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 […]
Missouri Allows Some Disabled Workers to Earn Less Than $1 an Hour. The State Says It’s Fine If That Never Changes.
Posted inLocal Government
Inside Kansas City’s $600 million bet on a downtown Royals ballpark
If everything goes right, new taxes generated by a $1.9 billion ballpark will help pay off a $600 million city loan to help finance the deal. But if it goes wrong, that money could be drained from city services.
Posted inRural
Opioid settlement funds flow into Missouri, but how communities spend the money varies widely
Some communities are using their share of opioid settlement funds on treatment, transportation and recovery, while others are investing in D.A.R.E. programs and law enforcement, or not spending the money at all.
Posted inHealth
Children’s Mercy seeks massive expansion of its downtown campus. Here’s why
The pediatric hospital will launch the multiphase project as it continues expanding into communities well beyond the Kansas City area.
Posted inState Government
Kansas Republicans overrode dozens of Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes. Here’s what passed
Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed more than 25 bills this year and dozens of budget items. The vast majority were overridden.
Posted inMeeting Notes
Kansas City Public Schools making strides in graduation rate
Administrators tell school board members the district is within striking range of the statewide average.
Posted inRural
Tenants unions gain ground across Missouri as renters fight for affordable housing
Renters across Missouri are forming tenants unions to fight rent increases, evictions and limited affordable housing options.
Posted inMeeting Notes
Unified Government commission recommends demolition of two fire-damaged buildings
The structures are near one another along Quindaro Boulevard in Kansas City, Kansas.
Posted inMissouri
‘An odd duck’: The economics of Missouri’s income tax elimination proposal
Missouri’s legislature is debating a proposal that would gradually eliminate the state’s income tax and give broad authority to the General Assembly to change the state’s sales tax structure.
Posted inKansas
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes property tax relief
Lawmakers have voted on multiple property tax cuts this year. Only one major proposal passed so far. The governor has her own plan, which includes previously failed ideas.
Posted inLocal Government
Kansas City voters overwhelmingly approved the earnings tax. Here’s what’s next
With the earnings tax secured until at least 2031, Kansas City now looks ahead to negotiations with the Royals, looming bond measures for water and housing and the possible referendum to eliminate Missouri’s income tax.