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 […]
City Council debates cuts or tax hikes as Wichita faces budget crunch in 2026
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 […]
Posted inKansas City
Year-round school is out at three KC-area schools, but another says it’s boosting test scores
The North Kansas City School District and Gordon Parks charter school have turned away from year-round school, while Hickman Mills recently introduced it.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Partnership with Kansas City Media Collective and The Kansas City Star results in groundbreaking voter guide
The Beacon’s small staff puts a particular effort in providing coverage — valuable to voters, if not always splashy — in helping you figure out how to vote and how to enter that polling place with a clear understanding of the choices. This election season — both Kansas and Missouri have primaries on Aug. 6 […]
Posted inState Government
Where Missouri Republican candidates for governor stand on personal property taxes
Missouri Republicans running to win the governor’s race are trying to harness frustration over 2023’s property tax assessment fiasco with varying promises of cuts. State Sen. Bill Eigel, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, has made eliminating personal property taxes on things like cars, farm and business equipment a top priority as a lawmaker […]
Posted inKansas City
Kansas City home builders push back on energy efficiency rules, blame them for housing crunch
Correction: This story originally misstated which emissions reduction target is related to the city’s energy efficiency goals. It also misstated the number of permits Kansas City issued under the new building code. The Kansas City Council gave homebuilders new rules last year designed to make housing easier on the environment. Those rules told them what kind […]