KC Mayor Pushes to Takeover School District
Kansas City Mayor Sly James has proposed to state education officials that he take control of the troubled Kansas City School District. James wrote in the letter to state education Commissioner Chris Nicastro that he's proposing steps that would require legislative approval to allow mayoral control of the school district. More from KCUR here.
Regional Economy Slows
A monthly economic survey projects slow growth in the economies of Midwest and Plains states. The report from Creighton University in Omaha paints a mixed outlook. Checkout the complete survey results here.
JCCC Settles with Student Over Open Records Request
Johnson County Community College has settled a lawsuit with a former student who sued after the school asked for $47,000 to meet an open records request. The Kansas City Star reports Marcus Clem sought seven months of emails between a college employee who had been fired and the employee's supervisor. School officials said it would cost $47,000 to compensate for the time and expense of satisfying the request. This week, the school gave Clem three months of emails. It charged $450.
Missouri Lawmakers Get a Jump on 2012
Missouri lawmakers began pre-filing bills for next year’s legislative session, which begins January 4th. Early bills include those allowing Missouri residents to deduct $5,000 from their income taxes for building storm shelters and a constitutional amendment shortening the legislative session. Statehouse reporter Marshall Griffin has the full update here.
A Move for "Messiah"
This year marks the first time Handel’s "Messiah" will not be performed at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence since 1916. The challenge: how to transfer the sound of almost 250 voices from a cavernous hall to the more intimate Helzberg Hall. KCUR's Laura Spencer stopped by the first rehearsal in the space to check it out. Listen to the artists story here.
Sports
The Kansas State men’s basketball team posted a 69-56 win over George Washington University, while UMKC evened its record at 4 and 4 with an 81-68 win over IPFW. The UMKC women were less successful, falling to Oakland 71-65 in overtime, and the Kansas women defeated SMU 75-52.