Seven months of federal paperwork headaches have left Amy Stoltzfus frustrated. She’s an associate financial aid director at Friends University who helps students navigate the maze of forms and figure out how they will pay for college. An update meant to make it easier for college students to apply for financial aid ended up doing […]
Wichita students, universities are still figuring out financial aid as delays continue
Posted inState Government
Kansas teen got handed over to the state to get him sober. Now he’s in foster care and missed months of school
A high school junior based in Salina regularly came home at night drunk. Sometimes he passed out in the front yard of his mother’s home. Other times, he’d sleep off a night of heavy drinking in the passenger’s seat of a car. The teen’s mother didn’t know what to do. She’d lost the boy’s father, […]
Posted inWichita
What Wichita-area parents need to know about riding the school bus
Parents waiting for the first time with their kids to board the school bus is a time-honored tradition, but policies vary on who can ride the bus and what it costs. Here’s what you need to know about school transportation options. Who in Kansas gets a guaranteed school bus ride? Kansas state law provides free […]
Posted inWichita
How to make sure your kid is eating a healthy lunch at school
Making sure your child has a nutritious meal at school is important for their academic success and health. If you don’t have the time or money to pack a lunch, school lunches are a healthy alternative. School meals as a whole promote a better diet among participants. And eating breakfast at school reduces student absences and […]
Posted inElections
A Kansas City-area Democrat who backed transgender sports ban loses reelection
The Kansas Democrat who cast a decisive vote that banned transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams has lost reelection. Rep. Marvin Robinson, a Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat, joined Republicans in 2023 to overturn the governor’s veto of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. The law requires athletes in high schools and public colleges […]
Posted inLocal Government
A Kansas City Council donor wants tax money to build KC Current stadium parking
Even on a weeknight, KC Current fans fill nearly every parking spot at the women’s soccer stadium at the Berkley Riverfront.
Parking spaces are in short supply by design — to encourage people to stick around after games and to rely on public transit.
A proposal making its way through City Hall would do add more parking. The Parking Co. of America, or PCA, wants three kinds of public subsidies to build a 1,500-spot parking garage next to the stadium, where the temporary parking currently sits.
Posted inElections
Missouri votes yes on Amendment 4, forcing Kansas City to increase police spending
Missouri voters once again approved a ballot measure that requires Kansas City to increase its minimum police funding – but by a much narrower margin than in 2022. Amendment 4 passed with 51% of the statewide vote, compared to 63% of voters supported the measure. The measure requires Kansas City to spend at least 25% of its […]
Posted inElections
Missouri election results: Voters reject Amendment 1, property tax exemptions for child care providers
Missouri voters on Tuesday rejected a pitch to give state lawmakers the power to pass property tax exemptions for child care facilities. Amendment 1 failed, with roughly 55% of Missourians voting ‘no’ on the measure in unofficial results. The measure would have let the General Assembly pass legislation exempting child care providers from their property […]
Posted inElections
Melesa Johnson wins Democratic primary for Jackson County Prosecutor: ‘It’s time for change’
Melesa Johnson, a young lawyer who grew up in Kansas City’s Oak Park neighborhood and promised change for communities affected by crime, won a three-way race in the Democratic primary Tuesday, Aug. 6 for Jackson County Prosecutor. Johnson, who currently serves as Mayor Quinton Lucas’ director of public safety, beat John Gromowsky, an assistant county […]
Posted inElections
Prasanth Reddy wins GOP primary to face U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids in Kansas 3rd Congressional District
Dr. Prasanth Reddy won the Republican 3rd Congressional District primary Tuesday night, giving him the chance to flip the increasingly-blue district back to red. Reddy beat Karen Crnkovich by about 3,000 votes and a 53% to 47% margin in unofficial election returns in the Republican primary for the Kansas City-area seat in Congress. He raised […]