Jon Niccum

Sep 21, 2024 | aol.com | Jon Niccum

September 21, 2024 at 5:39 AMSarah Smarsh proudly considers herself a “daughter of the working class.”In fact, the Kansas-based author is a fifth-generation farm girl whose impoverished mother was a mere 17 when discovering her pregnancy. But Smarsh never shies away from this seemingly unpromising background. Instead, her writing embraces that facet through equal parts fierce confessional, sneaky allegory and relentless boots-on-the-ground journalism.

Sep 21, 2024 | kansas.com | Jon Niccum

Sarah Smarsh proudly considers herself a “daughter of the working class.”In fact, the Kansas-based author is a fifth-generation farm girl whose impoverished mother was a mere 17 when discovering her pregnancy. But Smarsh never shies away from this seemingly unpromising background. Instead, her writing embraces that facet through equal parts fierce confessional, sneaky allegory and relentless boots-on-the-ground journalism.

Sep 7, 2024 | kansascity.com | Jon Niccum

Sarah Smarsh proudly considers herself a "daughter of the working class."In fact, the Kansas-based author is a fifth-generation farm girl whose impoverished mother was a mere 17 when discovering her pregnancy. But Smarsh never shies away from this seemingly unpromising background. Instead, her writing embraces that facet through equal parts fierce confessional, sneaky allegory and relentless boots-on-the-ground journalism.

Aug 2, 2024 | kansascity.com | Jon Niccum

Actor Alex Neustaedter felt apprehensive before throwing out the first pitch at a Kansas City Royals home game on June 26. So the Johnson County native headed to a field at Shawnee Mission East High School the morning prior so he could practice firing pitches from the mound. "I was so terrified that I'd fail ... and would feel like a fool for throwing it to the backstop," says Neustaedter, whose family had lived mostly in Prairie Village before moving to California for his acting career.

Apr 4, 2024 | kansascity.com | Jon Niccum

For their Emmy-winning documentary "Boys State," married filmmaking team Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss presented what was described as "'Lord of the Flies' meets politics."They hoped that for their follow-up, "Girls State," they would find a story that wasn't just "'Mean Girls' meets politics."The resulting project, premiering April 5 on Apple TV+, is far from that, an inspiring and empowering look at how young women might run the nation ... all occurring in Missouri, no less.