Stories about health care options can leave people with a very practical worry: What happens when I need care that isn’t covered? That question came through in September’s reader feedback through our reader survey at the end of each story on our website, “I have Medicare and a Medicare supplement. Many health care providers don’t […]
Estrella Gonzalez
Estrella Gonzalez is The Beacon’s community engagement manager who works with the news organization’s community engagement representatives and directs its Community Journalism Lab. She directs The Beacon’s community listening sessions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in broadcast media from the University of North Texas and has lived in Kansas City for seven years.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
A reader’s question sparked our latest event about Flock cameras
A small camera along the side of the road led to some big questions from a Kansas City, Kansas, resident. What information do automated license plate readers collect? Who can search or share that information? How long is it stored? And what oversight exists when local police officers use these cameras? Those questions led a […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
48 residents from 33 ZIP codes learn how to make local government easier to follow
On Aug. 26, The Beacon hosted its second Documenters training class located in Kansas City, Kansas — and fourth total — welcoming communities from across the state line. The response reminded us how many people across the metro want to better understand the decisions shaping their communities. Forty-eight people from 33 ZIP codes attended the […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Kansas City readers want us to follow the money
August feedback shows readers are looking beyond announcements and votes. They want to know who pays, who benefits and whether public promises are kept.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
The Beacon answers Missouri voters’ biggest questions before August elections
If there is ever an opportunity to be pulled in two different directions, the Aug. 4 election in Missouri is one of them. With a ballot that includes four statewide initiatives, along with individual races and local questions, it’s easy to feel both excited and confused. That’s why The Beacon, along with our Missouri Statehouse […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Event recap: Understanding the Kansas City budget process
On June 3, The Beacon gathered community members at the Mid-Continent Public Library’s Blue Ridge Branch in south Kansas City for a conversation about one of the most important civic documents shaping life in our region: the Kansas City budget. Budgets can be overwhelming. They’re often hundreds of pages long, packed with technical language and […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
When the story lands in your backyard
At The Beacon, we often say our reporting starts where the community is talking. But this spring, our reporting started at a public meeting and ended up in Dottie’s backyard. For 55 years, Dottie has grown food like peppers, sweet potatoes and okra in the same plot of soil behind her home in Kansas City, Kansas. […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Slow service, missing mail: Beacon panel highlights experiences with USPS changes in Missouri
The Beacon heard from a senior fellow and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the president of the Missouri Farm Bureau about USPS changes in Missouri.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
What The Beacon heard at the KCKPS Board Candidate Forum
The Beacon is charting a path that not only incorporates community voice and how that shapes our reporting but also holding people in power accountable and engaging with people that way through civics. When Edgar Palacios, president and CEO of The Latinx Education Collaborative (LEC) and Revolución Educativa (RevEd), shared that they were hosting a […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
What UMKC students told The Beacon about Kansas City’s public transit growth
The Beacon’s Community Journalism Lab representative, Robert Stone and our local government reporter, Josh Merchant, recently sat down with Urban Planning and Design Students at the University of Missouri-Kansas City to hear what future city planners think about some of Kansas City’s biggest challenges. Students shared their perspectives on housing, transit, development incentives and how […]