Bring Back Bus Fares

 Who could have guessed that making the bus free wouldn’t magically solve all of Kansas City’s transit problems? Oh wait — everyone who understood how funding works. When KC slapped a big “FREE” sticker on the buses, they didn’t just invite more riders — they invited more junkies. Suddenly, the buses weren’t just a way to get to work or school — they became mobile day shelters, soap-optional. And who picked up the tab? The suburban cities, of course!

The surrounding burbs were expected to pay more to subsidize a “free” ATA that they no longer controlled. Spoiler alert: they couldn’t afford it. So, like any fiscally responsible city, they backed out. Cue the “death spiral.”

Now we’re pretending this is a mystery? It’s basic math. If you want reliable transit, someone has to pay for it — and right now, no one is. We don’t need a zero-fare system that smells like a Planet Fitness locker room. We need a reasonable fare — something cheap but enough to keep the system funded, maintained, and safe.

Bring back the buck-fifty ride and let’s get serious about transit. Because “free” isn’t working. It’s just free-falling.

Time for change in the Kansas City Northland.

By now, most Kansas Citians have grown numb. What’s actually unconscionable, is the condition of the roads in Kansas City. The water department that can't deliver clean water without killing backyard plants. The police force that’s chronically understaffed and demoralized. The crime that continues to rise while the mayor busies himself with panel appearances and MSNBC sound bites.

Our local politicians treats their office like a springboard to national relevance, rather than a command post for fixing potholes, balancing budgets, and ensuring basic city services function as they should. And let’s be honest—it’s not working. Kansas City is not better off for all the national pandering that some member of the city council engage in.

Residents north of the river joke that we have to squint and wave to get attention. Meanwhile, those on the east side, west side and south KC that little changes are made after the cameras are turned off. The city council seems more interested in hashtags than housing policy that help people make rent.  More interested in DEI rhetoric than in actually delivering transportation systems for the diverse communities they claim to serve.

Yes, representation matters. But so does performance. And what many are now waking up to the fact that Kansas City often ends up with a marketing brand in charge, not leadership. It is time for that to change.

Kansas City Doesn’t Need a Class War, It Needs a Pothole Plan

If you’ve glanced through the recent fireworks display in the comment section of local news, you’d think Kansas City was on the verge of revolution—not repair. And that’s precisely the problem.

One city council member’s recent rhetoric has ignited a digital melee of Marxist accusations, class warfare poetry slams, and more than a few reminders that, while the struggle against billionaires is noble, most residents would prefer someone just fix the damn potholes and pursue development policies that help them afford their rent.

This editorial isn’t about identity politics—it’s about focus. Kansas Citians, whether white, Black, Latino, gay, straight, rich, poor, or somewhere in between, want city government to function. They want trash picked up, streets lit and safe, water clean, and 911 calls answered. But instead, they're getting ideological theater.

Let’s not sugarcoat it—many of the criticisms flooding the comment threads are harsh, even caustic. But embedded in the sarcasm, mockery, and snark is a very real civic frustration: the sense that City Hall has become more concerned with tweets than tasks, more energized by revolution than results.

When citizens see headlines about class warfare and redistribution while streetlights go unrepaired and police response times climb, they rightly wonder: who’s actually managing the city?

Here’s the thing: everyone already knows billionaires have too much influence. But what does that have to do with the water main bursting on 39th Street?

Kansas City is not a revolutionary commune. It’s a working-class city with aging infrastructure, struggling schools, and rising crime. Its residents need competent governance, not ideological crusades.

If the councilmembers or Mayor wants to stage a class war, perhaps they should run for Congress. But until then, how about fighting for bus service in underserved areas, clean parks, and timely emergency services?

The people of Kansas City don’t need slogans. They need service. And they need leaders who remember their job is to fix what’s broken—not to reimagine the world order from behind a podium.