Kansas City's Northeast Newscast

This week on the Northeast Newscast, KCPD's newly appointed Community Initiative Officer, Jason Cooley, sits down with managing editor Paul Thompson to discuss a bevy of topics, including: the duties of his new position; Chief of Police Rick Smith's desire to double the amount of Community Interaction Officers (CIO's) in the department by January 2018; the department's efforts...

This week on Kansas City's Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Northeast Kansas City Historical Society President Kent Dicus to preview the NEKCHS Homes Tour, to be held on Saturday, October 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Pendleton Heights neighborhood. Dicus also gives a progress report on the latest edition of the historical society's history book of Nor...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, Kansas City Public Schools athletic director Dr. James Sanders sits down with managing editor Paul Thompson to talk about Northeast High School's homecoming celebration on September 30, the new renovated football field at the high school, what it was like to see the Vikings play a home game for the first time during his tenure, and the district's emph...

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson talk with Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association President Jessica Ray. The two discuss Pendleton Heights' Party in the Park; the now-leasing Pendleton Flats apartments, and how that project might help build momentum for future Paseo Gateway housing projects; what businesses Ray would like to see move int...

On this week's edition of the Northeast Newscast, KCPD East Patrol's Commander, Major Jim Thomas, sits down with managing editor Paul Thompson to reflect upon his first six months at the helm of the patrol division. Major Thomas discusses how he's settled into the position, how he maintains his trademark positive disposition in the face of rising violent crime in Kansas City, and th...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, Managing Editor Paul Thompson goes on a ride-along with KCMO Animal Control officer Chris Harriman. It bears mentioning that what many in Kansas City refer to as Animal Control is actually the Animal Health and Public Safety department. Chris Harriman is technically an Animal Health and Public Safety officer, but even he will refer to himself as Animal Control...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson talks with Kansas City Art Institute Assistant Professor of Illustration - and architect of the Scarritt Mural project - Hector Casanova. Casanova discusses his relationship with the Historic Northeast; the genesis of the mural project at Scarritt Elementary; what it felt like to have the project defaced over the summer; where he a...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson runs through the history of Kansas City audits with KCMO City Auditor Doug Jones. In an interesting and wide-ranging conversation, Jones discusses how some of the City's past audits are reflected in the police staffing study that was recently presented to the City Council and the Board of Police Commissioners. Jones also discu...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down for an exclusive interview with incoming Chief of Police Rick Smith, who will be sworn in to his new position on the morning of Tuesday, August 15.Smith talks about the whirlwind past few weeks that found him elevated to the top job within the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department, discusses his plans for KCPD's Co...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson invites Kansas City Museum Executive Director Anna Marie Tutera on to serve as the podcast's first ever two-time guest. After celebrating that great honor, Tutera talks about the Museum's new satellite space at 800 Broadway, right across the street from the Historic Garment District Museum (801 Broadway). The conversation...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Captain Chris Young of KCPD's Violent Crimes Investigative Unit - and the Kansas City No Violence Alliance (KC NoVA) by proxy - for a discussion about all things NoVA. Young explains how the collaboration works, offers a passionate defense of the multi-pronged alliance, and speaks honestly about the wave of viol...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with John Fierro, Mattie Rhodes Center President/CEO, and Mary Cyr, Director of Northeast Alliance Together (NEAT). The two discuss the Mattie Rhodes Center's role in the creation of NEAT, how the two organizations work together, where the future of NEAT is headed, what Mattie Rhodes Center programs they are most exc...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, Managing Editor Paul Thompson sits down with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri's 5th Congressional District. The former Kansas City, Missouri Mayor and City Councilman - now serving in his sixth term in the U.S. Congress - discusses the potentially historically violent year in Kansas City; last month's harrowing attack on Republicans practici...

On this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson goes on a ride-along with Independence Avenue Community Improvement District Titan Protection and Consulting officers Daniel Williams and Ryan Bean. The officers discuss their daily routine, prostitution along the Avenue, the hot spots that attract the most disturbances, how they react to accidents on the Avenue,...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson sits down with Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association President Leslie Caplan to talk about the positive momentum of the neighborhood, the association's upcoming marquee events and how interested neighbors can gets involved with them, the Kansas City Museum's plans to add more parking, and the Indepe...

This week, Northeast Newscast host Paul Thompson interviews the publishers of the Northeast News - the husband and wife team of Michael Bushnell and Chris Adams. The couple dives into the past, present, and future of the Northeast News, reflecting on their nearly 19 years of ownership. Michael and Chris discuss the circumstances that led them to purchase the publication, how they developed the pap...

This week, Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson meets with Indian Mound Neighborhood Association Vice President Manny Abarca, a strong advocate for the Historic Northeast community. Abarca discusses a variety of topics, including his work as a historic preservationist and how the Northeast area can best protect history while supporting economic development; his disappointment at losing his...

Northeast News Managing Editor Paul Thompson is joined by Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation Director Mark McHenry to discuss a variety of pressing issues, including the spate of violence along the Indian Creek Trail, the ongoing City Hall debate over the first-year GO Bond project list, the importance of supporting the city's historic fountains, the timeline for completion of the Cli...

This week, Northeast News Managing Editor goes out into the field for a ride-along with KCMO Illegal Dumping Investigator Alan Ashurst. Ashurst has a fascinating job, serving as one of two illegal dumping investigators currently working in the Neighborhoods and Housing Services Department. The work involves planting camouflaged motion sensor cameras throughout the City in an effort to find and pro...

In this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, we preview the 2017 Summer Dusk Free Sunset Concert Series, which begins on Friday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m. This annual series is presented by Northeast Arts KC, so we brought in organizers Rebecca Koop and Scott Hobart to break down this year's lineup.

Kansas City's 3rd District at-large City Councilman Quinton Lucas joins the Northeast Newscast this week for a far-reaching discussion about the Kansas City political scene. Topics of conversation include the Council's role (or lack thereof) in the search for a new KCPD Chief of Police, the ongoing issues with gun violence in Kansas City, City Manager Troy Schulte's initial list of...

This week on the Northeast Newscast, managing editor Paul Thompson will discuss the new app-based transit service RideKC Freedom with Kansas City Area Transportation Authority CEO Robbie Makinen. The service is built around the paratransit community in Kansas City, but when the app goes live on May 1, it will also be available to the general public. Makinen discusses the details of Ride KC Freedom...

With the Buck O'Neil Bridge featured prominently in the news of late, MARC Director of Transportation and Environment Ron Achelpohl joins the Northeast Newscast to discuss the organization's role in the ongoing debate over whether the bridge should be repaired or replaced. After a wide-ranging discussion about the Buck O'Neil Bridge, Achelpohl talks about MoDOT funding and how money...

In this week's episode of the Northeast Newscast, KCPD Central Patrol Division Major Rick Smith joins Northeast News managing editor Paul Thompson to talk about the Tuesday, April 11 sentencing hearing of notorious Northeast criminal Tyler Sutton, KCPD response times and the amount of shots fired calls in the area, how communities can get Shot Spotter technology, the Central Patrol Division&a...

Northeast Newscast host Paul Thompson invites 1st District Councilman Scott Wagner onto the podcast to discuss the $800 million bond package which was passed decisively by KCMO voters on Tuesday, April 4. Wagner discusses his worries heading into the vote, the backup plans considered by the City if the measures had failed, his long-term advocacy for sidewalk repair in Kansas City, and the two othe...