My name is Dasia Mendez and I am excited to step into my new role as a Business Liaison Ambassador for the Downtown and River Market Community Improvement Districts. I started my career not working for the man but the mouse—Mickey Mouse. During my time at Walt Disney World, I gained invaluable experience rooted in world-renowned standards of excellence and a customer-centric mentality that I hope will help me flourish in my new role.

The Downtown Council is thrilled to announce this year’s class of Urban Hero award winners who are making a significant impact in Downtown Kansas City. These individuals and organizations are dedicated to making connections not only in their communities, but throughout downtown through their roles as nonprofits, developers, retailers, and impact makers.

On behalf of the staff of the Downtown Council and the Annual Luncheon Planning Committee, we are excited to announce that Friday, April 11th will be the date of the 2025 Annual Luncheon. This year’s theme will be Downtown KC: Connecting Communities. From catalytic projects such as the South Loop and the Greenline, to promoting policies around housing and neighborhoods, this year’s luncheon will focus on a community update from the Imagine Downtown KC 2030 Strategic Plan.

From all of us at the Downtown Council of Kansas City, we wish you and yours a warm and happy holiday season. We hope your time during this season is filled with family and friends, spent making memories and celebrating traditions.

On a picture-perfect day last month as Kansas City was getting ready to cheer on the Chiefs at their home opener, another celebration was happening at 8th and Paseo. For the second year in a row, the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs, in partnership with Little Caesars, brought the Love Kitchen to the Beehive to deliver a hot meal to those in need. This is the third year that Little Caesars has been the official pizza sponsor of the NFL. In conjunction with that partnership, they have been traveling across the country with their Love Kitchen, a mobile restaurant on wheels, stopping in key NFL cities to provide pizza to communities in need.

Have you ever stopped to think about the impact that happens when you take a pencil and fill in a small bubble with graphite on a paper ballot? That small action, combined with hundreds and thousands of other filled-in bubbles, impacts the future direction of our communities, states, and country. Voters in Missouri, and throughout the country, had the chance to make their voices heard this past August 6th when the national primary election date was on the calendar.