A group of Kansas City entrepreneurs believes Kansas City pride is at an all-time high, and because of it, the city deserves its own flag.
"We have this really interesting metro, really unique metro, that doesn't have one unifying symbol,” said Graham Ripple, leader of One Flag.
One Flag consists of four metro natives, two from Kansas City and two from Johnson County, who believe it’s time to help unite Kansas City with the region’s own flag.
"From Atchison to Arrowhead, Brookside to Briar Cliff, Legends to Lee's Summit, Kauffman Center to Kauffman Stadium, we've witnessed a city finding its voice,” says the narration in the One Flag video.
“I think that Kansas City wants to be unified. I think you look last year at the Royals parade, there's 800,000 people who came out to support the Royals. And I think that's about the Royals. I think it was also about the city,” said Graham.
The One Flag Kickstarter campaign raised over $3,200 in its first four days. The goal of $35,000 must be reached by September 14. If the goal is met, there will be a three-week design period in which anyone from the public can submit their own flag design, followed by a two-week public voting period.
There would then be a big revealing during a ‘Kansas City One Flag Day’ later this year. The winning designer would receive $1,000 and every town with over 10,000 people in the Kansas City region would receive a free flag.
While the effort is for-profit, Ripple said the project would also give back to the community.
"We're actually going to create grants for non-profits that basically will help to make Kansas City better, as well as startup funds for entrepreneurs,” he said.
The One Flag effort is open to everyone within the 14-county Kansas City region:
In Missouri: Jackson, Clay, Platte, Ray, Cass, Clinton, Lafayette, Bates, Caldwell
In Kansas: Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Miami, Linn
Click here to check out the One Flag Kickstarter campaign. The team’s website can be found at OneFlag.co
Other cities that have individual flags include Topeka, Wichita, St. Louis and Chicago.
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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com
