Like teenagers at a dance, leaders from St. Joseph and a dozen other communities have been eyeing the possibilities across the room. Several have worked up the nerve to make an acquaintance. Before long, a few will be going steady.

Here’s hoping St. Joe finds a lasting dance partner in the one voted “most popular,” Kansas City.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser of Kansas City is responsible for promoting two separate partnership initiatives involving the region’s and state’s mayors:

Metro Kansas City Caucus — Based on successful models from the Chicago and Denver areas, Missouri-side mayors in the Kansas City metropolitan area have agreed to form a political caucus. Nearly a dozen mayors — from Blue Springs to Independence and Riverside to Liberty — plan to work together on issues of common concern.

They hope to pursue common priorities on topics including transit, health and wellness, urban trails, regional corrections, trash and recycling. If possible, they will speak with one voice on top issues before the Missouri General Assembly and in Washington.

Over time, the concept likely will spread to include cities on the Kansas side. We strongly believe it also should extend outward, to include the nearby region’s largest stand-alone city, St. Joseph. Think of the worthwhile conversations to be had:

n How to connect our exceptional urban trail system with others, particularly as St. Joseph and Platte City grow toward each other.

n How to further promote economic development for a region that witnessed the development of Barry Road, then the housing boom in Platte County, and who knows what next.

n How to make any transit solution for Kansas City also help the labor force that commutes daily from the north.

Missouri Large Cities Coalition — The mayors of Missouri’s largest cities — including St. Joseph — met a few weeks ago with a similar idea to identify a common agenda to lobby for in the Missouri General Assembly.

The other entities in the room included Kansas City, St. Louis, St. Louis County, Springfield, Columbia, Joplin and Jefferson City. Atop their priorities: heading off state efforts to intercede in municipal affairs; seeking more money for transit services; and focusing on workforce development, from early childhood education to retraining of parolees.

This effort is a collective acknowledgement that the state’s big cities have needs not always shared with smaller communities.

It’s important that St. Joseph and Mayor Ken Shearin were included in this conversation from the beginning. It’s equally important for the city and mayor to be added soon to the Metro Kansas City conversations. There’s a lot to talk about.