For years, Shari Cook came across pregnant patients who struggled with substance use and wanted to get sober before their babies arrived. Finding somewhere they could actually get that treatment was another matter. Some programs would accept women, but not if they were pregnant. Others had availability, but they were hours away and required women […]
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Posted inEducation
First test scores from Missouri-backed private school scholarships near national average
One researcher said that’s reason for optimism given that the students in the program had disabilities or were required to meet income guidelines.
Posted inHealth
To keep rural healthcare workers, Missouri is helping cover their childcare costs
Abe Funk, the owner of John’s Pharmacy in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, wasn’t looking to get into the childcare business. But he was looking to keep his pharmacies staffed. He kept running into the same problem: Workers were struggling to find childcare they could afford, and that stayed open through their shifts. After an employee approached […]
Posted inElections
Missouri Supreme Court and lots of other judges are on the ballot. What it means to ‘retain’ them
Missouri voters will see a list of anywhere from four to nearly a dozen judges on the ballot. How do you know whether they should stay on the bench?
Posted inElections
Should Jackson County renew COMBAT anti-crime sales tax? What to know before you vote
Voters in Jackson County will decide Nov. 3 whether to keep paying a quarter of a cent anti-crime sales tax for the next 10 years. COMBAT — short for community-backed anti-crime tax — appears on the ballot as Jackson County Question 1. A “yes” vote extends the sales tax for 10 years, while a “no” […]
Missouri and Kansas general election guide: November 2026
General elections in Missouri and Kansas are on Nov. 3, and The Beacon is here to help you feel prepared, especially for those local downballot races and questions. Missouri election coverage Missouri voters will decide on five statewide ballot questions — four amendments and one proposition. The Beacon put together a guide on what a […]
Posted inRural
A new owner took over central Missouri hospital. 9 days later, it cut labor and delivery
For pregnant women living north of Interstate 70 in central Missouri, there weren’t many places to deliver a baby. Fitzgibbon Hospital in Marshall was one of them. Now it isn’t. Fitzgibbon delivered 252 babies in 2025. In April, the hospital filed for bankruptcy protection and began sale negotiations for its 60-bed hospital and its 99-bed […]
Posted inEconomics
Moving goods is one of KC’s biggest industries. Record diesel prices make it hard to keep trucking
Ryan Schmuhl started his trucking business — Schmuhl Brothers Inc., based in Kansas City, Kansas — in 1995 with his brother Ty and two big rigs. In 2000, he estimates, a 360-mile round trip cost about $90 in diesel. He said that the same trip, on the same lanes, costs about $490 today. “I used […]
Posted inEducation
Missouri has laws to stop abusers moving from one school to another. Are they enough?
Some parts of the law apply to educators no matter where they work, while others are specific to public schools.
Posted inLabor
‘We are human beings’: UMKC workers take their fight for higher pay public
Belkis Cabrera has worked as a custodian at the University of Missouri-Kansas City for 16 years. Each time she and her co-workers earn a merit raise, she said, increasing healthcare costs and inflation swallow it. “We are not asking for much, just respect and enough pay to get by,” Cabrera said through an interpreter at […]