Best Local Hero

As a Kansas City, Kansas, city councilwoman in the early 1990s, Carol Marinovich built her reputation in an old-school kind of way, going door-to-door, recruiting help to rid her city of strip clubs and to fight off a proposal to build a medical-waste incinerator next to her Strawberry Hill neighborhood. But Marinovich was not locked into any old-school vision for Kansas City, Kansas. After she was elected mayor in 1995, Marinovich pushed through the unification of the Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County governments. She followed up by setting off an explosion of development in western Wyandotte County, with the NASCAR track and its neighboring megabox retailers. More recently, the urban core of old-town KCK has begun to feel the ripple effect; if new businesses aren't exactly clamoring for construction permits, at least the city is no longer the butt of every joke. Six new townhomes have been sold on Strawberry Hill, and a coffee shop recently opened nearby on Sixth Street. The small steps are sure to be followed by others. Marinovich recently announced that she would not seek a third mayoral term. We think she's earned a few days off, and we commend her for her decision to step out while she's still on top.