The Beacon has announced its role as a Founding Newsroom for the first Local News Day, a national day of action scheduled for April 9, 2026.
Behind the Beacon
Posted inBehind the Beacon
The Beacon’s illuminating experience in AJP’s Product and AI Studio
A year of testing large language models with American Journalism Project’s Product and AI Studio has come to a close. Here’s what we learned.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Kansas City’s first Documenters step up to build a people-powered public record
The Beacon has already trained 59 residents to take notes at public meetings and support regional newsrooms as part of the newly launched Kansas City Documenters program.
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Welcome our first chief advancement officer
Amanda Jackson joins The Beacon to guide sustainability efforts across the organization.
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 […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
The Beacon earns nine Missouri Press Association awards
The Beacon has received nine awards from the Missouri Press Association, recognizing the work of our dedicated journalists. Our nine awards — including two first-place honors, four second-place honors and three third-place honors — were earned by four of The Beacon’s reporters. Here are those award-winning stories: Thanks to the Missouri Press Association for recognizing […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
The Beacon’s founding champion: Remembering David Oliver
Dear friends of The Beacon, On behalf of The Beacon, we join in the profound sadness at news of the passing of David Oliver, founding board chair of The Beacon, trusted advisor and lifelong advocate for civic journalism and local engagement. We received this news with heavy hearts. David’s legacy touches every part of The […]
Posted inBehind the Beacon
Meet Rachel Krause: The Beacon’s new director of civic partnerships and engagement
We are excited to introduce you to Rachel Krause (they/she), who just joined The Beacon in a brand new role as our director of civic partnerships and engagement. Rachel will be leading our Documenters program, training and paying community members to cover public meetings while also strengthening civic partnerships and deepening connections across the region. […]