KSHB 41 reporter Claire Bradshaw covers eastern Jackson County, including Blue Springs and Grain Valley. Share your story idea with Claire.
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A group of residents are working to solve what they call a community identity problem in Blue Springs by sharing the city's history to boost civic engagement.
A few weeks ago, a man named Roger Corbin reached out to KSHB 41 News Reporter Claire Bradshaw saying Blue Springs residents have a community identity problem.
Corbin said he noticed a lack of civic engagement during city happenings.
"I was referencing the elections. I was referencing the mayor's town halls, for example, on improvements. Nobody shows up. I'm sitting there with about three or four other people, and nobody was interested in downtown improvements and making comments," Corbin said.
Corbin wants residents to be involved in their community and he believes it starts with understanding the city's origins.
"The whole thing boils down to we've got to tell the story of Blue Springs, and we've got to tell it in segments so people can focus on it," Corbin said.
Corbin has connected with the Blue Springs Historical Society and Austin and Katarina Brewer, publishers of the Blue Springs City Lifestyle magazine, which is mailed to residents monthly. The groups plan to tell the story of Blue Springs in parts, from the early settlers at modern-day Burrus Old Mill Park up to the population boom and large developments like of Adams Dairy.
"That's our goal, I think, is to have people take pride in their community and really like want to take a step forward and become more involved," Brewer said.
Kay Burris, an archivist with the Blue Springs Historical Society, agrees with the mission.
"Well, you want people to know Blue Springs. You don't want to have someone say, oh, well, that guy on American Idol was from Blue Springs. You want more than that. You want to put out there that this is a community that's worth living in, worth working in, and I think we can do it," Burris said.
Community identity is defined as the shared sense of belonging, values, and characteristics that unite a group, fostering a "we-ness" among members. The group hopes the upcoming magazine articles will build that connection.
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