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Country Club Plaza is Destination for Local Teenagers

The Country Club Plaza.
Photo courtesy of Charvex.
The Country Club Plaza.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-968911.mp3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Spring is here, and Kansas City teens are gathering--once again--in large numbers on the Country Club Plaza. The Kansas City Police Department was hoping to prevent what happened last April, when some 700 to 900 teens were involved in what was called a "flash mob." Fights broke out, patrons were intimidated and one teen was beaten up.

The police formulated a crowd control plan, city officials met with teenagers to brainstorm activities.

Fast forward to this April, when similar problems began developing. On a recent Saturday night, KCUR's Susan B. Wilson was out on the Plaza, asking some of the teenagers why it's such a draw.

She also checked in with City Councilwoman Cindy Circo and Mark Bowland, of Kansas City Parks And Recreation, to find out what new approaches to teen recreation have been planned since last summer.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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