For some people in rural Missouri, soaring egg prices have little impact on their shopping habits. They have backyard chickens that save them the trouble of dealing with a nationwide shortage. But for those who don’t have access to a homegrown grocery store in their backyard, rising prices mean changes to their weekly shopping list. […]
Missouri’s grocery shelves feel impact of bird flu
Posted inBehind the Beacon
A community conversation on ending the school-to-prison pipeline
On Feb. 8, Community Journalism Lab representative Eden Barnes, in partnership with Fringe Benefits of Education, held a community listening session at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Our lab invited college students to discuss their experiences with youth risk factors – and how those factors could lead to future criminality or incarceration if left unaddressed. […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Is the bill legal?
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. That could include puberty blockers, hormone treatment or gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth. Under the bill, doing so could get a doctor sued and cost them their license. This is just the latest veto fight over gender-affirming care for minors. Kansas […]
Posted inState Government
Real estate sale prices are secret in Missouri — even to people who calculate your taxes
Every two years, county assessment departments in Missouri are tasked with calculating the values of hundreds of thousands of properties.
But unlike most states, county assessors in Missouri don’t have a number that could make the process quicker and more accurate — the price that buyers actually paid when they bought the property.
Posted inState Government
Sports betting in Missouri won’t be ready for the Super Bowl, and probably not MLB opening day
This is the last Super Bowl that Missouri will miss out on money from sports betting. Sports betting was approved by voters in November, but the rulemaking process to bring sports betting to Missouri still isn’t finished. It won’t be ready before the Chiefs play Sunday in the Super Bowl. And it likely won’t be […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas lawmakers might change the legal definition of neglect for foster care
Kansas lawmakers may change the definition of neglect in the foster care system. Their goal is to clarify that poverty shouldn’t be the reason kids are taken from their parents. But some fear the bill would put kids in danger. State law currently says that poverty is not a reason to put a child in […]
Posted inEducation
UMKC students can make less than minimum wage. One group is fighting for $25 an hour.
An exemption for certain employers means public college students don’t always benefit from Missouri’s new minimum wage at their on-campus jobs.
Posted inHealth
Cigarettes, alcohol use dropping among Missouri teens
Missouri teens were less interested in cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana in 2024 than in previous years. Vapes were the most reported among teens when asked what they had used in the last 30 days, with 9.1% of respondents saying they used one. The results of the state Department of Mental Health’s Missouri Student Survey were […]
Posted inLabor
Nearly 30,000 federal workers in Kansas City brace for layoffs
Almost 30,000 federal employees in the Kansas City area are caught in the chaos that has defined President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. So far, the Trump administration has reinstituted a policy making it easier to fire federal employees. It has ordered remote workers to return to the office. Federal agencies have been […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas lawmakers fret about future spending. They are trying to keep the budget lean.
The 2026 budget projection for Kansas isn’t great. The state is about $480 million short of funding all of its expenses. There’s no need to panic, though, said Rep. Troy Waymaster, a Bunker Hill Republican. “There are many things that could change the projections,” he said. The state is not guaranteed to face a fiscal […]