A Streetcar Undesired
As Omahans consider spending hundreds of millions of dollars for a streetcar system, proponents point to Kansas City as an...
The Downtown Council’s Fuzzy Math
On Friday, Kansas City’s Downtown Council hosted its annual luncheon, titled “Downtown K.C. Smart City? Or The Smartest City?” If...
The Financial State of Missouri Cities
It won’t be a surprise to readers of this blog that Kansas City and St. Louis are in bad financial...
Does Banning the Box Work?
WDAF TV in Kansas City recently reported that City Councilmember Jermaine Reed is seeking to expand the city’s ban-the-box initiative...
It’s Not Food Deserts, It’s Food Swamps!
Does how close you live to a grocery store influence your diet? Advocates claim that it does, but research has...
Video: Expanding Charter Schooling in Missouri
Demand for charter schools is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, student’s charter schools are functionally limited to St. Louis and...
Release the Amazon Bids!
Amazon has released a list of their top 20 contenders for their new headquarters. Neither Kansas City nor Saint Louis...
2018 Blueprint: Special Taxing Districts
THE PROBLEM: Special taxing districts (SDs) are political subdivisions of the State of Missouri that fund specific services and improvements,...
Lower Taxes, not Streetcars, Drive Development
In a piece last month from KCUR titled Planned Streetcar Extension Spurs Redevelopment Of Midtown Kansas City Hotel, the author...
Taxing District Reform Testimony
On Wednesday afternoon, the Show-Me Institute submitted testimony in support of HB 1234, which would reform how transportation development districts,...
What Kansas City Millennials Want
KCUR published a piece on a recent study of what millennials in Kansas City actually want by way of housing...
Want Better Hotels? Then Support a Free and Open Market
One accomplished hotelier believes that “Airbnb is a mortal threat to the U.S. hotel industry. The only way you can...
Some Thoughts on Regulating Airbnb
Kansas City wants to present itself as tech friendly and forward looking, yet too often city leaders stand in the...
More Research on Food Deserts
I’ve written here before, skeptically, of the plans to address the so-called food desert on Kansas City’s East Side. Specifically,...
To Airbnb or Not to Airbnb?
For the past several months, Kansas City’s Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee has been considering regulations relating to short-term...
I Don’t Think the Data Say What You Think They Say
Much to the consternation of public education officials, the State Board of Education voted to remove the commissioner of education,...
Charter Schools’ Accountability Is Their Strength
The Nirvana fallacy often gets in the way of policymaking when, as Voltaire described, we let the perfect become the...
Fixing a Blight on Missouri Statutes
We’ve written for years about the failure of Missouri municipalities to focus their development efforts on reviving the moribund parts...
Patrick Tuohey Discusses KCI Airport Vote on Ruckus
On Thursday, November 9, the Show-Me Institute’s Patrick Tuohey appeared on KCPT’s Ruckus to discuss Kansas City voters’ approval of a new...
Think Parents Won’t Get the Information They Need To Choose Between Schools? Think Again.
A common concern about school choice is that parents, especially low-income parents, will not have enough information to pick the...
