By Maria Carter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tens of thousands of people in Missouri and Kansas were briefly without power after two rounds of heavy thunderstorms made their way across the Kansas City area and communities to the north.

A Missouri House Committee is convening in Joplin as it examines the state's disaster response efforts.

A two-person office that helped film directors scout locations and find equipment and employees in Missouri will close on Thursday.

By Steve Bell

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –

By Steve Bell

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –

By Elana Gordon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Secretary of State has approved a petition for circulation that would raise the state's cigarette tax by a dollar. But as KCUR's Elana Gordon reports, the petition is not gaining popularity among some long-time tobacco-tax supporters.

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By Steve Bell

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – More than a year after merging MAST ambulance service into the fire department, the Kansas City city council has a pension plan it believes will avoid or shorten a pending arbitration.

The firefighters union wants full credit for years of service by the ambulance workers. Under the proposal the council unanimously approved only a handful of long-term employees would get that, and would get credit for half or less of their years worked.

By Maria Carter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A meeting is planned this evening along the Platte River, close to where it joins the Missouri River, to add teeth to the fight to keeping land dry.

The Kansas City council took what it hopes will be a cost-efficient step toward lowering the homicide rate.

The Missouri Secretary of State has approved a petition for circulation that would raise the state's cigarette tax by a dollar.

Growing up in Overland Park, Brian Stanton always knew he was adopted. And like many adoptees, he wanted to know something about his birth parents.

By Sylvia Maria Gross

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Brian Stanton's search for his birth mother ended up uncovering some difficult truths, which as a playwright and actor, he explores in a one-man play. He's performed Blank around the country, but last night was his first performance in his hometown.

By Steve Bell

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –

By Dan Verbeck

Farley, MO. – Fifty thousand sandbags are filled and stacked and more are being made in a Missouri area five miles east of Leavenworth. Local observers expect a quick rise in the Missouri River by early next week.

Levee district leaders want to add another 2 to 3 feet to the tops for a margin of safety. 18 years ago water was running over the protective ridge for a mile.

Jules Olitski's daughter Lauren Olitski-Poster, and granddaughter Ariel Poster, provide a glimpse into the late artist's motivations and practice.

By Drew Bolton

Kansas City, Mo. – Jules Olitski's daughter Lauren Olitski-Poster, and granddaughter Ariel Poster, provide a glimpse into the late artist's motivations and practice.

Revelation: The Major Paintings of Jules Olitski
May 20-August 28, 2011
Kemper Museum