Celisa Calacal

The Kansas City Council created a Housing Trust Fund seven years ago to support the development of more affordable units. In 2025, the city saw some of its first projects come to life — but the money is running out next year.

A restaurant in Westport and two Crossroads cocktail bars had to navigate death, loss and grief in 2025. KCUR spoke with their family, coworkers, and friends to remember their commitment to the Kansas City hospitality scene, and to memorialize what was lost.

Highway construction tore through the historically Latino neighborhood in the latter half of the 20th century. Now, Kansas City is reconsidering the roadways with an eye toward addressing some of the harms they have caused.

The Panasonic plant in De Soto, Kansas, shut down after officers shot a person suspected of stabbing another. The suspect is dead, and the stabbing victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Kansas City is considering changes to Highway 71 as part of its project to reconnect the neighborhoods torn apart decades ago by its construction. But some residents who live near the highway wonder if officials have their best interests in mind.

The Kansas City Council recently changed certain rules around short-term rentals to make it easier for residents to host World Cup visitors next summer. And dozens of people recently attended a "crash course" to learn how they can capitalize on all those visitors by offering their own rentals.

Students at Ruskin High School in south Kansas City have the newest Teacher of the Year in Missouri — and they’re not surprised. Hear from them about why their teacher came out on top. Plus: The number of people experiencing homelessness in Kansas fell this year, but President Donald Trump recently ended federal funding for programs that provide permanent housing with no strings attached.

Parade Park Homes was once one of the oldest Black-owned housing cooperatives in the country. The redevelopment there includes plans for about 1,100 new housing units, with some reserved as affordable or for senior housing.

The Kansas City Council moved forward with a plan to build a modular jail with about 100 beds. Officials say the temporary facility is necessary, as plans to build a permanent municipal jail will take years.

The state's new congressional map uses Troost Avenue as a dividing line, and groups majority Black neighborhoods in east Kansas City with rural communities in the middle of the state. Community leaders worry the new divide will mean the needs of underserved urban neighborhoods go ignored.