Youth

Spaceman drops tracks: Kansas teen raps a midwest mixtape, says he’s ready to launch

By Tommy Felts / October 15, 2025

Give Trip Thomas a phone, and the Olathe Northwest High School senior will get his peers talking. Rapping under the name Spaceman, Thomas is staying grounded as he finds his voice through music, he said, and it sounds a lot like resilience. “Music was my therapy,” said Thomas, who started writing from his bedroom at…

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Controlled Burn: BoysGrow sets the table for fire-infused meal sparked by farm’s teen entrepreneurs, KC chefs

By Tommy Felts / September 26, 2025

A live fire culinary event at the BoysGrow farm in south Kansas City is a dream come true for John Gordon, he shared, detailing plans for a fundraiser that harvests an immersive and unforgettable dining experience from the teen-focused ag entrepreneurship program. The one-night-only “Controlled Burn” heats up Oct. 5 at the 10-acre farm where…

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This Blue Valley teen uses AI to research cancer; Trump’s budget cuts could halt his work

By Tommy Felts / July 2, 2025

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for KCUR’s email newsletter. [divide] An Overland Park high schooler traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for cancer research funding after the Trump administration proposed…

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Start the ignition: These Operation Breakthrough students just designed MADE MOBB’s latest drop

By Tommy Felts / May 1, 2025

Vu Radley wants students at Operation Breakthrough’s Ignition Lab to have opportunities he wishes he would have been offered in high school, shared the co-owner of Crossroads-based streetwear brand MADE MOBB. His team spent the past nine months working with a handful of teens at the Ignition Lab — Josiah Bryant, Suleyman Dia, Jeremiyah Bradley,…

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Teens tackle universal pain points: Junior Achievement competition pushes students to pitch biz ideas

By Tommy Felts / April 2, 2025

A new student innovation competition linked to Junior Achievement not only challenges Kansas City teens to develop business solutions for immediate real-world problems, said Will Bowler; fostering entrepreneurial thinking develops longer-term impacts. “This program empowers them,” said Bowler, a teacher at Olathe East High School, as students wrapped up Tuesday’s 3DE Innovators Showcase at the…

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