For most people, a major snowstorm means stocking up on groceries, keeping a stack of blankets handy and maybe even a surprise day at home from work or school. But the Kansas City area’s weather response agencies have been working around the clock to clear up major highways, sidewalks and local roads to make sure major infrastructure can remain functional.
Now that the snow is finally clearing, those agencies are looking back at what worked well and what to change for next time.
Recently, Richard Jarrold hopped on a bus to get from his office in the east Crossroads to an auto shop in Overland Park. The trip took nearly two hours, four times longer than driving a car. He had to wait for buses at 18th Street and Troost Avenue, at Grand Boulevard and 18th, and once […]
Ariana Cook was in a bad place in 2020. She was hooked on hard drugs and in love with a “master manipulator.” “I just knew I was gonna marry him and be a hood-rich junkie for the rest of my life,” she said. “I had no care in the world of regaining contact with anyone […]
The Kansas-Missouri border splits Kansas City and divides the metro region more evenly, and sometimes problematically, than any American metro region cut in two by a state line.
Kansas lawmakers are likely going to act on medical marijuana in the 2025 session. Maybe. Medical marijuana is becoming a perennial debate in Topeka, and it’s annually unclear how likely it is for a bill to pass. “I have sat through, I don’t know, three interim committee meetings,” said Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park […]
A steady stream of customers walk into the From the Earth dispensary on Southwest Boulevard each day. They present IDs, make their selections from a large menu of options and leave with small brown paper bags of weed. Though business is usually brisk at this and other Kansas City weed shops — reflected in Missouri’s […]
The 2024 Kansas City Voter Guide was an ambitious, collaborative effort that rallied local media and community organizations under the banner of strengthening civic engagement. Powered by the Kansas City Media Collective (KCMC) in partnership with The Kansas City Star, RevEd, the League of Women Voters Kansas City, and over 200 community partners, the guide […]
Kansas lawmakers started debating tax plans in early 2024 and didn’t agree to a cut until the summer sun shone all across Kansas. The governor vetoed three tax cut bills, and lawmakers returned for a special session where they came to terms on $1.2 billion in cuts over three years. But lawmakers still left disappointed. […]
CORRECTION (Jan. 4, 2025): The original story stated that annual health care spending growth jumped more than 9% between 2020 and 2023. That number reflected the compound annual growth. Nothing tosses people into bankruptcy as regularly as health bills. A fourth of us skip care because of the cost. We understand the failures of our […]
Kansas Republicans plan to try to ban gender-affirming care for minors again. That means cutting off access to puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children with gender dysphoria, and banning gender-affirming surgery for minors, which is incredibly rare. The GOP has tried and failed to pass this ban. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly consistently vetoes the […]
