Summer may be half over by the time Kansas families get extra food aid meant to see them through long hot days when school breakfasts and lunches disappear. For Missouri families, the aid may not arrive until a new school year is well underway. But that still beats the 13 states where families won’t be […]
Missouri and Kansas families will be getting money for kids’ summer meals — eventually
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers clarify some confusion to let more counties freeze property taxes for seniors
Missouri lawmakers gave counties a dose of much-needed clarity in May when they passed a bill aimed at clarifying a 2023 law that lets counties pass a senior property tax freeze, aimed at those 62 and older. The law passed last year gave counties the power to freeze property tax rates for Missourians who were […]
Posted inLocal Government
Why 35,000 Sedgwick County residents will be paying more for internet next month
Jamie Nix regularly sees people turning to the internet to help them answer the most critical questions in their lives. “I’ve had people come to the library with a brand new medical diagnosis,” said Nix, Wichita’s director of libraries. “They are just wanting to use the computer to learn more about what it is.” A […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
The Beacon launches new, mobile-first website
Readers can now explore all four newsrooms – Kansas, Missouri, Kansas City and Wichita – under a single domain. Here’s a breakdown of what changes were made, and why.
Posted inKansas State Government
Kansas lawmakers are temporarily limiting a program that increases mental health services
Targeted federal tax dollars turbocharged Sedgwick County’s COMCARE mental health clinic by helping it give patients more behavioral health treatment and add sorely needed staff. COMCARE cut its staff vacancy rate from around 50% years ago down to 13%, thanks in part to a federal program. Other community mental health centers have expanded their services […]
Posted inState Government
Missouri lawmakers passed 48 bills this year. Here’s a list of potential new Missouri laws
Correction (May 30, 2024): This story originally erred in how it described a tax-credit scholarship bill. Those credits would go to donors who contribute to a state fund to allow families to send students to the school of their choice, including private schools. Missouri lawmakers set their sights on new laws to make it easier for […]
Posted inEducation
Independence’s four-day school week draws Missouri auditor probe
The auditor’s office has held expanded power to audit school districts for more than a decade, but has rarely used it.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Beacon reporting uncovers deaths of homeless individuals in Wichita are not counted
Government officials responded to The Beacon’s story by promising to implement a tracking system so better data is kept to help unhoused Wichitans.
Posted inHealth
Doctors say new Kansas law asking women why they’re getting an abortion is unconstitutional
Abortion providers are challenging a new Kansas law that will soon compel women to tell their doctors — and the state health department — their top reason for seeking an abortion. They say the law, set to take effect July 1, is unconstitutional and violates patient privacy. “Conversations that happen in the exam room are private,” […]
Posted inHousing, Kansas City
Neighborhood blocks the low-barrier shelter pitched as key solution to Kansas City’s homelessness problem
Ken Simard mainly slept under the Blue Parkway bridge near the railroad tracks along the Blue River for the seven years he was homeless, numbing himself with meth and weed. “If it were not for the drugs that I did, I would have been suicidal,” he said. “I would do anything to take my mind […]