Thanks to a statewide vote in November 2022, Kansas City will be required to increase its minimum funding for the Kansas City Police Department from 20% to 25% of the city’s revenues. How will KCPD spend the money? That might not be easy for the public to find out, based on the department’s recent responses […]
Kansas City
Posted inEducation
What to know about MOScholars, the state program providing scholarships for private schools
This school year, students could receive as much as $6,375 each if they had eligible expenses that high. That’s equal to the baseline of funds the state thinks each public school student should receive.
Posted inDIY Democracy, Health, State Government
Missourians on Medicaid should make sure state has their address if they want to keep insurance
About 1.4 million Missourians rely on Medicaid for their family’s health insurance, known in the state as MO HealthNet. They are all at risk of losing their coverage because federal law requires them to reenroll this year. The best way to prevent getting kicked off? Make sure the state has your current address. Those already […]
Posted inEnvironment, Labor
The growing green jobs industry could mean more jobs for Kansas Citians
Before securing a position as a manager at KC Can Compost, a nonprofit dedicated to reshaping Kansas City’s approach to environmental and social causes, Chris Shelar was unhoused off and on for eight years. Now 60, Shelar lived in outdoor spaces and panhandled for change to get by. Eventually, he found steady work as a […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, State Government
DIY Democracy: How to follow the Missouri General Assembly
Members of the 2023 Missouri legislature are in Jefferson City to begin the spring legislative session. Much of the work happens behind closed doors, but floor debates, bill hearings and other legislative happenings are easy to tune into online. Lawmakers meet from January to May, with an occasional extra session if the governor decides a […]
Posted inEducation
Here’s what Missouri lawmakers want students to learn — or not learn — in school
In all, at least 140 bills related to education were filed before and on Jan. 4, the first day of the legislative session. Not all of those bills will receive a committee hearing, and many will likely be amended over the next few months.
Posted inEducation
19 ways Missouri lawmakers want to change school funding and spending in 2023
Specific proposals would increase minimum teacher salaries, provide additional funding for early childhood education and protect schools from the financial burden of some lawsuits from the state attorney general.
Posted inDIY Democracy, State Government
DIY Democracy: How to follow the Kansas Legislature
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include revisions to the legislature’s website made after this story published, and to add more information sources available to the public. When the 2023 Kansas Legislature convenes on Jan. 9, lawmakers will begin writing, revising and debating laws that will impact the lives of all Kansans. But […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
Pawsitive impacts: Program aims to break generational cycles of poverty through pet grooming
In 2018, Ashley Stillings was living in Hope House, a homeless shelter in Lee’s Summit, with her three children. Her husband had received a 12-year prison sentence and she found herself her household’s sole provider. Stillings was working as a waitress when she came across a flier stating that pet groomers can earn $20 an […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Housing, Local Government
Decoding the language of Kansas City’s tax incentives: Key terms to know
Kansas City is known far and wide for its use of tax incentives. Researchers have studied the use of incentives to move development projects back and forth across the state line as part of the “border war” between Kansas and Missouri. Many local landmarks, including the Power and Light District, Hotel Phillips and the midtown […]