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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Kansas City.

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How surplus World Cup food is feeding KC families

Families likely ate the same food served to Lionel Messi on his birthday.

News

Kansas City families likely ate the same food served to Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi on his <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="birthday" data-vars-click-url="https://www.komu.com/fifa_world_cup_2026/lionel-messi-celebrates-his-39th-birthday-in-kansas-city-during-a-joyful-world-cup/article_973846c7-3143-5cd1-b293-a86f15744f0b.html" data-vars-content-id="116ad0e8-8575-4e0c-ad7d-cb564afc44a7" data-vars-headline="How surplus World Cup food is feeding KC families" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.komu.com/fifa_world_cup_2026/lionel-messi-celebrates-his-39th-birthday-in-kansas-city-during-a-joyful-world-cup/article_973846c7-3143-5cd1-b293-a86f15744f0b.html" target="_blank">birthday</a>.Why it matters: The surplus food was recovered as part of a collaboration between FIFA and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Pete&#x27;s Garden" data-vars-click-url="https://www.petesgarden.org/" data-vars-content-id="116ad0e8-8575-4e0c-ad7d-cb564afc44a7" data-vars-headline="How surplus World Cup food is feeding KC families" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.petesgarden.org/" target="_blank">Pete&#x27;s Garden</a>, a KC nonprofit that turns food waste into meals for families in need.

The kratom crackdown splits KC at the state line

Kratom and 7-OH became felonies to possess in Kansas on July 1. Across the state line, they're still legal, even as cities pass their own bans.

A product local leaders and law enforcement <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="call" data-vars-click-url="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/investigations/drug-regulation/kansas-city-missouri-city-council-adopts-regulations-on-7-oh-kratom" data-vars-content-id="2ac406ed-9813-4186-929b-ff8d634bd406" data-vars-headline="The kratom crackdown splits KC at the state line" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/investigations/drug-regulation/kansas-city-missouri-city-council-adopts-regulations-on-7-oh-kratom" target="_blank">call</a> &quot;gas station heroin&quot; is now illegal in Kansas — and the federal government may soon make it illegal nationwide.Why it matters: Possessing kratom or its derivative, 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), became a felony in Kansas on July 1, splitting the rules in a metro that&#x27;s home to the Midwest&#x27;s largest 7-OH producer.

Boomers own KC's family-size homes

Empty nesters own nearly 28% of Kansas City homes with three-plus bedrooms while millennial parents own about 19%, per Redfin. The good news: KC's young families still fare better than almost anywhere else in the country.

Empty nesters are sitting on Kansas City&#x27;s family-size homes.Why it matters: The people who have the space aren&#x27;t necessarily the ones who need it — and that&#x27;s making a tight <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="housing market" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/01/mortgage-rates-home-prices-predictions-2026" data-vars-content-id="568d03eb-e433-4c4a-ac6b-14196ee149f1" data-vars-headline="Boomers own KC&#x27;s family-size homes" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/01/mortgage-rates-home-prices-predictions-2026" target="_self">housing market</a> even tighter.

Your 2026 primary election guide

Missouri votes on phasing out its income tax and Jackson County's assessor. Kansas picks candidates for an open governor's seat and decides how its Supreme Court justices get chosen. Here's your guide before Aug. 4.

Election

Your paycheck, your property taxes and your courts are all on the line in the Aug. 4 primary election. Here&#x27;s what to know before you head to the voting booth.Why it matters: Primaries draw a fraction of November&#x27;s turnout, and the voters who show up decide these questions for everyone.

ReStart completes its first low-income housing amid expansion

The nonprofit's affordable housing arm aims to build 100 units.

The opening of a new duplex in Kansas City&#x27;s Historic Northeast signals the first of many much-needed affordable housing units built and owned by ReStart, a nonprofit that addresses homelessness.Why it matters: Low-income families facing rising costs are getting priced out of their homes, and a shortage of cheap housing often leaves them seeking emergency shelter, ReStart CEO Stephanie Boyer tells Axios.

KC dips Switzerland's World Cup moment in chocolate

Switzerland's first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954 lands in Kansas City on Saturday, and André's Confiserie Suisse marked the occasion with a brand new chocolate bar.

Switzerland plays its first World Cup quarterfinal in 72 years Saturday at Kansas City Stadium, and<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" André&#x27;s Confiserie Suisse" data-vars-click-url="https://andreschocolates.com/pages/about-us" data-vars-content-id="5bd05828-fa62-4284-b277-56859356639a" data-vars-headline="KC dips Switzerland&#x27;s World Cup moment in chocolate" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://andreschocolates.com/pages/about-us" target="_blank"> André&#x27;s Confiserie Suisse</a> is welcoming the Swiss with a chocolate bar made just for the occasion.Why it matters: The Swiss last got this far in 1954, one year before the Bollier family opened its Swiss chocolate shop on Main Street, and the long wait ends in the family&#x27;s adopted hometown.

Infamous River Market trench gets a glow-up

The ditch at Third and Walnut in Kansas City has transformed into a photo op.

Filling in a pit may at first glance seem among the lesser wonders brought about by the World Cup, but the latest development in a land saga lasting more than five years has some residents smiling.The big picture: The ditch at Third and Walnut in the River Market has transformed into a photo opp after local organizations banded together ahead of the tournament.

Swordfish Tom's creates pepperoni pizza cocktail

A Kansas City bartender dreamed about infusing gin with pepperoni pizza, then actually made it. Pizza My Heart is now on Swordfish Tom's summer menu, fake pepperoni garnish and all.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Swordfish Tom&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/06/27/swordfish-toms-kansas-city-speakeasy" data-vars-content-id="2c7e9b9a-35a8-413f-82e9-299d25ec1437" data-vars-headline="Swordfish Tom&#x27;s creates pepperoni pizza cocktail" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2025/06/27/swordfish-toms-kansas-city-speakeasy" target="_self">Swordfish Tom&#x27;s</a>, the speakeasy hidden down a Crossroads alley, put pizza on its summer menu in cocktail form: gin infused with real pepperoni slices.Why it matters: The bar has made playful, inventive cocktails its signature, and this one delivers a beloved comfort food by the glass.

Metal-inspired coffee shop haunts Waldo

Apparition Coffee has opened in Waldo, reviving the former Second Best space with creative drinks, breakfast burritos and a heavy metal vibe. Here's what to order.

Food and Drink

A metal music-themed coffee shop, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Apparition Coffee" data-vars-click-url="https://www.instagram.com/apparition_coffee/" data-vars-content-id="264a88ee-5706-4882-995a-56e9d83010a9" data-vars-headline="Metal-inspired coffee shop haunts Waldo" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.instagram.com/apparition_coffee/" target="_blank">Apparition Coffee</a>, opened late last month in the former Second Best space, bringing signature drinks and breakfast burritos to Waldo.Why it matters: Second Best<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" closed unexpectedly in November" data-vars-click-url="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/openings-closings/article315341910.html" data-vars-content-id="264a88ee-5706-4882-995a-56e9d83010a9" data-vars-headline="Metal-inspired coffee shop haunts Waldo" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/openings-closings/article315341910.html" target="_blank"> closed unexpectedly in November</a> after more than a decade, and the neighborhood has waited months for someone to bring the spot back to life.

What Kansas Citians wanted to know about the World Cup

The searches map how hosting the tournament reshaped KC's soccer interest.

Sports

Kansas City&#x27;s Google searches during the World Cup told a different story from every other host city, new data shows.Why it matters: The searches map how hosting the tournament reshaped KC&#x27;s soccer interest in real time, down to which national teams locals typed into Google.

News 🗞

ReStart completes its first low-income housing amid expansion

KC dips Switzerland's World Cup moment in chocolate

Your 2026 primary election guide

Boomers own KC's family-size homes

Infamous River Market trench gets a glow-up