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” […]
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Posted inBehind the Beacon
A reader’s question sparked our latest event about Flock cameras
A small camera along the side of the road led to some big questions from a Kansas City, Kansas, resident. What information do automated license plate readers collect? Who can search or share that information? How long is it stored? And what oversight exists when local police officers use these cameras? Those questions led a […]
Posted inLabor
Closing time at 5 a.m.: How extended bar hours happened for World Cup in some KC spots
Missouri loosened its liquor laws for the tournament. Then Kansas City reined them in. Here are the 16 bars that landed a 5 a.m. license and the process they went through to get there.
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 inCivic Engagement
Kansas City police jump-started a missing persons unit. Now they need to build trust with Black families
Takeaways: T’Montez Hurt had just started working at a Price Chopper in Grain Valley to save money after a semester away from Missouri Western State University. Then in the early hours of Feb. 1, the 19-year-old placed an anxious phone call to his grandmother, Tecona Donald-Sullivan, saying he thought he’d been drugged. The day before […]
Posted inLocal Government
New lawsuit challenges state control of Kansas City police in federal court
Three residents filed suit against the state of Missouri this week to end state control of the Kansas City Police Department.
Under the current system of state control, a governor-appointed police board has complete authority to make decisions about KCPD policy, the hiring of the police chief and how the budget is spent.
Spencer Webster, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, argues in the lawsuit filed Monday that the system violates both the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act because it was intended to discriminate against Black Missourians and preserve the institution of slavery.