I hope some of you have noticed that The Star’s editorial page has been as hot as the Royals lately.
Editorial page editor Colleen McCain Nelson and her band of writers have consistently been churning out substantive, well-written and interesting editorials.
From a low point just before last year’s general election, when the editorial-board cupboard was completely bare and many readers were wringing their hands in despair, the editorial page has roared back to life and has, to some degree, revitalized The Kansas City Star Media Company.
Readers and voters look to their local paper for analysis and guidance on major issues, and The Star is delivering in a big way these days. Consider the editorial board’s handling of three issues in particular:
A New KCI
As the city has bumped along, trying to unravel myriad knots presented by a first-ever, $1 billion, private-build proposal, The Star has dispensed sound advice at every turn. First, it urged the city to get more than the lone Burns & McDonnell proposal. Then, after the city opened the doors to more proposals, The Star advocated for giving companies more time to respond. The council did so. The Star also urged keeping open the possibility of the city issuing revenue bonds and retaining control of the project. City officials opted to keep that door open.
On Sunday came the strongest shot of all: The lead editorial unequivocally urged Kansas Citians to “embrace a new airport terminal.” The editorial laid out four main reasons for scrapping the three-terminal set-up that has lost its relevance and physical appeal. Likening KCI to a “warehouse,” the editorial batted away the widely held “convenience” argument, saying:
“At certain departure times, ticket and security lines stretch 100 to 150 people deep…Security stations are crowded and sometimes understaffed.
“Worse, passengers who clear security are penned inside glass-enclosed waiting areas, sitting in uncomfortable chairs and confined to cramped spaces that lack amenities found in other terminals.”
The editorial concluded by saying, “A new terminal will create jobs and opportunity and will move Kansas City into the 21st-century when it comes to travel and commerce.”
Finally, The Star promised an ongoing “series of editorials” explaining why it’s time to move forward on a new airport.
Damn…I love it!
The Brandon Ellingson Case
As you regular readers know, the Ellingson case has been particularly frustrating. The 20-year-old Des Moines area man drowned at the hands of a Missouri Highway Patrol officer who had arrested and handcuffed Brandon for boating under the influence. After months of shell games by prosecutors and the Highway Patrol, the trooper, Anthony Piercy, was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Last week, Brandon’s family, realizing a felony conviction was a virtual impossibility — like us, they’ve seen bad cop after bad cop acquitted in the killings of unarmed civilians — agreed to a deal that allowed Piercy to plead to a misdemeanor boating violation.
In an editorial on Saturday, The Star said the case “reveals the perils” of government taking action in the interest of trying to save money. The editorial said…
“In 2011, to great fanfare, Missouri merged the Water Patrol with the Highway Patrol in an effort, supporters said, to cut costs…The merger led to fewer troopers on the water, with less training for Highway Patrol officers assigned to water duty.
“And the decision almost certainly contributed to Ellingson’s death. At a coroner’s inquest, Piercy conceded his training was inadequate for the duties of the Water Patrol. He was cleared for “solo boat time” after two days of training. Two days. We’re told that things are better now. We hope that’s the case.
“Brandon Ellingson died needlessly. The best way to remember him is to make sure this never happens again.”
This case is coming to a totally unsatisfactory conclusion, but the editorial put it in the proper context by pointing toward what we all hope will be a future in which better-qualified people patrol state waters…And allow me to add a wish of my own: smarter, more caring officers working the water.
Claire McCaskill’s Tweet
Showing it’s no Democratic toady, The Star on Sunday sharply rapped McCaskill’s knuckles for a tweet she posted a while back in which she denied ever speaking to or meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The claim was exposed as false: In fact, she attended a reception at Kislyak’s residence and donated to a foundation of which he is a board member.
The editorial said that “in her rush to raise doubts about Trump administration officials, the senator got it wrong. And there’s no excuse for that.”
**
The way the Star’s editorial board is chopping wood these days makes you realize how low it had fallen when, toward the end of last year, it was down to Yael Abouhalkah writing all the editorials and the vastly overpaid Lewis Diuguid in charge of letters to the editor.
From this corner, the Colleen Nelson era gets the “new and improved” stamp of approval. Much improved.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
Agree, Jim. Colleen and her colleagues are doing a great job. The editorials are lively and interesting to read.
Good to get affirmation from you, Laura…Happy Fourth!
Agreed that editorials are lively!
But since uncomfortable chairs and understaffing could still exist at a new single facility, shouldn’t they be omitted from the “4 reasons” list?
I can guarantee you this: Every chair will be comfortable. I will talk to architect Bob Berkebile and make sure that happens. Vote “YES!”
(No guarantees on staffing. Sorry.)
I see little change, Helling and Kraske are predictable and boring and Kraske’s recent column criticizing the JC Nichols Fountain was embarrassingly hypocritical coming from a newspaper that received an “award” named for a genocidal racist. Worse yet, Kraske has now rationalized virtually any misconduct that some of these young hooligans want to engage in on the grounds that they are somehow striking a blow against racism by doing even more damage to a Kansas City icon we should all be proud of.
Quite frankly, JC Nichols has done far more for Kansas City than either Steve Kraske or, for that matter, The Star. The magnificent neighborhoods and projects he created will be here providing shelter for people of all races and creeds long after McClatchy and The Star have declared bankruptcy and moved on.
In the meantime, the racist folks The Star glorified to get their filthy Maggie “award” continue to kill black and brown babies at a rate 3 to 4 times their percentage in the population. Perhaps The Star should return its Maggie “award” before it criticizes anyone else for their alleged racism.
Don’t worry about Kraske, John. I hear he will be moving to Middlebury College as the new Provost for Political Correctness.
Jimmy, I certainly concur with your observations about the Star. This is the best change in the organzation in years. I do agree with John, though, that the editorials are entirely predictable. I read Financial Times, The Economist, and (gulp) WSJ to get mind challenging stuff. The Star just agrees with me too often, and it will need to move it up a notch before I become a subscriber. But it is moving in a good direction.
Thanks for your reporting on this.
Good to hear your a “prospective” subscriber, Bob. I don’t hear that often.
I don’t agree with you or John, though, on the editorials being predictable. For example, I was surprised at the McCaskill editorial…I hadn’t heard about her screw-up, and it would have been an easy thing for the editorial board to just let pass, if they were inclined to give a Democratic senator a pass.
I’ve also been surprised at the depth and breadth of the editorials on KCI. It shows The Star is giving this issue the “gravitas” it merits. It’s an issue that needs to be agitated repeatedly because a lot of KC residents just shrug about it and say, “I don’t fly much; I think what we’ve got is fine.” A friend told me that at the ballgame the other day, and I could hardly believe it. I had no answer. It’s people who think like that you hope will just stay home on Election Day.
I do respect Tony Berg’s efforts in trying to give us a decent newspaper, but it would seem that Fannin and some of the other dinosaurs are undermining his efforts.
I personally would love to get a good local newspaper in my driveway every morning.