boasting 115 acres of wildlife preserve with three miles of hiking trails.

Parkville’s historic downtown is known for its boutiques, eateries and weekend farmer’s market.

Meanwhile, in Riverside, there’s the Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa, which has table games, slots and dining, if you want to pretend like you’re in Vegas after work.

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

To get in under $380,000 in either of these cities is going to be a challenge. Realtor. com recently had Riverside’s median listing price at $749,000, while Redfin posted a $720,000 median sales price for Parkville.

Those trying to get into either locale for around the national average aren’t going to get a lot of house— if you’re able to find one in the first place. Realtor. com recently posted the pending sale of a Riverside four-bedroom, two bath, 100-year-old home totaling just under 1,600 square feet for $310,000. Finding the right home in the slim inventory of homes priced under $380,0000 will take determination.

LOCAL PERKS

Parkville and Riverside residents both have access to the Missouri River. Right by the Argosy in Riverside is E.H. Young Riverfront Park.

Along with eight pickleball courts, a skate park and an off-leash area for dogs, the park has a riverfront trail.

In Parkville, English Landing Park is a 68-acre destination containing trails that wind along the river, volleyball facilities and a disc golf course. There’s even a boat ramp, too.

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Parkville Coffee has called downtown Parkville home for about 15 years and plans to expand its roasting business. The newer Ten & Two Coffee, also in Parkville, has coffee drinks in the morning and turns into more of a bar later in the afternoon. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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NORTHEAST KC

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

There are several beautiful early 20th-century houses available at this price point, so it’s perfect for those willing to take on the challenges these artwork-like properties present. Zillow recently listed a 3,100-square-foot, four-bed, three-bath restored 1895 Victorian at slightly less than $330,000. Just east of downtown, the Northeast saw its economic fortunes fall partly due to the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs at a now-defunct steel plant in the 1980s, so poverty and crime are present. But many homebuyers in the Northeast are first-time owners aware of these factors and striving to get involved to build a healthier community.

Kansas City Public Schools educates the area, which is also home to the private University of Kansas City School of Medicine.

LOCAL PERKS

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

For an area of town underserved in some retail categories, the Northeast boasts quality cafes that double as their own versions of community centers. Core Coffee & Eatery and PH Coffee are both community-first spots in the Pendleton Heights neighborhood.

And don’t let the gritty Independence Avenue storefront of Eleos Coffee House dissuade you from grabbing a cup of one of its fine single-origin roasts.

56 Kansas City April 2024

F

ANS OF HISTORIC architecture who are scop-

ing out homes in Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood might prefer walking or biking certain blocks, where meticulously restored houses dating back to the late 1800s are randomly scattered next to those in lesser condition, causing people to brake frequently when sightseeing.

The Northeast’s neighborhoods—Columbus Park, Independence Plaza, Indian Mound, Lykins, Pendleton Heights and Scarritt Renaissance—are among the city’s oldest.

Restoration is a constant in the area, as is a steady stream of immigrants, making the locale one of the city’s most ethnically diverse, as proven by a slew of eateries representing a good deal of the UN.

PHOTOGR APHY BY Z ACH BAUMAN

The Northeast is fittingly home to the Kansas City Museum, a 3.5-acre site first plotted in 1910 as a private residence that abuts Kessler Park, which serves as the area’s northern border. Named after famed 1800s city planner George Kessler, much of its narrow 303 acres sits atop a bluff above East Bottoms railroad tracks, providing a sprawling view of Kansas City’s communities north of the Missouri River. Certain sections of the park, such as the Colonnade and its Concourse, were built in the early 1900s but made to look older, and they serve as an interesting backdrop to today's electric scooter and bike riders.

LEE’S SUMMIT F

OUNDED WAY BACK in 1865, Lee’s Summit—not named after

the Confederate Civil War general as one might surmise—is an in-demand city of more than 103,000 people today. Its population has more than doubled since its sleepier, more recent past in 1990.

The revitalization of downtown Lee’s Summit, about 20 miles southeast of downtown KC, continues with a multiuse project that’s bringing a year-round farmers market and outdoor performance space to the area’s existing collection of eateries and boutiques.

Surrounding the downtown area are traditional suburban neighborhoods of varying price ranges that arch higher with new development toward the south. The eastern edge of Lee’s Summit is bordered by Blue Springs Lake, as well as lakes Lotawana and Jacomo.

Insurer GEHA is a big employer, and Lee’s Summit residents are served by Lee’s Summit School District R-7 and the Lee’s Summit Police Department.

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

Get in while you still can at this price, stresses Rachel Kilmer, or “Rach the Realtor,” a ReeceNichols broker who says Lee’s Summit is in “a really transitional phase right now” and is averaging around $360,000 as a whole. First-time homebuyers and younger families are dominant buyers downtown, where there are still small houses under the national average. It’s tougher, but possible, to find homes in the homier suburbs, Kilmer says, mentioning Lakewood’s current favorable price selection.

LOCAL PERKS

PHOTOGR APHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

Kilmer says a wave of Gen Z homebuyers and consumers are converging in and near downtown, bringing with them diverse tastes and creating a neighborhood of eclectic boutiques, cafes and brewpubs.

“They want a place that’s walkable, but they still want something that's relatively affordable and drivable,” Kilmer says.

“Downtown is fitting that bill for several younger buyers in today’s market.”

It’s not easy to find affordable similar locales in the metro, Kilmer says.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

A downtown fixture for close to 30 years, Whistle Stop Coffee & Mercantile is a popular spot on Main Street, near the Lee’s Summit Amtrak train stop. Toward the west, near Longview Lake, Gusto Coffee Shop arrived in 2014 and continues to collect devoted customers. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

What a difference the state line makes. One can find several houses under $380,000 in Red Bridge (though you can go higher); meanwhile, you’d be lucky to find the same $350,000 three-bedroom house just a few blocks away in Kansas for less than $550,000. Most residents in Red Bridge and Martin City are homeowners.

LOCAL PERKS

The 200-acre Minor Park’s showcase is its eponymously named 18-hole municipal golf course, but it also boasts six pickleball courts.

You’ll also find a retired antique bridge decorated with “love locks” and several nature trails along the Blue River. Just north are the Blue Ridge ballfields, where, during nice weather, visitors might stumble upon some intense amateur soccer matches.

South of the park, on 135th Street, is the original location of Martin City Brewing Company, a favorite of craft beer fans. Its patio fills up with locals on agreeable weekends.

RED BRIDGE/ MARTIN CITY R

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

The addition of a Crows Coffee location to Red Bridge Shopping Center gave the area a needed place to charge up away from the busier State Line Road. The same strip of shops includes a handful of restaurants. Later this year, a Farm Fresh Market grocery store is set to join as a tenant.

58 Kansas City April 2024

hoods at KC’s southern end along the Kansas border.

Here, residents can still live in the city yet reside in a suburban-feeling area near both green space and the 135th Street mega-retail corridor across the state line.

Interstate 435 borders Red Bridge to its north, where you will also find St. Joseph Medical Center.

Grandview and Minor Park are toward the east. Cass County makes up the southern border next to Martin City, where you can find Walmart, Target and other big-box stores. Kansas City Public Schools serves the area, and Avila University, with its 50-acre campus, is also in Red Bridge.

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

ED BRIDGE AND Martin City are adjoining neighbor-

MISSION/ ROELAND PARK M

ISSION AND ROELAND PARK are two small tree-lined

suburban cities in Johnson County where you can still get in under the national average.

Both towns are less than 15 non-peak minutes to downtown Kansas City, with Interstate 35 to the west.

They also offer distinct retail corridors, so no need to stray far to shop.

Within Shawnee Mission School District’s borders, Roeland Park and Mission are obvious choices for firsttime homebuyers and younger families who are seeking the suburban Kansas lifestyle but are priced out of the larger homes and spendy areas to the south.

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

The average listed housing prices in both Roeland Park and Mission are under the nation’s norm. The median figure at the beginning of the year in Mission was $315,000, according to Redfin, which recently listed a three-bedroom, two-bath 1,200-square-foot dwelling for $300,000. In Roeland Park, the median sales price was $313,000, according to Realtor.com. Recently, a three-bedroom, two-bath at 2,000 square feet was “pending” on the site for $347,000.

LOCAL PERKS

PHOTOGR APHY BY Z ACH BAUMAN

Although homey neighborhoods characterize Mission and Roeland Park, shopping options are bountiful in both.

Several small businesses and restaurants populate Mission’s downtown strip along Johnson Drive. Target, Hy-Vee and Natural Grocers are all options around the strip as well.

On Roe Boulevard, in Roeland Park, you’ll find three big stores lumped on one side of the street: Walmart, Lowe’s and—what many consider one of the metro’s best grocery stores— Price Chopper, with its house-made fresh tortillas and a large selection of produce and Latino foods. If Aldi is your jam, there’s one located on the other side of Roe.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Urban Prairie Coffee on Mission’s Johnson Drive strip is a popular meeting spot with outdoor seating. Filling Station on Johnson Drive across from Shawnee Mission North High School (technically in Overland Park) is an opportune place to work and spy on your teenager. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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LENEXA/ SHAWNEE

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

Finding houses at or under the national average is a difficult task in both Lenexa and Shawnee, warns the founder and CEO of Compass Realty Group’s Journey Home Team, Jennifer Harvey, who calculated the average active listing at $513,000 in both locales (after withdrawing a couple mega-mansion listings). So if you’re looking for new housing, “you might get some condos and townhomes, and in all honesty, those are where you’re going to hit that $380K price point,” Harvey says.

Two types of dominant buyers in the market right now are empty nesters who might have lived in larger homes and want to downsize and families who have outgrown their first home and want an upgrade, Harvey says.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

McClain’s Market, the Shawnee location of the KC bakery institution, opened in a former garage on Nieman Road in 2020 and is always busy. Black Dog Coffeehouse in Lenexa is affiliated with Ibis Bakery, which also has a popular Crossroads location.

60 Kansas City April 2024

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Johnson County, where the two cities have about 80,000 residents combined. Despite increasing populations, they still feel spread out, with open-sky views toward the west, where new housing development is underway.

Although both are distinctly suburban cities, Lenexa and Shawnee have revitalized downtown areas that attract residents during downtime. A short stretch of Johnson Drive is home to several breweries in Shawnee, and it can have a street-fair atmosphere on some weekends. The revitalized Art Deco-style Aztec Shawnee Theater is a downtown draw with regular films, music and other events. Lenexa City Center, located at 87th Street Parkway and Renner Road, is the result of a public-private partnership called Vision 2020 that has brought a public market, housing, eateries and retail stores near Lenexa’s City Hall.

The two cities, which span about 75 square miles combined, are served by public school districts Shawnee Mission and Olathe further south. Lenexa is home to several large employers, including Cboe Global Markets, Kiewit Corporation and Quest Diagnostics, to name a few. And coming soon is a 300-acre Panasonic electric battery plant in nearby De Soto that will add hundreds of jobs to the greater area.

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

LOCAL PERKS

Johnson County’s answer to Swope Park, Shawnee Mission Park totals 1,600 acres, with a 120-acre lake as its centerpiece.

The park offers activities from golf to archery to horseback riding, and there are off-leash parks for four-legged visitors. Over the summer, Theatre in the Park performs familiar outdoor musicals.

ENEXA AND SHAWNEE linger together in western

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

Patience is vital to break into either of these neighborhoods at $380K, says Missy Price, associate with Price Curry & Hess, a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate affiliate. The wait will be shorter in Waldo, since the average housing price is lower due to smaller footprints.

The average home in Waldo is 1,300 square feet compared to 2,100 square feet in Brookside, according to research firm CoStar Group.

“When people couldn’t afford to live in the Brookside area proper, they went a little further south and still found that charm,” Price says. “What’s happening in Waldo is we’re getting a lot more restaurants and bars and activities,” which further increases competition and attracts empty nesters and single young professionals. If you’re willing to go the condo or duplex route—and many are for the location—your options increase.

PHOTOGR APHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

LOCAL PERKS

BROOKSIDE/ WALDO S

OUTH FROM DOWNTOWN KC are Brookside and

Waldo, attached neighborhoods with popular commercial districts centered around the busy thoroughfare, Wornall Road.

Brookside starts at 55th Street, goes south to Gregory Avenue, where Waldo starts, and ends on 91st Street. State Line Road is the western border of both, while KC’s East Side starts at Troost Avenue. Research Medical Center is on the eastern side of Brookside. Kansas City Public Schools serves the area, along with the KCPD.

Brookside’s downtown shopping area, a Tudor-style collection of buildings on a few blocks around Wornall Road and 63rd Street, debuted as the centerpiece of the neighborhood in 1919. A collection of mostly small businesses and restaurants, the commercial buildings mimic some of the interior streets’ Tudor homes. An upscale Cosentino’s grocery store and Price Chopper are on either end of the business district.

A remodeled Price Chopper grocery store in Waldo has joined a growing number of restaurants of all kinds working their way south along Wornall’s strip of small businesses. For non-commercial strolling, Waldo boasts the Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail, which provides an urban nature break.

Further west in Waldo is Ward Parkway Center, a shopping center with a coveted Trader Joe’s store, AMC Theatre, Target and even indoor stores for mall walkers.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

The Roasterie’s Brookside Café is one of the busier gathering spots in the area for coffee. A newer yet already very popular spot is retailer Made in KC’s Front Range Coffeehouse & Provisions on Gregory Boulevard and Oak Street. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

LOCAL PERKS

The Johnson County Museum shows the area’s beginnings as a suburban mecca. On the JCCC campus, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art offers a compelling collection of pieces by emerging artists. Just east of Olathe’s municipal square is the Museum of Deaf History, Arts and Culture.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Homer’s Coffee House in downtown Overland Park’s pedestrian-friendly commercial district is an oft-used second office and meeting place that features live music on the weekends. In Olathe, Sweet Tee’s Coffee Shop opened on Santa Fe Road in 2015 and now has outposts in two of the city’s libraries.

62 Kansas City April 2024

OLATHE/ OVERLAND PARK T HESE TWO KANSAS towns are the main population

centers of Johnson County and make up more than half of JoCo’s total residents.

Although this part of Johnson County has its share of large employers, such as a regional division of John Deere and the headquarters of GPS giant Garmin International, most people come for the Blue Valley or Shawnee Mission school districts.

Overland Park is the second-largest city in Kansas, with 197,000 people, while Olathe is fourth, totaling just under 150,000. Still thought of as suburbs, this part of Kansas is its own destination that occasionally competes with KC proper for events.

The Overland Park Convention Center and the attached Sheraton Hotel are regularly booked with national and regional events. Meanwhile, Johnson County Community College, also in Overland Park, has an enrollment of about 17,000 and sits on a 200-acre campus near the Corporate Woods Office Park. JCCC’s Midwest Trust Center, which includes Yardley Hall and Polsky Theatre, often hosts jazz and classical music performances as well as theater and dance shows.

Olathe’s downtown is the county seat, with government offices of all types. Also within its borders is Ernie Miller Park, totaling 116 acres of hiking trails in natural habitats.

PHOTOGR APHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

Millions of people have gotten the memo about Johnson County’s schools over the years, so despite the high populations of both cities, there isn’t much supply at the national average, says Majid Ghavami of Ghavami Homes, a ReeceNichols outfit.

“It’s sad because $380,000 does not get you even what it would three years ago,” Ghavami says, noting that the houses one does find at this price point are going to need some investment and aren’t turnkey.

What Ghavami has done more than once is worked with couples on the Missouri side for their first home and, when they are ready to have kids, helped them upgrade to Overland Park or Olathe.

PRAIRIE VILLAGE E

VERYONE KNOWS Whole Foods has the nickname

“Whole Paycheck.” Prairie Village at one time earned a similarly unflattering moniker, “Perfect Village.”

Some might find the overly sincere architecture of the shopping centers along Mission Road too hoity-toity for the Midwest, but there’s something to be said for consistency, as their intentionally dated “village” facades are never-changing area landmarks for drivers lost in Johnson County.

Both shopping centers have Hen House Markets and several restaurants ranging from high-end to fast food.

You can also find several specialty boutique stores in Prairie Village, like real-deal destination cheesemonger The Better Cheddar.

WHAT $380K WILL BUY YOU

Demand in the area does not cease, in large part due to the Shawnee Mission School District. Zillow recently had a 0.34acre lot listed in Prairie Village for $375,000.

The majority of what you’ll find posted on the site are houses over $1 million, some of which have recently replaced former Cape Cods and mid-century modern homes that were PV’s 20th-century trademarks. It’s not uncommon for a house to sell for more than $500,000 only to be ripped down and replaced by a multimillion-dollar home.

PHOTOGR APHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

LOCAL PERK

The city has hosted the Prairie Village Jazz Festival in Harmon Park for more than a decade. Residents bring lawn chairs and kick back while world-class musicians from around the area continue the tradition of performing America’s original art form, accompanied by food vendors.

WHERE TO GRAB A CUP OF COFFEE

Hattie’s Fine Coffee in the Corinth Square shopping center is a busy place that roasts its own beans from around the globe, with a homey feel and outdoor seating. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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EXPLORING SSPPO ONNSSO ORREED D C CO ONNTTEENNTT

Wonders of Wildlife:

A Destination for Learning and Adventure

L

ocated in Springfield, Missouri, in the heart of the beautiful Ozark Mountain region, Johnny Morris’

Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium

is a sanctuary for nature enthusiasts, adventure seekers,

and curious minds alike. With a commitment to

conservation, education, and unparalleled experiences, this iconic destination continues to captivate visitors of

all ages. As one of the largest and most important conservation attractions in the United States, here are some exciting

highlights to make a visit to the Wonders of Wildlife an absolute must for your spring and summer bucket list adventure.

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Too Close to Home A look at sex trafficking in the heartland through the case of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn.

How 17-year-old Gonzales-McLinn became a victim of not only trafficking but also a system ill-equipped to protect and serve victims

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED; SHUT TERSTOCK

By Rachel Layton

ast year in Kansas City and its surrounding areas, the Department of Homeland Security executed three successful busts of human trafficking. One of these operations, which occurred on May 3, 2023, focused on identifying and rescuing victims who were being trafficked for sexual exploitation. This operation led to the arrest of 22 individuals and rescue of two trafficking victims.

“When individuals think of human trafficking, it often conjures up images of popular Hollywood movies that usually take place overseas, but in actuality this crime is happening right here in the Heartland,” Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City’s Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho said in a press release. “That’s why educating the community on what human trafficking looks like is so vitally important.” kansascitymag.com April 2024

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Harold “Hal” Sisko

The Trial and Conviction of Sarah Gonzales-McLinn

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n January 14, 2013, then-19-year-old Gonzales-McLinn was living in the Lawrence, Kansas, home of 52-year-old Harold “Hal” Sasko as his sexual and financial slave. That evening, she drugged Sasko with his own sleeping medication, zip-tied his limbs and slashed his throat with a hunting knife before writing “Freedom” on the wall in blood. From there, she fled with Sasko’s car and her dog to Texas and, later, to Florida to see the ocean before her inevitable arrest. She was taken into custody 11 days later from Everglades National Park, and just three days later, Gonzales-McLinn was charged with first-degree premeditated homicide in the death of Sasko. The charges were filed unprecedentedly quickly, according to Gonzales-McLinn’s current representative, Jonathan Sternberg.

During her initial questioning, the interrogating officers spent just shy of four minutes questioning Gonzales-McLinn on the sexual nature of her relationship

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PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

Sarah Gonzales-McLinn’s Mughsot

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey defines human trafficking as “a modern form of slavery involving the exploitation of a person for involuntary labor, services, debt bondage or commercial sex through the use of force, fraud or coercion.” Human trafficking is currently considered to be the second largest criminal enterprise worldwide, yet only around four percent of law enforcement agencies in America have full-time human trafficking investigators.

Dan Nash is a former Missouri state trooper with 27 years of experience. In 2021, Nash, along with the former director of the Missouri Attorney General’s Anti-Human Trafficking Statewide Task Force, Alison Phillips, founded the Human Trafficking Training Center. This center works to educate law enforcement on the signs of human trafficking when patrolling and building cases. “When you look at skills-based training in law enforcement across America, only eight percent of law enforcement have any skills,” Nash says. “They’re just not getting the training. We don’t get it in the academy. I never got it in my academy. I learned it later in life.” According to Nash, while law enforcement is knowledgeable on how to spot prostitution, it’s common for victims of sex trafficking to be mistaken for criminals themselves and treated as such. “Only 17 percent of law enforcement in America have any human trafficking training whatsoever,” Nash says. He defines trafficking as: “forcing someone to commit a crime, whatever that crime is. Generally, what we see is prostitution, but it can be other crimes as well. It can be whenever you’re forcing someone to commit crimes that you are profiting from, and you’re using force, fraud and coercion to do that.”

It is currently estimated that somewhere between 81 and 99 percent of prostitution is linked not to individuals choosing this line of work, but rather to trafficking.

However, when victims are questioned by law enforcement, most will deny that their circumstances are a product of human or sex trafficking. Nash estimates that only six to seven percent of victims are willing to self-identify, with most victims electing to lie due to their distrust of law enforcement as well as fear of repercussions from their traffickers. Sex trafficking can be conducted in many ways, from forcing an individual into prostitution to entrapping an individual in sexual slavery for a single beneficiary. “The TV shows us a woman or girl being sold to multiple men, and that’s absolutely true,” says former Washburn University professor and human trafficking expert Sharon Sullivan. “But sex slavery to one person is another form of human trafficking or sex trafficking.” Sullivan is currently involved in the fight for clemency for one such victim, Sarah Gonzales-McLinn.

As Sullivan highlights, media often leads the public to believe that sex trafficking occurs underground within criminal enterprises. As Dave Ranney, an activist at Topeka Correctional Facility, says, people often assume that “trafficking is limited to pimps and prostitutes.” Perhaps this distorted image of sex trafficking has even become comforting, as it is so alien to our everyday lives of working, shopping, attending family functions and interacting with neighbors. Disconcertingly, the truth of sex trafficking is that it exists with ease in these familiar settings, and the beneficiaries of such crimes are often average individuals, not crime kingpins and gang leaders.

This truth is one so discomforting that it becomes safer to choose ignorance over observance. Sarah Gonzales-McLinn’s story is a reminder of just that.

with Sasko. She, like the majority ing Sasko’s abuse, and Hutchison went on to claim in her of victims in her situation, did Gonzales-McLinn later 2014 psychological evaluation of Gonzalesnot initially identify herself as a stated she was shocked McLinn that Vanessa attempted to stop Alyssa victim of sexual violence. Furtherand confused as to why from committing the murder, even attempting more, Gonzales-McLinn was never her situation leading up to untie Sasko before Alyssa prevailed, informed of the definition of rape or to Sasko’s death was slashing Sasko’s throat. trafficking within the state of Kannot included in her trial. sas, and as her clemency petition While many murder highlights, “the word ‘rape’ does trials center around not appear in the transcript of the whether the defendant interview” at all. committed the murder at all, this was not the case in Gonzales-McLinn’s trial, as it was Forensic psychiatrist Marilyn Hutchison was hired always understood that she was the killer. Rather than pleading complete innocence, to conduct a psychological evaluation of Gonzales-McCornwell focused his arguments during the guilt phase of trial on motive, asserting Linn and uncovered that she suffered from dissociative Gonzales-McLinn be found not guilty due to mental defect—a defense previously identity disorder, also referred to as multiple personality referred to as pleading insanity. Cornwell later testified that this was his first time utidisorder. Hutchison conducted eight sessions totalling lizing this defense at trial. Despite Gonzales-McLinn’s extensive diagnoses, Cornwell’s 17 and a half hours. Her conclusion was that it wasn’t defense ultimately failed due to the prosecution’s ability to prove premeditation, citing Sarah who was present at the murder—it was her alterGonzales-McLinn’s Google search history and statements she had made prior to the nate identity, known as Alyssa, acting in self defense killing about having murderous ideation—though it was found that this ideation was to prevent another alternate personality, Vanessa, from not attached to one specific person and was rather a generalized delusion brought on by committing suicide. Hutchison went on to claim in her Gonzales-McLinn’s increasingly unstable mental condition. In order to plead not guilty 2014 psychological evaluation of Gonzales-McLinn that by reason of mental defect, premeditation cannot take place, according to Sternberg.

Vanessa attempted to stop Alyssa from committing the After a six-day jury trial, Gonzales-McLinn was found guilty. The conviction was murder, even attempting to untie Sasko before Alyssa announced by the foreman of her jury, an 18 year old man. On Sept. 4, 2015, she prevailed, slashing Sasko’s throat. Hutchison noted that was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, with a mandatory sentence of 50 years Alyssa delighted in being a person who is not weak, served before being eligible for parole. This sentence is commonly referred to as a whereas Vanessa was depressed and anxious, and that “Hard 50.” Since Sept. 22, 2015, Gonzales-McLinn has been incarcerated at Topeka Sarah herself “died” at age 16 following a violent rape Correctional Facility. she experienced. Ultimately, Gonzales-McLinn was Since her trial, Sternberg has argued that mental defect should not have been diagnosed with pronounced PTSD, DID, major depresused as Gonzales-McLinn’s defense but rather what’s commonly referred to as sion, bipolar II disorder and schizophrenia. the battered woman syndrome defense. “It’s a showing of delayed self-defense,” Two weeks after Sasko’s death, in a motions hearSternberg says. “This happens to women and men who are abused long term. In an ing on Jan. 28, 2014 at which Gonzales-McLinn was attempt to escape, they will take the opportunity they have to subdue their attacker not herself present, District Attorney Charles Branand leave, and courts, including Kansas, have recognized that this is a special form son argued that it would be “inappropriate for [the of self-defense which absolutely would have applied to Sarah’s case.” defense’s] expert to discuss any of the allegations of abuse that the defendant allegedly suffered except for what is necessary for the expert to indicate her The Pre-Conviction Life of findings.” Branson claimed that abuse allegations Sarah Gonzales-McLinn would not be proper in front of the jury during the riginally from Topeka, Kansas, Sarah Brooke Gonzales-McLinn was “guilt phase” of the trial, as it would be “information the second child born to parents Michelle Gonzales and Robert that would be used to create sympathy for the defenMcLinn. She has one sister, Ashley McLinn, who is three years dant.” Branson then went on to state that evidence of older than her. The sisters both recall a tumultuous household abuse would be proper only during the penalty phase during childhood due to their mother’s adopting three foster boys of trial. In response, the defense attorney, Carl Cornand their parents’ volatile divorce. During this divorce, Gonzawell, remarked: “The State’s already presupposed that les-McLinn struggled with depression and self-harm, and her relationships with we’re going to get to a penalty phase. I’m hoping that her parents became contentious. Gonzales-McLinn has recalled her father during the jury’s going to find that my client did suffer from this time as “weak” and “emotional.” She and Ashley even recall having to take on this mental disease.” a parental role toward their father.

Despite Cornwell’s assertion that, without Sasko’s Around the age of six, Gonzales-McLinn was sexually abused by a “demented” abuse, “we don’t get to where we are today,” district neighbor who, with some regularity, attacked her in his shed near her family’s backyard, court judge Paula Martin determined that no evidence forcing Gonzales-McLinn to watch as he skinned dead animals before assaulting of Sasko abusing Gonzales-McLinn would be permitted her. When her parents became aware of the assault, they never took legal action or during the trial except the psychological evaluation of addressed the trauma with their daughter, and to this day, there have never been any Gonzales-McLinn, which didn’t touch specifically on charges brought against him. Then, when Gonzales-McLinn was 16, she endured a Sasko’s abuse but on Gonzales-McLinn’s overarching particularly violent rape by an aquaintence who left her with cigarette burns from history of sexual abuse spanning her childhood and the assault that resulted in permanent scarring. In numerous interviews and tesadolescence. Judge Martin felt that Gonzales-Mctimonies since, Gonzales-McLinn regularly indicates this rape as the catalyst for Linn’s actions, not Sasko’s character, were on trial. permanent fractures in her mental state. As Dr. Hutchison states in her evaluations, Cornwell failed to properly inform Gonzales-McLinn Sarah “died” as a result of the rape. In place of a stable, core self, her identity split, of Judge Martin’s suppression of evidence regardand her grasp on reality was loosened.

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“This happens to women and men who are abused long term. In an attempt to escape, they will take the opportunity they have to subdue their attacker and leave.”

At 14 years old, Gonzales-McLinn found employment at a Lawrence Cici’s Pizza branch, locally owned by then 46-year-old Hal Sasko. When Gonzales-McLinn turned 16, Sasko began showing an interest in her that, up to that point, she had never experienced. He would ask personal questions about her family life and about her scars from the rape. He began texting her much more frequently than her family was aware of and began instilling in her how “special” he felt her to be.

“The first thing is there’s clearly grooming from the time she’s a teenager,” human trafficking expert Sullivan says in describing this period of Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn’s relationship. “Sasko’s providing her comfort. He’s taking her out of school for special lunches. He tries to be somebody she can trust, and we [later] learn there’s ulterior motives.” Sasko encouraged Gonzales-McLinn to refer to him as “dad,” and Gonzales-McLinn’s sister even recalls noting that her sister had saved Sasko’s contact in her phone under the name “Dad.” “[Having Gonzales-McLinn] call him ‘dad’ keeps him as an authority figure, in the same ways that our parents would,” Sullivan says.

Leading up to Gonzales-McLinn’s 18th birthday, Sasko invited her to live in his Lawrence home, promising to provide financial stability and emotional support. Two months prior to her birthday, she graduated from Topeka High School a semester early and officially moved into Sasko’s home as a housemate.

As we are now aware, Sasko was far from a father figure. He was a predator, an experienced groomer and a rapist. In court records from evidentiary hearings and an official petition for clemency on behalf of Gonzales-McLinn, Sasko has a documented record of seeking out young, vulnerable women experiencing adversity at critical times in their personal growth. Days after his death made the news, an unidentified Lawrence mother of twin 16-year-old girls reported to police that she had long suspected Sasko of grooming her daughters. According to the clemency petition, “In the days before Mr. Sasko’s death, [the mother] and the girls’ high school counselor had discussed filing a no-contact order against him.”

In addition to seeking out vulnerable girls in real life, Sasko was an avid viewer

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of violent pornography and had a fetish for videos of women being assaulted while unconscious. Evidence of these searches were found on Sasko’s computer but ruled “irrelevant” at trial. Sasko was known to brag to friends and family that living with the 18-year-old Gonzales-McLinn “was the most amazing thing in the world.” Despite Gonzales-McLinn’s numerous rejections to Sasko’s sexual advances and condemnations from his own family that his behavior was “indecent,” as a nephew stated in court records, Sasko was methodical and relentless in his pursuit for absolute control over Gonzales-McLinn, both financially and sexually.

In spite of a 2014 article in People magazine that Sasko tried to “steer [Sarah] from gangs,” while living in his home, Gonzales-McLinn was provided with and encouraged to consume unlimited amounts of vodka, cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy on a daily basis. Her dependence on these substances grew and served to further her dependence on Sasko, who would soon begin to repeatedly threaten her into sexual activity. Just months after Gonzales-McLinn moved in and now having an estranged relationship from her biological parents, Sasko began threatening to kick Gonzales-McLinn out, forcing her into homelessness.

He would assert that Gonzales-McLinn had racked up a “bill” to him of thousands of dollars for her living expenses, which he would sue for were she not to pay him. He threatened to ruin her credit and destroy

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, age 14

any chance of her being able to rent on her own. As Sullivan points out, “What does anyone of that age know about finances?”

According to Gonzales-McLinn, six months into her stay with him, Sasko began raping her. In her clemency petition, submitted in 2022, documents state that, “Shortly after their first sexual encounter, Mr. Sasko let Ms. McLinn know that she would have to pay rent and reimburse him for food, gas, cell phone, car repairs and her dog’s veterinary bill.” Prior to the threats, Gonzales-McLinn allowed Sasko to finance a rhinoplasty she had wanted for some time, and after the surgery, Sasko informed her that the $6,000 bill had been added to her “tab.” He then spent months demanding she undergo breast augmentation, as “men like curvy women.” When it was determined she was too young for the procedure, she was coerced into having gluteal implants instead. “This kind of remaking of her body I see as another method of control,” Sullivan says. Sasko then added the $10,000 cost of this surgery to the tab. Gonzales-McLinn stated in a session with Dr. Hutchison that when she relented to Sasko’s demands for sexual gratification, his threats would dissipate for a time before this cycle ultimately began again. Gonzales-McLinn’s clemency petition comments on this, stating “Sex trafficking […] includes men exploiting women for their own gratification.”

While Gonzales-McLinn was employed at times during her roughly year-and-a-half stay with Sasko, her checks were seized by Sasko, whose businesses were nearing total financial collapse, and deposited into a Cici’s Pizza account to which Gonzales-McLinn had no access. Sternberg estimates Gonzales-McLinn’s “tab” to have been around $14,000 at the time of Sasko’s death.

However, Gonzales-McLinn later testified that her bill surpassed $17,000. During this time, Gonzales-McLinn began displaying signs of obvious mental distress.

There have been multiple reports of an incident involving a rabbit that Gonzales-McLinn purchased from a pet store before bringing it to Sasko’s house to kill and eat. While media outlets cited this incident as evidence of Gonzales-McLinn’s murderous ideation, Gonzales-McLinn testified that Sasko was a “prepper,” meaning that he believed the world was coming to an end. She recalled how Sasko began stock-piling guns, ammunition, knives, water and survival kits. “He talked about how we need to learn how to kill and prepare animals for when we would have no other choice,” she testified. When asked if Sasko had tried to convince her of this worldview, she testified: “Yes, and he was successful. I started to believe it.”

Despite Gonzales-McLinn’s obviously concerning mental decline, Sasko—the man who claimed to be providing Gonzales-McLinn with mentorship and support in these early days of her adulthood—was filling Gonzales-McLinn with cocktails of drugs and alcohol, keeping her virtually immobile. Gonzales-McLinn remembers times where she couldn’t so much as get off the couch for days at a time. Sasko continued raping a drugged and drunk Gonzales-McLinn up to four times a week. Furthermore, Gonzales-McLinn

herself recalls drinking into “near blackout” in order to endure the assaults, knowing that each time Sasko began to drink, she would be raped. It was this knowledge that ultimately led to Sasko’s murder.

On the morning of Jan. 14, 2014, Gonzales-McLinn received a text message from Sasko that read: “Hey good morning, thank you for last night. It was good, we never got to talk about Sunday. I apologize for trying to sleep with you. Tonight, before we get going can we talk?

Please and thank you.”

That afternoon, Sasko sent an additional text asking her to put beer in the fridge for him. As Gonzales-McLinn explained to Dr. Hutchison, she interpreted this to mean she would be raped again that night. Shortly before midnight, Gonzales-McLinn drugged and bound Sasko before cutting his throat, killing him and driving to Florida. In one of her psychological evaluations, Gonzales-McLinn is somewhat famously quoted as having said that the feeling of killing Sasko “was like standing in the sun for the first time.”

Post-Conviction Evidentiary Hearing

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hroughout 2014 and 2015, media outlets depicted Gonzales-McLinn as a volatile housemate of Sasko who killed Sasko cold-bloodedly, her actions motivated by insidious ideation of murder. The Wichita Eagle published an article in 2014 with claims that Gonzales-McLinn killed Sasko because she “wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone.” People published an article with the headline “Teen Charged with Killing Pizza Shop Boss Who Tried to Steer Her from Gangs.” In 2015, Fox 4 News classified the relationship between Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn as “roommates” and referred to the state of Sasko’s body as “butchered.” It should be noted that there has never been any court documentation that Gonzales-McLinn was associated with gangs.

Across news outlets, cozy portraits of Sasko with an ex-girlfriend were paired alongside sinister images of Gonzales-McLinn smirking. This same ex-girlfriend was even quoted saying that Sasko “generously helped many of his employees.” The efforts that went into humanizing Sasko were staggering, with little to no acknowledgement in these early articles that Sasko’s relationship with Gonzales-McLinn was anything but a fatherly figure attempting to help a young, lost soul. It’s been speculated in years since Gonzales-McLinn’s conviction that the violence of the killing led detectives, the jury and members of the public to view Gonzales-McLinn as bloodthirsty. However, in light of a 2019–2020 evidentiary hearing, the true nature of Sasko, as well as the events that led to his death, have been made clear.

Six years after Gonzales-McLinn’s conviction, Sternberg presented at an evidentiary hearing that sought to lower Gonzales-McLinn’s sentence from a Hard 50 to a Hard 25 by arguing that her original defense attorney failed to adequately counsel her on the option of a plea bargain. Such a deal would have allowed her to plead guilty for a 25 to life sentence rather than the 50 to life she received at trial. This evidentiary hearing was the first time Gonzales-McLinn ever took the stand, and this was also the first time that any testimony regarding Sasko’s abusive behavior was allowed in the courtroom.

During this hearing, Gonzales-McLinn testified: “Sometimes I would say that maybe I should just leave, move out […] and [Sasko] said that he’ll get an attorney and he would sue me, and I would never be able to afford my own house or have anything.”

When Sternberg questioned her on what she felt her options were, Gonzales-McLinn said: “I feel like I really didn’t have choices. It was just do whatever [Sasko] says.”

In reference to the gluteal implants Sasko coerced Gonzales-McLinn into getting, she asserted that, along with being very painful, the implants left her “ashamed and embarrassed.” She testified that, after this surgery and with the $10,000 cost having been added to her growing bill, “[the sexual assault] got worse. To him, I was just his at this point, like he owned me.” When asked if she ever consented to the sexual encounters with Sasko, Gonzales-McLinn testified with a powerful and simple “no. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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Dave Ranney

Sharon Sullivan

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Fight for Clemency

etired journalist and current volunteer at Topeka Correctional Facility, Dave Ranney has become a prominent advocate for Gonzales-McLinn in the years following her conviction. The Topeka Correctional Facility offers a creative writing course through which Ranney and fellow advocate Sharon Sullivan were first introduced to Gonzales-McLinn. “Dave was really the driver of [petitioning for clemency],” Sullivan says.

Gonzales-McLinn’s petition for clemency took roughly a year to put together and was submitted in November 2022 to the Kansas Prisoner Review Board. “One of the points, if not the main point, of the application [was] how do we define justice for an individual—in this case a sex-trafficked 19-year-old female—who kills her serial rapist,” Ranney says. The clemency application is undersigned by 32 individuals including medical professionals, family members and friends, concerned Lawrence residents and even members of law enforcement themselves.

In the petition, the undersigned assert: “There is ample evidence that Sarah, who had moved in with Mr. Sasko when she was 17, was groomed, sex trafficked

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

When Sternberg questioned Gonzales-McLinn on the killing of Sasko, her first-hand account of that night was remembered in pieces. “I remember there was blood on my hands, and I remember just the feeling of, ‘Oh my God,’” Gonzales-McLinn said. “I remember being in the car and driving. And I remember I was so exhausted at one point that I just stopped the car, and I was still in Kansas, and it was cold. I was shaking because it was so cold, and I decided to drive south where it was warm.” In the prosecution’s cross-examination, while Gonzales-McLinn was questioned on the effectiveness of Cornwell as her counsel, she was not questioned on her testimony regarding Sasko.

In 2021, Kansas Reflector editor Sherman Smith secured the first and only interview with Gonzales-McLinn since the events of 2014. In this interview, Gonzales-McLinn recalled that during her trial, Cornwell didn’t prepare her for the possibility of spending the rest of her life in prison. She claimed that Cornwell had a mentality of, “this is going to be fine.” In transcripts of the cross-examination of Gonzales-McLinn during her evidentiary hearing, she testified that “[Cornwell] would talk about normal things, his family, a lot, just other things that he has dealt with before.” Because of Cornwell’s soothing attitude, and at the assurance of her family, Gonzales-McLinn was unaware of the real possibility that evidence presented at trial would not indicate she had experienced over a year of sexual and financial abuse from Sasko. “Don’t worry about it because we’re going to win—that was kind of [Cornwell’s] theme, his repeated theme,” said Gonzales-McLinn, 28 at the time.

In May of 2020, Judge Amy Hanley ruled in Gonzels-McLinn’s favor, and her sentence was reduced to 25 years to life, in a plea-like agreement that means Gonzales-McLinn has given up the majority of her rights to appeal. She may never appeal for a new trial. Her earliest possible release date is listed by the Topeka Correctional Facility as Feb. 1, 2039, when she will be 44 years old.

Dan Nash

and sexually assaulted for almost a is allotted 120 days to The governor received Gonzales-McLinn’s year. Unfortunately, her trial focused submit their recomapplication in March of 2023. In a press release on whether her mental condition, mendations before on the governor’s site, Kelly said, “Using the dissociative identity disorder, prepassing applications clemency power is not something I take lightly, vented her from forming criminal on to the governor, nor is it the solution to the systemic issues in intent. The judge blocked Sarah’s who ultimately has our criminal justice system.” attorney from questioning Mr. Sasthe authority to grant ko’s character.” or deny any applicant.

Utilizing over a dozen exhibits, Eight applications were letters and evaluation documents, recommended favorably the petition argues that Sasko’s actions are what ultibetween 2017 and 2018, and Gov. Laura Kelly granted clemency to eight prisoners mately led to his death and that Gonzales-McLinn acted in 2021—though due to privacy laws, there’s no way to be sure if these are the same in self-defense, seeing no other means of self-presereight individuals. Of the incarcerated individuals to whom Kelly has granted clemency, vation due to her history of sexual assault and mental none were incarcerated due to violent crimes. This makes Gonzales-McLinn’s case illnesses. In support of this argument, the application all the more difficult to pass. The governor received Gonzales-McLinn’s application includes findings from evidentiary files that document in March of 2023. In a press release on the governor’s site, Kelly said, “Using the Judge Martin’s suppression of any evidence of Sasko’s clemency power is not something I take lightly, nor is it the solution to the systemic sexual or abusive behavior, Sasko’s repeated interest in issues in our criminal justice system.” “rape fantasy” pornography and numerous testimonies from associates of Sasko claiming his behavior was The Bigger Picture habitually indecent and “sick.” The application also s human trafficking trainer Nash states, sex trafficking is a massively asserts that Sasko’s threats of financial ruin and homeunderreported crime. “I do a thing early on [in training] where I lessness would stop when Gonzales-McLinn submitted ask, ‘What would you do?’ And you have all these officers going, to his demands for sexual encounters.

‘I don’t know what to do with them. I don’t even know what that One of the requirements of a clemency petition means.’ And then they come up to you during the breaks going, is a plan for the incarcerated individual should they ‘Oh my God, I’ve totally been missing this. I’ve seen all this. I had be released. Gonzales-McLinn’s advocacy team has all these trafficking victims and I didn’t do anything with them. I don’t know what planned for her to enter a two-year-long program at a to do now. I feel horrible.’” home for survivors of sex trafficking. In addition, the The number of stories Nash tells of officers’ encounters with and failures to interapplicant must provide a statement to their progress vene in trafficking cases are staggering, but they’re not unfamiliar to the seasoned during their time incarcerated. In her now almost 10 former trooper. Nash tells a story of an encounter he had during his early years years of incarceration, Gonzales-McLinn has underpatrolling in Missouri where he came across a 20-year-old woman who was with taken the Pell Associate of Arts-Liberal Studies, as well an older man. “I was talking to them trying to figure out what was going on,” Nash as money management and dental assistant programs. says. “I didn’t understand PTSD and trauma-bonding and all the stuff these poor Sullivan, who in addition to being an advocate was also victims go through, so I didn’t know what to do with her, and I ultimately released Gonzales-McLinn’s instructor for Intro to Women’s her along with the gentleman that she was with.” Nash later learned this man was Studies online at Washburn University, describes her her trafficker. The horror Nash felt when, just a few months later, this same woman as “very articulate, very smart, very thoughtful. To me, committed suicide due to her seemingly inescapable circumstance, was crushing. it emphasizes the ways that this woman was exploited.”

“For me, that was when I thought, we gotta change what we’re doing,” Nash says. “I Additionally, Gonzales-McLinn has worked as a had this girl in the palm of my hand. I had an opportunity to help her, but I didn’t member of Reaching Out From Within, aiming to know what to do, and now she’s dead in a bathtub at 20 years old.” counteract violence by speaking to high school and When we look at a victim such as Gonzales-McLinn, the toll of failures in justice college students, and she now works as a dog trainer and law enforcement becomes insurmountable. Gonzales-McLinn spent her formative within the Pooches and Pals program at TCF. years abused and captive, and now it is very possible she will spend the majority, if Gonzales-McLinn, now a sober woman of faith, not all, of her adulthood incarcerated. One-third of her life has been spent behind asserts in her clemency petition: “I wish that I could bars. It paints an image of entrapment. As our criminal justice system sits now, find the words to better describe how I feel, but I can’t, there is very little chance for victims of sex trafficking to escape imprisonment of because they don’t exist. one variety or another. Gonzales-McLinn’s story of abuse and incarceration is more “I can only say that when I moved into that house, than an isolated failure of our system to protect one victim of sex crimes. Her story I never anticipated the things that would occur. I was is an example of how the state of Kansas and this country are prepared to handle young and did not know how to handle situations that victims. Gonzales-McLinn’s inability to gain sovereignty, first at the hands of her would quickly come my way. I believed to my very core abuser and now at the hands of the judicial system, is an example to other victims that I was alone, that no one cared […] that there was that police are undertrained and ill-informed on the complex mechanisms of sex no help for me and there was no way out. Sorrow is trafficking. That courts do not hold mercy for a victim’s circumstance, no matter now a part of my everyday life. For all our sakes, I wish how influential that circumstance has been on their crimes. Gonzales-McLinn’s case I had known how to unscramble my thoughts and be serves as evidence that victims are not permitted to obtain, as Gonzales-McLinn the woman that God intended me to be. God knows wrote in blood the night of Jan. 14, freedom. that I would if I could.”

Sullivan believes that Gonzales-McLinn is not alone in her experience. “I would The Prisoner Review Board in the state of Kanlike for us to think about this as a human rights issue,” Sullivan says. “Women sas, established in 2015, received 84 applications for should have the right to be free from sexual violence. There are more women like clemency in its first four years of operation. The board [Gonzales-McLinn] sitting behind bars.”

A

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EATING AND DRINKING WELL IN KANSAS CITY

The Humble Sheet Cake Is Making a Comeback Tyler Shane FOR YEARS NOW , cakes have trended upward—literally. Towering

tiered cakes have been the coveted style for most significant occasions, but their humble sibling, the sheet cake, is starting to take center stage for a change. Over the past year, the traditional birthday cake style has been getting a modern makeover by bakers, and Kelsey Earl’s Little Butter Bakery is at the forefront of bringing the trend to KC. Photography by Caleb Condit and Rebecca Norden

“I feel like it has more ease and approachability than big, massive tiered cakes do for feeding a crowd,” Earl says. She also credits their recent popularity to their nostalgic quality. “That’s the first cake we all had as kids for our birthdays from the Hy-Vee bakery.”

It’s also about functionality. A sheet cake provides a nice wide canvas for Earl’s whimsical, almost abstract decorating style. Her signature thick “squiggle” piping and delicate garnishes of colorful candied fruit and flowers are key to giving the sheet cake an updated sophisticated look.

Earl has also been getting playful with the traditional structure of sheet cakes. For an upcoming project, she plans to make one long, thin sheet cake that spans an entire table, with the cake acting as the table’s centerpiece. Keep up with Earl’s cake ventures on Instagram @littlebutterbakery. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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Dumplings

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Kansas City April 2024

REVIEW

and Decor

Rakar Dumpling House is KC’s one-stop shop for Chinese food and … antique furniture?

By Tyler Shane Photography by Caleb Condit and Rebecca Norden BEFORE JIM ZHANG opened his restaurant Rakar Dumpling House

in Leawood’s former Winstead’s last April, he was importing and selling antique Chinese furniture to KC interior designers. Originally from Beijing, Zhang knows his home decor well after 20 years in the business. He also knows his dumplings.

Through Rakar (pronounced ray-car), the renaissance man has melded both his passions into a one-stop shop for Chinese food and rustic home goods. Somehow, he doesn’t get lost in either pursuit.

Whether you’re sampling the dumplings or eyeing a vase, both have quality at their forefront. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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Rakar isn’t necessarily fast casual, although service is pretty fast, and it is definitely casual—I’d say it’s elevated casual. Five self-order touchscreens greet you when you walk in. If you want a beer, head to the counter and order from the cashier. Sit wherever you’d like, but don’t forget that the entire dining room is essentially one big furniture store. Every table, chair, porcelain urn and hand-blown vase is for sale. A concept that could easily read as stiff and sterile, Zhang and his team have managed to make it comforting, quaint, even homey. This isn’t Ikea or Nebraska Furniture Mart. Hell, there’s even a gentle babbling waterfall in a corner of the dining room. The antiques in the dining room and the small walk-through market area are gorgeous time-worn pieces that you’ll no doubt admire while sipping on some egg drop soup.

The key to a great casual restaurant is being able to cut corners while simultaneously delivering quality where it counts. Zhang nails this. Not everything in the kitchen is made from scratch, and a significant portion of the menu caters to the Western palate. He’s not trying to reinvent the wheel with his general Tso’s chicken, crispy fried egg rolls and crab rangoon. He knows what the majority of midwesterners want: the Americanized versions we’ve all come to know and crave. When I realize at 4:48 pm on Wednesday evening that I could really go for some pork lo mein, Rakar satisfies my craving perfectly. Each heaping plate of chicken fried rice and beef and broccoli are reliable, well-cooked and satisfying. The dumplings, on the other hand, are where Zhang chooses to deliver something more true to himself and his Beijing roots.

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A good dumpling should burst in your mouth with flavor-packed juices, and you can expect this at Rakar.

A machine imported from China packs and seals the crescent-shaped delights daily to keep up with the demand. Start with the pork for tradition’s sake, but with seven filling options, including fish, vegetable and lamb, the world is your oyster. I was surprised by the lamb dumplings. Their gamey-ness was beautifully placated by a good dip in soy sauce. Zhang recommends his dumplings steamed but entertains us all with the option to pan-fry.

Speckled throughout the menu are opportunities to try less familiar dishes—dishes from Northern China and what Zhang incorporates into his daily diet. Spicy sesame phoenix talons (chicken feet) and sweet and sour pork ribs are unapologetic offerings that you should take advantage of. The chicken feet are brined, boiled and served cold. Their cartilage chew was aromatic with sesame seed oil, and while the texture of one was enough for me, I was happy to experience one of Zhang’s rare pockets of truth. In Leawood’s comfy-cozy neck of the woods, chicken feet may not be a bestseller anytime soon, but for the adventurous, the experimental and the truth seekers, this is for you.

Unfortunately for Zhang and his family-owned restaurant, he may always need to acquiesce to the midwestern palate. The delicious tangy pork ribs are meant to be served cold, but a few complaints from diners, who wrongly assumed they would be hot, has made Zhang start to flash fry them. Another complained that the soup dumplings had too little soup—a complaint that makes me wonder if the diner didn’t

REVIEW

know that the dumplings are not themselves served in soup but instead have a bit of broth packed within them. It would be an easy misconception for someone who isn’t familiar with the dish.

There are only a few places that serve the highly coveted soup dumplings. As of February, Rakar became one of them. The brothy, meaty wrapped delights, hot with steam, must be eaten with a drizzle of Rakar’s homemade chili crisp for a savory, zingy combination.

“Better than Trader Joes,” Zhang assures. I have to agree.

Be sure to order a plate of pickled cucumbers. It’s a great palate cleanser. When it comes to appetizers, I’d stick with the crab rangoon over the Hong Kongstyle fried wontons filled with shrimp and pork. They were fine, but the accompanying side of mayonnaise was too rich and a lackluster accompaniment. For a sweet treat, the fried milk buns are soft, sweet pillows with a delicate crunchy layer on the outside. Served with a dipping sauce of sweetened condensed milk, they were a hit among those of us with a sweet tooth.

As for drinks, you can indulge in a trendy bubble tea.

Rakar makes its own tea mixes, and while my 12-year-old niece may be more their target audience, I was surprised to find I enjoyed the matcha flavor. My niece went with strawberry and thoroughly enjoyed the little burst of tapioca balls. More typical teas, like jasmine and mandarin orange, are also available along with soft drinks.

It’s important to note that Rakar front-of-the-house employees, as helpful as they were each time I visited, will not be assisting you throughout your meal. They’ll help guide you through the touchscreens to order your

Previous spread: Pictured left: authentic Beijing-style dumplings and pork lo mein. Pictured right: Jim Zhang’s collection of antique Chinese home furnishings available at his restaurant.

Before he opened Rakar, he was a wholesale distributor to local antique stores like Bella Patina and Urban Mining.

A good dumpling should burst in your mouth with flavor-packed juices, and you can expect this at Rakar.

This spread: Dishes pictured above from left to right: Pan-fried dumplings, General Tso’s chicken, soup dumplings, spicy sesame phoenix talons and pork lo mein.

meal if it’s your first time, but two stand-alone shelving units in the dining room provide everything you need: soy sauce, dipping plates, chopsticks, silverware, to-go boxes, etc. Your dishes will come out swiftly, and don’t expect the kitchen to methodically pace them out. They won’t. Appetizers and entrees will make their way to you as soon as they’re made. When you’re finished, you can bus your table, or not.

Zhang and his family have managed to bring a truly unique concept to Kansas City.

Rakar is familiar enough to keep a good customer base, but it keeps you guessing with rotating specials closer to home. The menu is solid, and Zhang seems to have what it takes to keep it interesting and consistent. kansascitymag.com April 2024

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DRINK

“We carbonate it with reverse osmosis purified water and put it in a can, so it’s a much cleaner product.”

Sparkling Clean

By Tyler Shane KATE BARKER IS quick to acknowledge how “unique” her juice company, Zen Donkey Farms,

is. Each purchase of a Zen Donkey raw cold-pressed juice directly benefits her nonprofit, Zen Donkey Experience, which is dedicated to rescuing donkeys and providing donkey facilitated healing. But recently the wellness company has branched out into the sparkling water market. The new product line is not only one of the few local sparkling water brands but also one of the cleanest (ingredient-wise) you’ll find on the market.

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Most of the big-name sparkling waters have syrups, preservatives, artificial flavors and are pasteurized. Due to FDA regulations for water products, the big name brands usually have more than 400 ingredients, many of which aren’t required to be listed on the label. “[Our sparkling waters] include our clean, organic cold-pressed juices which are not pasteurized, so it goes into our tanks raw,” Barker says. “Then we carbonate it with reverse osmosis purified water and put it in a can, so it’s a much cleaner product.”

Zen Donkey Farms’ waters are high in citrus, and that—coupled with carbonation, a natural preservative—means the waters are able to last up to six months in the fridge. They’re refreshing and infused with the likes of lemon, grapefruit and orange vanilla. Barker plans to drop a new line of flavors this summer and suggests drinking the sparkling waters on their own or using them as mixers in mocktails or cocktails.

Find Zen Donkey Farms’ juices and sparkling waters at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market or order them online to be delivered directly to your home (zendonkeyfarms.com).

Photography by Anna Petrow

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It’s Getting Personal

With her recent release of personal essays, Emily Farris is an open book

By Tyler Shane INDEPENDENCE NATIVE Emily Farris is currently a full time commerce

writer for Epicurious and Bon Appétit, but before that, she released a line of potty mouth greeting cards, wrote a casserole cookbook, had a food blog and podcast called Feed Me KC and designed logos for some of your favorite local spots (Happy Gillis and Crows Coffee, for example).

Oh, and on Feb. 6, she published her first book I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes: And Other Tales From My ADHD Brain.

“Basically, I write personal essays,” Farris says. “Very, very personal essays.”

From the aforementioned list of Farris’ previous gigs, her ADHD diagnosis may not come as much of a shock. But it wasn’t until right before her 36th birthday that she was finally diagnosed. Throughout I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes, Farris hilariously reflects on and examines her life through her newfound neurodevelopmental disorder.

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P E R F E C T DAY

From the outside, it might seem exhausting to pursue all these creative endeavors. You’ll read in Farris’ book that it often was, with the fatigue most notably showing up in her marriage and depleted bank account. But when I ask Farris if she feels discouraged when a project of hers fizzles out, without hesitation she says, “No.” “I’m glad I didn’t just stick with one thing,” Farris says. “I’m adaptable. It’s easy for me to pick up a new skill because I’ve done so many things.”

She doesn’t deny that her pursuits can be chaotic. If you followed her kitchen renovation during her days on Instagram as @theboozybungalow, you’re quite aware of the twists and turns Farris endures. But, the ADHD diagnosis helped her embrace the chaos and gave her a new perspective on why she did things the way she did.

Currently, Farris is going through a divorce, selling her east Brookside home (yes, the one with the renovated kitchen) and moving into E M I LY FA R R I S ’ an apartment in Midtown. Don’t worry: It’s all P E R F E C T D AY I N K C for the best, Farris says. In fact, she’s referring to this as her era of self-love.

Rise and shine: It begins “I do most of my processing on the page,” with movement, so after a run on the Trolley Trail, I’m she says. “So [writing this book] definitely stopping by Crows Coffee forced some self-awareness. It also forced for a 12-ounce oat milk latte with an extra shot. me to pay more attention to some things in my marriage that I had been trying to Antiquing: If it’s a not pay attention to.”

Saturday, I would go to Urban Mining. I would say In just the few essays I’ve read so far, it’s River Market Antiques, incredible how Farris manages to take you but it’s better to go there along with her on the roller coaster of her during the week (hot tip). life. One essay might recall that time that she Lunch: Tailleur has a really began hoarding decorative baskets, and the good lunch. I love a big salad with some chicken next will detail the less-than-hilarious origins liver mousse with really of her issues with money (otherwise referred buttery toast. Because this to as “ADHD tax,” as Farris will explain). is my perfect day, I’m also getting bubbles.

Both will have you completely captivated.

Despite Farris’ current transitory period, Thrifting: I’ll hit the Red her wit and self-deprecating humor are still Racks and City Thrift on Wornall. I have three fully intact. sections I hit—furniture, The opening essay is an adaptation of purses and, depending on the season, I’ll walk through a piece she originally tried to submit to coats or dresses. Another the New York Times’ Modern Love column. hot tip: The best stuff is if Times rejected it, but it was accepted by you drive out to the burbs. the Guardian.

Dinner: Obviously, I’m “The title was originally ‘How an ADHD going to dinner at Bacaro Diagnosis Saved My Marriage,’ so now the Primo. I’m having, like, three negronis. Their house headline is ‘How an ADHD Diagnosis Saved salad and meatballs are My Marriage … For a While Anyway,’ Farris perfect. Then I’m having an affogato for dessert. says.

Photography by Laura Morsman

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Newsfeed

What’s new in Kansas City food and drink

By Tyler Shane

Last Call

AFTER MORE THAN 70 years, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn in Westport called

PHOTOGR APHY BY SAMANTHA LEVI

PHOTOGR APHY BY T YLER SHANE

it quits. The beloved family-owned KC dive bar was opened in 1952 by David Golad, when there weren’t many others in the neighborhood.

Golad’s daughter, Joyce Hess, and her husband, Jim Hess, took ownership of Dave’s in the ’80s.

A hotspot for locals, Dave’s catered to the late-night crowd with pool tables and live music.

A Good Year

DOWNTOWN OVERLAND PARK’S Vintage ’78 Wine Bar has been

10 minutes away from the Legends Outlets and 15 minutes from the KCI Airport.

COME FOR THE FOOD, STAY FOR THE EXPERIENCE 15348 OLD TOWN DRIVE, PARKVILLE, MO | 816.622.9600 WWW.CHARBARBBQ.COM

86 Kansas City April 2024

Best Burger

SINCE LAST YEAR, Darren

Carter and Matt Chapman have been popping up around town with their popular smash burgers under the guise of Disco Burger—and they’ve gained a cult following. Now, folks will be able to snag a burger on the regular.

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

Enjoy the same, beloved menu from our flagship location in the heart of Westport, Kansas City, then gear up for some friendly competition on our six pickleball courts.

open less than a year and has already gained a lofty reputation.

Not only was the small OP wine bar one of the 10 restaurants that made our Best New Restaurants list in December, but it also recently received recognition from The World of Fine Wine publication, making it onto its World’s Best Wine Lists Awards, which recognize restaurants worldwide for their exceptional wine selections. Judged by master sommeliers and masters of wine, the awards program is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the world of wine.

Vintage ’78 received World’s Best Wine Lists’ esteemed Three Star Award (the highest number of stars an establishment can receive) and the highly coveted Jury Prize, an award that recognizes qualities such as flair, good value and all-around excellence. Only 144 restaurants in the world have received the Three Star Award, and only 42 restaurants are recognized for a Jury Prize worldwide.

“This recognition reflects our unwavering commitment to curating an outstanding wine selection and providing an unparalleled dining experience for our guests,” says Michael Scherzberg, owner of Vintage ’78.

BITES

Meat the Mushroom

A VEGETARIAN BUTCHER shop may sound

like an oxymoron, but not to local mushroom farmer Bryan Alley. Instead of meat cuts, Alley plans to give mushrooms center stage with his shop Mushroom Culture, a vegetarian butcher shop expected to open in early summer. Mushroom Culture will open in the former Blue Koi restaurant on 39th Street (1803 W. 39th St., KCMO).

“It looks just like a butcher shop, but instead of going up to the case and seeing steaks, it’ll be the most attractive clusters of mushrooms we have that day,” Alley says.

When Grand River Mushrooms, a farm in North KC, went out of business during Covid, Alley saw the opportunity to become a mushroom farmer himself, and he’s spent the last four years growing and sourcing them to local restaurants. With his new shop, Alley now wants to educate the rest of KC about all things fungi.

The mushrooms will be provided by Alley’s network of local foragers and growers, which means they’ll also be organic.

Alley says he wants to give mushrooms “a new representation” and encourage all people to explore the different types of mushrooms out there, especially those who claim to not like them.

“A lot of the mushrooms that we work with don’t even taste like mushrooms,” Alley says. “They taste like meat.”

Mushroom Culture will offer lesser-known varieties of mushrooms like pink oysters, which only have a shelf life of two days, but their pork-like taste makes their flavor incomparable. The shop will act as a deli, offering grab-and-go eats along with a small menu for customers who want to sit down and enjoy a meal. Everything will be made from scratch.

Keep updated on Mushroom Culture’s opening by following the shop’s Instagram, @kcmushroomculture.

Noah’s Cupboard RENDERING BY BCDESIGNGROUP

Opening in the River Market this spring, Disco Burger (317 Delaware St., KCMO) will be teaming up with the owners of the Varsity Club, a cocktail bar, to create a hamburger restaurant with an exceptional drink menu. It promises to be “a laid-back environment with a no-fluff approach.” The River Market space has a large park-facing patio with an intimate interior.

Disco Burger will continue to sell their burgers along with other classic American fare, like hot dogs, patty melts, fries and cheesecake. Historically, each pop-up appearance has had an innovative twist.

Diners can expect similar creative takes on fast-casual food at the new restaurant.

Hola

A NEW MEXICAN RESTAURANT is making its

way to the Plaza. And no, it won’t be Tex-Mex. T’ähä, expected to open in late spring in the former Jax Fish House (4814 Roanoke Pkwy, KCMO), will focus on authentic food from Central Mexico but with a Midwestern flair.

T’ähä owners Jose Gomez and his father Fidel Gomez are no strangers to the restaurant industry. Fidel has been operating his family-owned Mexican restaurant, Little Hacienda, in Branson for the past 25 years. With T’äha, the father-son duo are looking to create a menu inspired by Fidel’s roots. Fidel immigrated to the U.S. in the ’90s from Hidalgo, Mexico, where there is still a strong indigenous community, specifically the Otomi people.

T’ähä, which means “dream” in Otomi, will emphasize “authentic, fresh and quality ingredients” that blend with more typical midwestern American foods. Lamb, a traditional dish from Hidalgo, will be a menu highlight, along with a big focus on moles.

To keep updated with T’ähä’s Alejandra de laopening, Fuente follow their Instagram, @tahakansascity.

Tiki Tastes

LOCAL FAST-CASUAL chain Tiki Taco contin-

ues to expand, recently opening a third spot in downtown Overland Park (7514 W. 80th St.).

The Overland Park site, which joins Tiki Taco’s Troost and 39th street locations, sits in the former Witter Plumbing, a business that stood for nearly 70 years before the owner retired.

The opening precedes QSR Magazine’s recognition of Tiki Taco as part of their 2024 list of America’s Hottest Startup Fast Casuals.

The list highlights 40 fast food brands with fewer than 40 locations that QSR believes have the “potential to become the next big success [story],” according to their website.

The menu fuses traditional flavors of Mexico with So-Cal influences and hints of Thai and Polynesian flavors.

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T H E S TO R I E S B E H I N D K A N S A S C I T Y ’ S M O S T E Y E- C ATC H I N G S T R U C T U R E S

surreal estate

“All of Roxy Paine’s work addresses the relationship between what occurs naturally and that which is technologically produced.”

Taking Root

By Dawnya Bartsch IT’S LIKE NO TREE you’ve ever seen. That’s because the nine-ton polished stainless

steel sculpture called Ferment is not a real living, breathing tree, despite tendril-like branches and its botanical surroundings.

Rising 56 feet into the air with a polished steel system of branches that span 35 feet, artist Roxy Paine’s sculpture is organic and mechanical all at the same time.

“It’s sort of shocking when you first see it,” says Serena Federman, a museum visitor strolling around the sculpture garden. “But I like it. It’s unexpected.”

Composed of cylindrical steel pipes and rods of varying size all welded together, Paine’s shiny silver construct was specifically commissioned for the museum’s sculpture

88 Kansas City April 2024

garden. It was a gift by the Hall Family Foundation in honor of longtime Nelson-Atkins art consultant Martin Friedman’s retirement in 2011.

The name Ferment is taken from the literal definition of ferment: to be in a state of agitation or intense activity. Paine’s tree can be seen twisting and moving, almost as if it’s struggling to live within the confines of its metal armor.

Paine has created dozens of massive outdoor sculptures similar to Ferment, and he calls them dendroids, a term that refers to anything that involves branching systems, including trees. Paine has been quoted as saying “calling them trees is selling them short.” They are so much more, he says.

Paine says his work examines the complex relationship between nature, technology and human experiences, something he became curious about when playing in the untamed nature just outside the prim and proper suburban housing developments he grew up in.

“All of Roxy Paine’s work addresses the relationship between what occurs naturally and that which is technologically produced,” Jan Schall, the Nelson’s curator of modern and contemporary art, said at the time of installation.

Getting the sculpture to Kansas City from the artist’s New York studio was a feat in itself. Paine designed and created the sculpture in pieces before it was shipped via several flatbed trucks to KC. To ready the outdoor museum location, roads and pads had to be built in order to get the sculpture to the South Lawn and then to the location at the top of the hill. Nine rock anchors were drilled 30 feet into the bedrock, and 36,000 pounds of concrete formed a foundation to support the massive sculpture.

PHOTOGR APHY PROVIDED

Ferment, Roxy Paine, 2011. Stainless steel. Purchase: Acquired in honor of Martin Friedman and his critical role in the development of the Kansas City Sculpture Park through a gift from the Hall Family Foundation.

Copyright Roxy Paine

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