Kay Waldo Barnes was born in St. Joseph on March 30, 1938.
Kay Barnes is a former politician and two term Mayor of Kansas City. Barnes was the 52nd and first female Mayor of Kansas City, in office from May 1999 – May 2007. Mayor Barnes has received the most credit for her work in improving downtown Kansas City and working for the revitalization of the urban core. She is also credited with the Sprint Center arena in Kansas City that opened on October 10, 2007.
Barnes was the Democratic nominee for Missouri’s 6th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in the 2008 election against Republican incumbent Sam Graves.
Kay Barnes earned a bachelors degree in secondary education from the University of Kansas and a master’s in secondary education from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She was president of Kay Waldo, Inc., a human resources development firm, until her retirement. Barnes is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a Senior Director for University Engagement at Park University.
She is cousin of Walter Cronkite.