The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Graduate Student Council hosted the 2025 Community of Scholars Research Conference. The event on April 17 brought together 60 graduate students, faculty and community members to showcase the essence of interdisciplinary research, community and collaboration. The conference chairs were Dr. Mohan Kumar Gajendran and Kiel Corkran, president of the Graduate […]
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 seat at the table: How primary care shortages are affecting Missouri’s communities
Physician supply lags behind patient demand nationally and across Missouri. On April 17, The Beacon spoke virtually with McKenzie Richards, a health care policy fellow from Cicero Institute and Michael Wacker, Senior Associate Dean and Director of the UMKC School of Medicine Regional Medical Campus in St. Joseph, Missouri, about the data, challenges and possible […]
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Sparking change for a better Kansas City
The Beacon heard from community leaders who gathered at Union Station on April 9 to explore pressing issues facing Kansas City. The 2025 C3 Conference, hosted by the Junior League of Kansas City focused on five key themes — equity and access, community empowerment, education and workforce development, and urban development — unified by a […]
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A community conversation on ending the school-to-prison pipeline
On Feb. 8, Community Journalism Lab representative Eden Barnes, in partnership with Fringe Benefits of Education, held a community listening session at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Our lab invited college students to discuss their experiences with youth risk factors – and how those factors could lead to future criminality or incarceration if left unaddressed. […]
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The Beacon’s community engagement recap for 2024
The Beacon started a new strategy in 2024 with the Community Journalism Lab, CJL. We learned what worked, what didn’t and where we plan to go in 2025. That included the possibility of building partnerships with local journalism schools. We focused more on hearing more from organizations and community members through various forms of listening […]
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Your Bet, Your Voice! A nonpartisan community discussion
The Beacon’s Community Lab held a listening session about Missouri’s Amendment 2 that would legalize sports betting. There’s been a lot of chatter within our community wondering what the pros and cons are and whether funding would actually go toward gambling addiction and education. With Election Day around the corner, I thought it was valuable […]
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The Beacon takes home five Missouri Press Association awards
We’re thrilled to announce that The Beacon Kansas City has received multiple awards from the Missouri Press Association, recognizing the work of our dedicated journalists. Our five awards — including four second-place honors and one third place — celebrate our reporters’ commitment to impactful, local journalism that resonates with our community. Mili Mansaray won a […]
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How community voice shapes The Beacon newsroom
The Beacon relies heavily on what people in our communities tell us they need to know more about. That brings more impact and credibility to our reporting. The Beacon’s approach comes at a time when local news outlets are declining at a rapid rate. The Pew Research Center reports that 85% of U.S. adults believe […]
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Navigating Kansas City’s dangerous roads: Takeaways from The Beacon’s traffic listening session
This summer, The Beacon published a four-part series that shed light on a major issue facing Kansas City: traffic deaths. Kansas City local government reporter Josh Merchant looked into why our city’s streets rank among the most dangerous in the country. That reporting showed the risk comes partly from street designs that allow cars to […]
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Why diverse and community voices matter
Why would anyone want to take on an additional role of being a community journalism lab representative outside their day job? I spoke with one of our newer reps on why he decided to join and why the work our journalism lab does is important to our reporting efforts. “As a visionary creative I aim […]