Kansas City's Northeast Newscast

This episode marks the beginning of a series of interviews with state representatives and senators where they will share their priorities for the new term. This week we’re hearing from Missouri House of Representatives District 19 Representative Ingrid Burnett (D). Burnett raised her family and taught in Northeast for many years, and is now serving her third term. We discuss her priorities and her perspective on furthering her community's causes despite a Republican supermajority. She also...

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, local realtor LoRay Easterwood with United Real Estate and Becky Gripp with CHES Inc. explain the steps individuals and couples interested in purchasing a home should make. They discuss the process of deciding a price range, necessary savings, and preparing for unexpected costs. Gripp explains CHES programs to repair credit and preventing foreclosure, and their financial planning resources. CHES Inc. is currently hosting online classes found...

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, Editorial Assistant Daisy Garcia Montoya interviews Edgar Palacios, founder of Latinx Education Collaborative, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing and retaining the number of quality Latinx education professionals in K-12 education. This interview was conducted in Spanish. For an article on the organization in English, go to northeastnews.net or read the January 6 issue of the Northeast News.

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, Managing Editor Abby Hoover hosts a roundtable discussion with the staff of the Northeast News to recap 2020. From breaking news to features, faces and history, we delivered a product we're proud of to our diverse and unique community. Thank you to our loyal advertisers, listeners, readers and neighbors for supporting us for 88 years, and happy holidays!

Welcome back to the Northeast Newscast. On this week’s episode we’re joined by Kansas City Police Department Community Interaction Officer Greg Smith, who served East Patrol Zone for over three decades before retiring last week. Now, he’s reflecting on the legacy he’s leaving on the community and sharing his hopes for the future of the position.

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, Coach Ann Murphy, founder of YouthRise KC, discusses how her job as a KCPD officer led her to starting the soccer program, which empowers youth and teaches life lessons through mentorship, education and sport. Her efforts have been focused on Kansas City's Northeast and East Side, where the program supplements a lack of services for college preparation, homework help and other guidance, in addition to coaching soccer.

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast we're exploring rock climbing, a unique sport that provides a workout for both the body and mind. Jonathan Van Volkenburgh, General Manager of RoKC, an indoor climbing gym in North Kansas City, shares the advantages of both indoor and outdoor climbing, the extra care the facility is taking during COVID-19, and the health benefits of finding creative ways to stay active.

The holidays can be stressful without a raging pandemic, record unemployment and job insecurity. Samuel U. Rodgers Psychiatric Nurse Elizabeth Blanchard Hills walks us through a few ways to mentally prepare for the holiday season and how to avoid polarizing conversations related to politics, COVID-19, or family disagreements. We share alternatives for celebrating the holidays with COVID-19 in mind, and resources that Samuel U. Rodgers offers.

This week's episode of the Northeast Newscast dives deeper into the issues surrounding homelessness in Kansas City. Merging KC is working with residents, organizations and volunteers to build a regulated campsite for unhoused members of the community as winter weather approaches. We're talking to founder Houston DeFoe about the camp, longterm solutions to homelessness, how his experience with private security formed his perspective, and the barriers they are overcoming to make this idea...

This week on the Northeast Newscast Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas shares his thoughts on his first year in office, discusses the city’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his recent tours through Northeast neighborhoods Sheffield and Lykins.

This week, the Northeast News caught up with the Glass Bandit, Jamie Arnold. He started his curbside glass recycling service in July 2014 to address the need for affordable, convenient recycling. Since then, the operation has expanded to neighborhoods and businesses across the metro. Learn how Jamie got the idea, where he expects to expand to next, and the importance of recycling glass.

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, we're diving into the underground world of urban exploring. Aliases, secret locations and illegal activity make this a risk-taker's hobby. Hear from "Irving Jackelman," a local explorer with plenty of tales about the ins and outs of some of Kansas City's most secret abandoned places.

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, I’m joined by Charlie Aiello, a lifelong Northeast resident known to many as Walkin’ Charlie. A self-proclaimed fire department enthusiast, we talk about the history of the Kansas City Fire Department, his favorite restaurants around town, and even a few celebrity encounters. If you see Charlie around, give him a wave!

This week on the Northeast Newscast, Cheryl Lang from the Midwest Genealogy Center discussed the local genealogy resources right in our back yard for Family History Month. The center has a plethora of online resources, including research tools, video classes, worksheets to track your research and so much more. The Midwest Genealogy Center is a branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, and is available to everyone, and free to those living in Jackson and surrounding counties.

This week's episode of the Northeast Newscast explores some common misconceptions about voting in Kansas City ahead of the November 3 election. Shawn Kieffer, the Republican Director of the Kansas City Election Board (KCEB), discusses what KCEB does, what not to forget when absentee voting, how COVID-19 has changed Missouri’s voting requirements, shares how often polling equipment gets tested, and where to find voter education resources (kceb.org).

Welcome back to the Northeast Newscast. This week we’re getting to know the founders of Samaritans Wingz, an organization focused on elevating Northeast Kansas City’s immigrant and refugee communities. Managing Editor Abby Hoover is joined by founder Khadija Sheikh, COO Chanae Williams and Outreach Coordinator Martin Ongwec. Along with Williams' expertise in Northeast housing, Sheikh and Ongwec team up to share what they've learned as young immigrants to those who came after them.

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, we are joined by Outreach Coordinator Matt Riggs with the Mid-American Regional Council (MARC) Solid Waste Management District, which helps reduce waste that ends up in landfills through recycling education, grants and more. We discuss composting for apartment dwellers, public recycling pros and cons, what you can and can't recycle, and how to get rid of hard-to-recycle items (hint: at recyclecspot.org!)

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, we hosted Assistant Fire Chief Jimmy Walker from the Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD). We discuss how the department is handling COVID-19, and all the challenges it brings including budget cuts, a focus on stress and other mental health issues within the department, and the dedication of the men and women who serve our city.

This week on the Northeast Newscast Eddie Van Buskirk is joining us from Kansas City Legacy Properties to discuss the steps you should take when navigating an inherited home. We talk best options, out-of-state properties, probate and rehabbing.

For this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, we had the opportunity to meet Matt Gilme, the new Social Services Specialist for the East Patrol Zone of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. We discuss his background in social work, how he works with officers to coordinate services, and some goals he has for his new role.