From the window of a moving car, the rolling terrain of western Jasper County, Missouri, has stretches of land that don’t look like much: old fence lines, overgrown fields, and the occasional weathered farmhouse. It’s simple to drive by and not notice anything odd. History, on the other hand, tends to show that this is not true. Most well-known Civil War books don’t talk about the fight at Rader’s farm on May 18, 1863. There isn’t as much to it as there was at Gettysburg or Vicksburg. But what happened that afternoon, when about 70 guerrillas led by Confederate commander…
Author: Sierra Foster
Sierra Foster
Born in Kansas City, Sierra Foster writes about politics and serves as Senior Editor at kbsd6.com. She was raised paying attention to this city, not just living in it. Sierra has a strong, deep connection to Kansas City, from the neighborhoods east of Troost to the discussions that take place in the city hall halls. Sierra, who is presently enrolled at the University of Kansas to pursue a degree in Political Science, applies the rigor of academic study to her journalism. She writes about politics in Missouri and Kansas as someone who genuinely cares about what happens to the people in these communities—the policies that impact them, the leaders who represent them, and the civic forces influencing their futures—rather than as an outsider watching from a distance. Her editorial coverage encompasses state-level policy, local government, and the national political currents that permeate bi-state regional life. Whether it's a city council vote or a Senate race, she has a special gift for turning complex policy language into writing that feels urgent, relatable, and worthwhile. Sierra seldom sits still off the page. She claims that playing soccer on a regular basis has sharpened her instincts for political reporting because of the sport's teamwork, strategy, and requirement to read a changing game in real time. She's probably somewhere in Kansas City with her friends when she's not writing or on the pitch, discovering new reasons to adore a city she already knows so well.
There’s something a little off about seeing a band set up on a bridge that hasn’t been used in fifty years. There are no trains. No cars. Not many people. There was only steel, rust, and the slow, brown pull of the Kansas River below. For about fifty years, that was the Rock Island Bridge. Then, in June, Kansas City’s sixth annual Make Music Day turned it into something else: a stage, a place for people to gather, and a spot where the city seemed to remember what it could do. Make Music Day is an idea that has been…
Someone does a certain kind of work that never makes the evening news. There was no cutting of the ribbon, no viral video, and no politician standing in front of a banner. At 7 p.m., a caseworker is on the phone with a family to help them figure out whether they need to pay the rent or the electricity bill this month. These are the times that Missouri’s nonprofit sector lives in, and these are the people that the state’s Nonprofit Relief and Recovery Grant program was made to help. The Missouri Department of Economic Development ran the program, which…
The scenery changes quickly once you’re an hour from St. Louis in almost any direction. Strip malls make way for farms. Urgent care centers are going away. You might have to drive a long way to get to the nearest hospital with a specialist if something goes wrong, like chest pain, a brain bleed, or a pulmonary embolism. This is the medical reality in rural Missouri. It’s not new or easy. Large parts of the state haven’t had enough medical care for decades because of a lack of doctors, hospitals closing, and lack of money. But there is a slow…
There is a certain kind of anger that builds up over time. Not the sudden kind, like a flat tire or a car accident, but the kind that happens every day. The kind you get when you’re stuck in traffic on the same stretch of road for days on end and don’t know if anything has moved since last Tuesday. That anger has a place in Kansas City: the Northland, off of 64th Street near Interstate 29 and the GoKC Bond Project. For many who live and work nearby, it feels like it will stay that way. Troy Oliphant remembers…
Some crimes stay with a community long after the police have stopped looking into them. One of those cases is the disappearance of Sherrill Levitt, her daughter Suzie Streeter, and Suzie’s friend Stacy McCall. They are now known as the Springfield Three. It began in Springfield, Missouri, on the night of June 6, 1992, at the end of a night that should have been filled with happiness. It was Suzie and Stacy’s last day of high school at Kickapoo. Party, pictures, and a new king-sized waterbed that Suzie couldn’t wait to show off. The two girls drove back to Sherrill’s…
It’s possible for this story to have ended in a different way. A family that was torn apart by an act of pure hatred is turning inward because they are so sad. They would not have been blamed. The Corporon family did not do that, though. Three people were killed by a white supremacist in Overland Park, Kansas, on April 13, 2014. They were Dr. William Corporon, his 14-year-old grandson Reat Underwood, and Teresa LaManno. In the days that followed, when most families would have just been trying to get through the grief, something strange happened. The people who knew…
Moving a 7,600-pound granite monument so that more people can just read the names carved into it is a quiet act of spirituality. Back in the beginning of the year, a three-piece display honoring the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation was put up along the south side of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield. It had been at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds for years, mostly going unnoticed except for when the fair was in late summer. At this point, it stands where sports fans walk. There are 207 names on the monument. Most of them won’t be known to…
The quiet way Christopher Barrett announced that his lawsuit against Sony and Bungie was over is very interesting. There was no fiery statement or press conference. Just a post on X, a short note from me, and one word that stood out more than any amount of money: satisfied. Barrett worked at Bungie for almost 25 years. He worked on Halo, helped make Destiny what it is today, and was making Marathon into what was meant to be the next big franchise from the studio. After that, he wasn’t there in March 2024. The studios that work with Bungie and…
The way this is going is almost poetic. Amazon made its name with easy shopping, one-click checkout, and subscriptions that almost sign themselves. Now, the company is sending refund checks to customers who say they couldn’t get out. July 27 is the last day to file a claim in the company’s $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. If you signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, you may be eligible for a payment of up to $51. The settlement comes from a lawsuit the FTC brought in 2023. The FTC said that Amazon…