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 […]
Sports betting in Missouri won’t be ready for the Super Bowl, and probably not MLB opening day
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 […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas Republicans close to banning gender-affirming care for minors
Kansas Republicans are poised to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The bill bans puberty blockers, hormone treatment and gender-affirming surgeries until 18 years old. The proposal also prevents state employees who work with children from supporting someone’s transition, which Democrats say prevents teachers or social workers from even using a transgender child’s preferred name. […]
Posted inHealth
Threat of federal funding freeze panics KC’s nonprofit health care community
For Wil Franklin, chief executive of KC CARE Health Clinic, Tuesday began with a blizzard of texts and emails. A sweeping plan to freeze federal grants and loans affected $5 million that his community safety-net clinic relies on. The online portal that community health clinics across the country use to access federal money was suddenly […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas joins effort to stop counting noncitizens in census, but communities fear damage
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach wants to stop counting noncitizens in the U.S. census. Counting unauthorized immigrants hurts states like Kansas, argues a lawsuit that Kobach joined. States like Texas and California have larger noncitizen populations. When counted, that means Texas and California get more Electoral College votes, more representation in Congress and a larger […]
Posted inState Government
Kansas is trying again to ban gender-affirming care for minors
Kansas lawmakers are trying to ban gender-affirming care for minors after several failed attempts. The proposal would ban puberty blockers, hormone treatments and gender-affirming surgeries, which are rare. State funds couldn’t be used for these operations and state agencies or employees couldn’t promote gender-affirming care for minors. Republicans keep reviving the proposal because they say […]