The most recent data available shows that about 87,000 people across Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, have found themselves out of work and out of money in the middle of a worsening global health crisis.
Months into the pandemic, workers in Kansas City are struggling to stay afloat
Posted inCivic Engagement
Missouri secretary of state contradicts health officials’ advice on Election Day plans
Jay Ashcroft’s comments come at a time when more voters are expressing interest in voting by mail in November.
Posted inEducation
Between free state Kansas and slave state Missouri, learning about the Civil War can be a night and day difference
As recent protests against police violence bring racism to the forefront, educators say that understanding the workings of racism in present-day America means learning about the sins of its past.
Posted inEconomics
As COVID presses on, small businesses in Kansas City get creative to survive
As COVID-19 continues to spread in Kansas and Missouri, many small businesses have had to swiftly pivot their business plans to avoid shutting down. And some now see their prepandemic operations as a thing of the past.
Posted inEnvironment
Local scientists seek solutions for Kansas lakes battling harmful blue-green algae
Blue-green algae blooms have always been a natural, and safe, part of Kansas lakes. But within the past decade, algal amounts have increased, causing health and economic woes.
Posted inEducation
With uncertainty over reopening schools, more parents are drawn to homeschooling
National homeschooling organizations are reporting spikes in interest in home education, particularly since the pandemic began sweeping across the country in the spring.
Posted inEducation
Combining old methods with new technologies, medical schools move toward hybrid education during COVID-19
COVID-19 is driving rapid changes in health care education programs that are grounded in tradition — and many of the changes might be here to stay. It’s affecting all medical education, from medical doctors to physical therapists and nursing.
Posted inEducation
Looking for a cigarette? Chances are it’s a block away from a Kansas City public school
Forty percent of Kansas City’s public schools are located within 1,000 feet of a tobacco retailer, and tobacco retailers are 10 times more concentrated in Kansas City’s poorest neighborhoods, according to a recent study.
Posted inEconomics
In the midst of a pandemic, tenants face the looming threat of eviction
The end of the Jackson County, Missouri, eviction moratorium in response to COVID-19 has highlighted issues around access to low-income housing in Kansas City, Missouri. Meanwhile, Kansans on the other side of the state line have more protections.
Posted inHealth
Rural Kansas and Missouri face unique challenges with COVID-19
COVID-19 has spread to rural counties in Kansas and Missouri, leading to spikes in cases that weren’t seen in the earliest stages of the pandemic. A combination of factors — population size and distribution, the presence of meatpacking facilities, and COVID-19 outreach programs — is affecting how these areas are responding to the virus. Many high-risk neighborhoods are also more likely to be low-income, immigrant communities, many of whom work in rural Kansas and Missouri meatpacking plants.