In Australian sports, a certain type of story keeps coming up: the seasoned coach, the short leash, the mid-season firing that ends up in court. That story is Phil Blake’s situation with the West Harbour Pirates, and it has enough nuance to keep rugby fans and legal observers interested for some time. One of the people that older rugby league fans can still clearly recall is Blake, 62. Between 1982 and 1997, he was a try-scoring specialist for six different clubs in the NSWRL and ARL competitions. His explosive directness made him valuable to many teams. New South Wales made…
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.
Looking at Oracle’s stock chart right now is almost dizzying. Shares were trading close to $345 less than a year ago. They are currently at about $177. That is a company whose stock lost about half of its value while the underlying business continued to grow, not a pullback or a difficult quarter. The chart necessitates some frank discussion for long-term shareholders who watched the rally with satisfaction and then watched it fade without a clear catalyst. Oracle was never meant to be a tale like this. It was a provider of databases, ERP software, and the kind of deeply…
The buildings are difficult to miss when you pull off nearly any major highway corridor in Missouri, such as I-70 heading east toward St. Louis or the section of I-35 passing through Kansas City’s northern suburbs. Huge, barely noticeable, and nearly featureless from the outside. There are no signs that would be significant to a passing motorist. loading dock rows. Semi-truck parking lots are endless. The light is captured by a few security cameras. They don’t appear to be much from the road. They contain some of the world’s most intricate logistics infrastructure, with robotic systems operating around the clock…
On a clear morning, the scenery quickly opens up as you drive west out of Kansas City. In an hour, the billboards vanish, the suburbs thin out, and you’re faced with a horizon that reminds you of the original reasons people came to the Midwest: it’s wide, flat, and endless. That horizon now has company in counties like Barton County and Atchison County. Hundred-foot-tall white blades slowly rotated against the sky. You catch a glimpse of them before you think you will, and once you do, you can’t stop staring. Ten years ago, when about 70% of Missouri’s electricity came…
When a parent discovers that the educational system has no plan for their child, a specific kind of frustration arises. The child is ahead, not because they are having difficulties. Kids who completed their work twenty minutes ago are currently sitting in a classroom somewhere in Missouri, staring at the ceiling while they wait for the lesson to catch up with where their minds have already gone. There is no gifted program available for those children in more than half of Missouri’s school districts. Years have passed since then. Since 2001, at least 110 gifted education programs have been eliminated…
In Shell Knob, Missouri, a small town in Barry County where a trip to Walmart can feel like a lifeline, Jason Ponder operates a sober-living facility called Victory House. Men frequently have nothing when they show up at his door. In any case, Ponder takes them shopping. Five hundred dollars, occasionally even more, to begin. No ledger, no questions. “I don’t think money should ever keep someone from experiencing recovery,” he stated. Men who have survived Victory House often recall that initial visit to Walmart. Not out of altruism. as evidence that someone had faith in them before they did.…
In mid-April, Brett Veach entered his pre-draft press conference with the enthusiasm of someone who had already completed the majority of the thinking and was now relishing the opportunity to make hints. Speaking ahead of the draft in Green Bay, he said, “The fans will be in for a treat next Thursday.” The word “treat” struck a particular chord when you take into account that Kansas City recently concluded a 6-11 season—their worst in a long time—with Patrick Mahomes missing significant time due to injury. The context is important. The definition of a “treat” is altered. In general, Veach is…
The Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City doesn’t make a big impression when you stroll through it on a weekday morning. There are a few converted warehouse buildings with floor-to-ceiling glass in place of the loading dock doors, coffee shops with mismatched furniture, and a brewery that serves as an event space. Older people with notebooks are seated next to younger people with laptops. In contrast to San Francisco, it doesn’t feel like a tech hub. And that may be the whole point, to be honest. Depending on who you ask, Kansas City’s years of development without much publicity is…
Fans of Kansas City baseball most likely have a picture in the back of their minds of Kauffman Stadium on a hot summer’s evening with the scoreboard glowing and the fountains running behind the outfield wall. It’s a lovely spot to watch a game. However, the scene shifts when you drive past the nearby streets and head to the parking lot following the final out. Once you notice it, it’s difficult to ignore the desolation of the area surrounding the complex—wide, deserted roads with little else, no neighborhood to stroll into, no bar to visit, just an ocean of asphalt…
The fact that Rebel Wilson’s defamation trial began in a Sydney federal courtroom the week her directorial debut finally hit Australian theaters has an almost theatrical quality to it. The Deb, a musical comedy set in the outback that took years to develop and was mired in legal issues practically from the beginning, is currently playing in theaters while the woman who created it is being called a bully by opposing counsel while she sits in court. You really couldn’t write it. The case revolves around a number of Instagram posts Wilson made in 2024 and early 2025 that were…