An adoptive mother knew that caring for three children from the Kansas foster system meant nurturing those kids through some truly serious problems. Yet the mother dramatically underestimated what she was taking on. Particularly the danger. Two of the adopted children made shanks out of broken glass and damaged toys. They busted up the bedrooms […]
State Government
Posted inState Government
Kansas teen got handed over to the state to get him sober. Now he’s in foster care and missed months of school
A high school junior based in Salina regularly came home at night drunk. Sometimes he passed out in the front yard of his mother’s home. Other times, he’d sleep off a night of heavy drinking in the passenger’s seat of a car. The teen’s mother didn’t know what to do. She’d lost the boy’s father, […]
Posted inElections
Missouri votes yes on Amendment 4, forcing Kansas City to increase police spending
Missouri voters once again approved a ballot measure that requires Kansas City to increase its minimum police funding – but by a much narrower margin than in 2022. Amendment 4 passed with 51% of the statewide vote, compared to 63% of voters supported the measure. The measure requires Kansas City to spend at least 25% of its […]
Posted inElections
Missouri primary election 2024 results
Find live election results from the Aug. 6 Missouri primary election. Looking for Kansas results? Head over to this page. Election results for U.S. Senate Election results for Missouri governor, lieutenant governor Election results for attorney general Election results for secretary of state Election results for state treasurer Election results for U.S. House Results for […]
Posted inState Government
Two Democrats face off to represent Kansas City and Grandview in the Missouri Senate
Editor’s note (Aug. 2, 2024): This story has been updated to add an endorsement from the KC Biz PAC for Patty Lewis. Missouri Senate District 7 became a vacant seat this year after former Sen. Greg Razer was appointed to the State Tax Commission. Now, two candidates are facing off on your Aug. 6 Missouri ballot […]
Posted inLocal Government
Why North Kansas City pays its residents’ internet bills, and your city doesn’t pay yours
Free internet?
It sounds like a nice dream. We’d all love to ditch the $80 a month we pay for the ability to stream movies, do doctor’s appointments from home or check in on our cousin’s latest Facebook post.
But in North Kansas City, residents get a steady online connection covered by their taxes.
Posted inElections
The Kansas primary election races that could shift political balance in the Statehouse
Battles over school funding and bans on gender-affirming care could change in the upcoming Kansas Legislature session based on what happens in a handful of primary election races. The Kansas Statehouse remains firmly in Republican control. The party holds a veto-proof majority and will almost certainly retain a comfortable margin in both the House and […]
Posted inState Government
Where Missouri Republican candidates for governor stand on personal property taxes
Missouri Republicans running to win the governor’s race are trying to harness frustration over 2023’s property tax assessment fiasco with varying promises of cuts. State Sen. Bill Eigel, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, has made eliminating personal property taxes on things like cars, farm and business equipment a top priority as a lawmaker […]
Posted inState Government
Only 12% of eligible Kansas families signed up for programs to make child care cheaper
The families of nearly 100,000 children in Kansas were potentially eligible for child care subsidies in 2020. Yet barely more than one in eight got the federal benefit designed to make child care more affordable. That happened even as Kansas has been expanding its child care subsidy and has more room for families to apply. […]
Posted inState Government
The newest abortion law in Kansas requires putting questions to patients. Here’s what that means
What’s the harm in asking? Abortion rights supporters say quite a bit. Republicans in the state Legislature are trying to gather more data about the practice. Starting July 1, any medical professional performing an abortion is required by Kansas statute to ask patients their reasons for getting it. The law passed the Kansas Legislature this […]