This article was produced with ProPublica as part of its Local Reporting Network initiative. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. This story is available in plain language. One weekday morning in July, Kerstie Bramlet was at her workstation inside the Warren County Sheltered Workshop near […]
Posted inMeeting Notes
KCKPS board highlights early childhood and special education updates
The board also swore in new members and approved funding for new facilities, roof repairs and public library upgrades.
Posted inHealth
‘It’s constant whiplash’: Kansas City organizations see mental health grants canceled one day and restored the next
Behavioral health organizations that stood to lose critical funding still worry about future cuts they say could devastate patients and wipeout programs.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers focus on making Kansas more affordable. Here’s what they are proposing
Minimum wage increases, tackling housing costs and more headline the affordability proposals. But Democrats will struggle to pass their plans in a Republican legislature.
Posted inLocal Government
Under new proposal, Jackson County could be the first Missouri county to be split in 150 years
A proposal to remove Kansas City from Jackson County is expected to get a committee hearing. But elected leaders are skeptical that it will gain traction.
Posted inState Government
Kansas lawmakers looking at property tax relief, renter rebates in 2026
Republicans are looking for more property tax relief. Democrats proposed their own plans, which may not get GOP support.
Posted inState Government
Bill would stop transgender Kansans from changing sex on driver’s licenses, birth certificates
A previous law faced legal troubles, and the courts sided with Democrats to allow gender marker changes.
Posted inEducation
Despite higher state scores, Hickman Mills schools fall short of full accreditation this year
The state board also voted to receive more reporting on lower-performing districts such as Center and Grandview in the Kansas City area.
Posted inEducation
Missouri higher education bills to watch in 2026
Other proposals include adding support for homeless and foster youth, giving student journalists freedom of the press and addressing how immigration status and higher education intersect.
Posted inMeeting Notes
Kansas City moves forward on $3.83 million temporary modular jail facility
The Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee approved funding and waived LEED Gold energy efficiency requirements for the project to be built in time for World Cup, while also sending two major measures to the April ballot.
Posted inState Government
‘This place is killing me’: Prison medical care in Kansas still struggles to help inmates
A 2022 investigation found serious flaws in the prison medical system. Those same problems persist years later, and the prison medical contractor is making more mistakes.