Above all else, Zinab Chahine said, remember to stock up on school supplies early. Chahine came with her first-grade daughter to Earhart Environmental Magnet School on Tuesday for in-person enrollment ahead of Wichita Public Schools’ first day of class, Aug. 14. “Last year we were late to buy them, and that really bit us in […]
Where to get school supplies in Wichita
Posted inEducation
Central High School football is back amid growing enrollment
Growing enrollment makes it easier to support a robust team. But that’s only part of the story.
Posted inState Government
Two Democrats face off to represent Kansas City and Grandview in the Missouri Senate
Editor’s note (Aug. 2, 2024): This story has been updated to add an endorsement from the KC Biz PAC for Patty Lewis. Missouri Senate District 7 became a vacant seat this year after former Sen. Greg Razer was appointed to the State Tax Commission. Now, two candidates are facing off on your Aug. 6 Missouri ballot […]
Posted inElections
In Missouri Senate District 31, a Freedom Caucus incumbent faces a challenge from two House members
Sitting Sen. Rick Brattin, who represents the 31st district, is running for reelection in the Aug. 6 Missouri primary. The district represents Cass, Johnson and Bates counties just south of Kansas City. Brattin, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus who has focused on hot-button issues related to gun rights and anti-LGBTQ efforts, faces a […]
Posted inLocal Government
City Council debates cuts or tax hikes as Wichita faces budget crunch in 2026
Wichita faces a looming budget shortfall, forcing the City Council to pick between raising taxes or cutting back services. “The city is facing challenges,” District 4 Council Member Dalton Glasscock said. “We’re thoughtfully weighing how we can still provide excellent service for our citizens.” City Manager Robert Layton suggested several cost-cutting measures for the 2025 […]
Posted inEducation
How the Kansas open enrollment law is playing out in Wichita-area schools
Aaron McCarty sees houses going up everywhere around Maize and thinks of the families who will fill them — and the children who will fill up classrooms. So he believes the Maize school district’s decision to shut off the enrollment of students from other towns makes sense, he said. “Are we going to need more […]
Posted inHealth
Safety-net clinics are struggling to fill the gap after a Utah health system closed a KCK health clinic
In a shadeless parking lot in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, last week, Lulu Herrera waited inside a parked mobile clinic. She was hoping to see a patient. Any patient. Herrera knew of hundreds who hadn’t had the care and medicine they needed since June 1, when Intermountain Health shuttered the Duchesne Clinic, just two years […]
Posted inLocal Government
Why North Kansas City pays its residents’ internet bills, and your city doesn’t pay yours
Free internet?
It sounds like a nice dream. We’d all love to ditch the $80 a month we pay for the ability to stream movies, do doctor’s appointments from home or check in on our cousin’s latest Facebook post.
But in North Kansas City, residents get a steady online connection covered by their taxes.
Posted inElections
Chuck Schmidt and Veronica Gillette run in Wichita Democratic primary for Kansas House
Chuck Schmidt and Veronica Gillette both want to flip a Republican seat for Democrats in the Kansas House. The two face off in the Aug. 6 Democratic primary in hopes of challenging Republican Rep. Sandy Pickert in the general election for the seat from the 88th District in southeast Wichita. You can find your polling […]
Posted inElections
The Kansas primary election races that could shift political balance in the Statehouse
Battles over school funding and bans on gender-affirming care could change in the upcoming Kansas Legislature session based on what happens in a handful of primary election races. The Kansas Statehouse remains firmly in Republican control. The party holds a veto-proof majority and will almost certainly retain a comfortable margin in both the House and […]