Denied Entrance at the Port of Call
It is often said that government taxes and spends like drunken sailors, and that metaphor is particularly appropriate when referring...
“It cost what?” —KC Streetcar Announces Opening of New Extension
A friend called me the other night. Fox4KC had just aired a story about the opening date of the latest...
Sun Fresh Failed Because of Subsidies, not Despite Them
On August 12, KCUR ran a story with the headline “A troubled Kansas City grocery store has closed, despite $18...
The One Big Education Opportunity with Shaka Mitchell
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Shaka Mitchell, senior fellow at the American Federation for Children, about how a new federal scholarship...
In St. Louis County, Who Will Audit the Auditors?
A version of this commentary appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. When one thinks of no-show political jobs in Missouri government,...
Statistics Shows Crime Numbers Converging for Major Missouri Cities
The violent crime statistics in the cities of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield tell a much different story today...
Sun Fresh’s Struggles Were Predictable—and Predicted
The Washington Post just published a story on the failure of the taxpayer-subsidized Sun Fresh grocery store on the corner...
St. Louis’s Improving Crime Data
If you were to guess that St. Louis was the most dangerous city in Missouri, you would be correct. You...
Responding to PortKC’s Defenders
Michael Collins, a former CEO of PortKC and the founder of Grayson Capital, which specializes in “public-private real estate development,”...
Schools After the Storm with Noah Devine
Susan Pendergrass speaks with Noah Devine, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public Schools Association, about how charter schools in St. Louis are responding after the recent tornado damaged multiple campuses.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Governor Kehoe took a red pen to the state budget before signing it, indicating that he takes his fiscal responsibility...
Why Is PortKC Keeping Secrets?
PortKC has become Kansas City’s go-to agency for economic development incentives—but with a troubling condition. Applicants must sign a non-disclosure...
Why the New Property Tax Rules in Missouri Are Bad, Part 2
This is the second in a series of blog posts about why the new property tax legislation passed as part...
Why Is the Department of Economic Development Keeping Secrets?
At a Missouri House hearing on the stadium bill, Michelle Hattaway, Director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development, opened...
Is Kansas City a Public Safety Charity Case?
In a recent column for The Kansas City Star, I detailed international media stories about crime here in the City...
Kansas City’s World Cup Potemkin Village
Kansas City is spending $1.4 million in previously allocated World Cup funds to subsidize vacant storefronts ahead of the 2026...
Springfield Takes Its Time Hiring a City Manager
Springfield is undergoing a lengthy process to hire its new city manager. There is nothing wrong with that. This is...
Don’t Believe the (Streetcar) Hype
Back in 1988, Public Enemy urged us: “Don’t Believe the Hype.” In the 37 years since, plenty has changed—but that...
On Transit, Maybe We Can Learn Something from Washington
President Ronald Reagan once quipped that the scariest sentence is “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” That...
Royals May Stay at Kauffman Amid Stadium Inertia
A new story by Kansas City Business Journal’s Thomas Friestad suggests a growing likelihood that the Kansas City Royals will...
