Every week, Gabrielle Stanley and a group of volunteers with the KC Parks Ambassadors program gather with a single goal in mind: Cleaning up illegal dumping at Indian Mound on Gladstone Boulevard & Belmont Boulevard. But every week, they’re greeted by a new pile of trash and litter. Indian Mound is one of hundreds of […]
‘Trash doesn’t care what district you’re in’: Searching for a regional solution to illegal dumping
Posted inEducation
Can you live on retirement benefits as a Kansas or Missouri teacher? It depends.
A teachers union representative and the director of Missouri’s retirement program argued the state’s system is strong where it counts — rewarding long-term service.
Posted inEducation
The F word families dread: FAFSA season is here
It’s financial aid season across the U.S., and high school seniors and college students are already figuring out how they’ll pay for their education next year. A big part of that calculation will be the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a yearly financial aid application process for students who can’t pay for their post-high […]
Posted inLocal Government
Your pressing questions for Wichita City Council candidates answered ahead of the Nov. 2 election
This fall, six candidates are vying for three seats on the Wichita City Council. In District 3, incumbent Jared Cerullo faces Mike Hoheisel, while District 6 incumbent Cindy Claycomb is running against Maggie Ballard. The challengers in both races received the most votes in their Aug. 3 primaries. In District 1, incumbent Brandon Johnson contends […]
Posted inEconomics
In Kansas City, asphalt art is paving the way for safer streets
Kansas City is one of 26 cities in the United States that recently received an Asphalt Art Initiative Grant of up to $25,000 from Bloomberg Philanthropies to create asphalt art installations to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Posted inWatchdog
Fentanyl-laced drugs are in Wichita. Here’s what can be done to keep residents alive.
Dr. Heather Roe has a front-row seat in watching a generation of parents bury their kids. She’s an addiction medicine specialist running Harmony Medical Clinic, a facility that specializes in medical treatments for people addicted to opioids, alcohol and other substances. Drug addiction has been a national concern for years, but she’s seeing a dramatic […]
Posted inLocal Government
What is the impact of corporate money in Wichita City Council races?
Venture Investments Inc. Wichita Crossing LLC. Regency 21 LLC. In Wichita City Council races this year, vaguely named LLCs and corporations pepper the donation sheets of candidates. Since the council changed its campaign finance policies in 2015 to permit corporations and businesses to donate in city elections, these sources now make up a significant portion […]
Posted inEconomics
For many Kansas City refugees, job options depend on spotty public transportation
Many refugees had worked in specialized jobs in their countries of origin, Ashok Sanadi, executive director of KC for Refugees, said. KC for Refugees has worked with people who were doctors, information analysts and business owners in their previous homes. But because new arrivals don’t speak English fluently, they require jobs with minimal instruction. So they take positions in meat processing plants, distribution centers or factories.
Posted inHealth
Resilience, art, healing: KC area event to focus on Black communities’ mental health
Poetry for Personal Power, based in Wyandotte County, Kansas, will host the Rite of Joy conference Oct. 14-15 at Unity Village. The event will focus on Black communities’ mental health and resilience.
Posted inLocal Government
A DOJ partnership is hoping to change how Kansas City handles violence prevention. It will be an uphill battle.
Several years after the embattled violence-reduction program known as KC No Violence Alliance faded from public view, Mayor Quinton Lucas’ administration is working with federal authorities and community partners to revive and broaden the strategies that for a time seemed to be making a difference in Kansas City, Missouri. The new program, dubbed the Community […]