Susan B. Wilson

America’s tales about taming the Wild West rarely include women. But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 100,000 pioneering young women left home to work as waitresses in restaurants located on train platforms along the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. 

They were called “Harvey Girls” because they worked in the Harvey House restaurant chain started by Leavenworth entrepreneur Fred Harvey. These women  later played an important role in World War II and helped transform society’s view of women’s work. 

For the past decade, blues singer and bassist Cassie Taylor has made her home on the road. At age sixteen, she started touring with her father, bluesman Otis Taylor, and she started her own solo career a few years after that.

While Taylor has no plans to slow down, the 26-year-old veteran is settling down a bit. She was recently married and moved to the Kansas City area. Some of the true-life stories of the blues life and love lost and found are the subjects of her new CD, called Out of My Mind.

Joplin Optimistic In Recovery, Anxious To Help In Moore, OK

Last week’s massive tornado in Moore, Oklahoma came almost exactly two years after another EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin, killing 161 people.  Wednesday marked that anniversary, and the city was greeted with near perfect weather.  Thousands came out that day to honor the lives of those lost, and reflect upon the continuing recovery effort.

Updated May 28 10:45 a.m. Licata Takes Home Gold

Pete Licata, Kansas City local and Quality Assurance Manager of Parisi Artisan Coffee, who had won the US Barista Championship in April, went on to snag first place at the World Barista Championship this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. He topped more than 50 competitors, using coffee roasted at Parisi. 

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The latest report from the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors suggests that the average sales price of an existing home is up 15 percent from a year ago, and the average sales price of a new home is up about 16 percent from December 2011.  On the other hand 4% of homes currently on the market are in foreclosure.  As the housing market begins to recover from the Recession, those buying and selling houses are facing different issues. Mary Hutchison, a Kansas City relator and Mike Cash, Senior Loan Officer at a1 Mortgage talk about this shift on this Central Standard. 

It’s swimsuit season and many are looking to shed a few pounds gained over the winter. But losing weight is a challenge and current research shows the odds are stacked against us when it comes to overcoming the mental obstacles of weight loss. With one third of children in the United States and two thirds of adults who are obese or overweight, it seems there is a huge challenge when trying to stay healthy. Amanda Bruce, a Childhood Obesity and imaging specialist at UMKC and  Jennifer D. Lundgren, Clinical Ph.D. Associate Professor and at UMKC both work on the issue of how psychology plays into childhood and adult obesity.

Performer and KCK native, Janelle Monae, is known for her gender-bending clothing and futuristic soul-meets-funk music. Keeping in her style, Monae just released her latest music video, "Q.U.E.E.N.", featuring neo-soul singer, Erykah Badu.

E pluribus unum—out of many is one—that’s was a founding principle for America.

Indeed, American language and culture shows the imprint of many different cultural influences.  But as the United States becomes more diverse, sometimes unity and understanding between different groups can become strained.

Imagine a Kansas City covered by ice sheets, oceans that ebb and flow, or lush rain forests with soaring ferns and palm trees. 

These were some of the different landscapes that covered this area millions of years ago.  UMKC geosciences professor emeritus Richard Gentile says we learn all this by “reading the rocks” beneath our feet.   

Gentile curated the exhibit, Kansas City Millions of Years Ago: What the Rock Record Tells Us at Commerce Bank’s Box Gallery through May 31, 2013. 

Many young, urban men see rap music as a ticket to a better, more prosperous life. But few ever even get a start in the music industry.

Twenty-two year old Gee Watts, however, has as good a chance as any. His new mixtape Watts Up has been featured in several major music industry publications and blogs.