Meg Cunningham
Meg Cunningham is The Beacon’s Missouri Statehouse reporter. Previously, Meg worked as a national politics reporter for ABC News in Washington, D.C., where she covered campaigns and elections. Meg is a Kansas City native and graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, cooking and yoga.
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The Trump administration says eliminating more than 1,400 federal requirements could save billions of dollars and make Head Start available to more children from low-income homes. Missouri providers say some rules are burdensome, but question if deregulation can solve the state’s problems. -
The effort comes after the federal government criticized suspected levels of Medicaid fraud in Democratic-led states. -
New EPA data show contamination across Missouri. But removing the forever chemicals could cost millions and take years. -
Sedalia's newest effort to help its most vulnerable residents appears to be a win: a building with the area’s most crucial social service providers all under one roof, available throughout the week on a walk-in basis. It's part of a Missouri pilot program to better serve rural communities. -
Joplin officials recently passed an ordinance banning the practice after noticing out-of-state vehicles dropping off homeless people. Columbia adopted a voluntary ride home program. But with homelessness rising, rural areas lack the resources to help residents. -
After weeks of uncertainty, Kansas released SNAP benefits to residents on Friday, while Missouri plans to release benefits — either full or partial payments — later this week. But the recent Trump budget bill added a number of restrictions to the program. -
Nurse practitioners and midwives have been pushing to get the law changed in Missouri, but haven’t made any progress. Now, one Columbia nurse is suing the state. -
In late July, the Postal Service cut back on services in 540 of Missouri’s ZIP codes by reducing mail collection from morning and evening to morning-only collection. And residents have already noticed the shift. -
More than 100 rural grocery stores in Kansas closed their doors from 2008 to 2018. But an initiative that invests in rural communities is keeping small groceries afloat. -
President Donald Trump’s new budget package cuts funding for programs like Medicaid and SNAP through work requirements.
