Sam Zeff
Metro ReporterYou deserve to know what your taxpayer dollars are paying for and what public officials are doing on your behalf – I’ll work to report on irresponsible government spending in the Kansas City area and shed light on controversies that slow government down. And when you hear my voice in the morning, you know you’re getting everything you need to start your day.
Email me at sam@kcur.org, find me on Twitter @samzeff or call me at 816-235-5004.
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The decision comes after years of complaints that the nonprofit — which successfully runs the city’s no-kill animal shelter — was too slow to take dangerous animals off the streets. -
A Kansas City Council committee Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution giving the city manager 30 days to formulate a plan to return animal control in-house. KC Pet Project vows to fight to keep the contract it's held since 2020. -
In the span of three months in 2023, Kansas City, Kansas, police shot and killed two men – John Anderton and Amaree’ya Henderson. The Unified Government and KCK police sued to keep the investigations secret. -
Animal rescue groups and neighborhood organizations have complained for years that KC Pet Project was not aggressive enough enforcing animal control ordinances. Now Kansas City plans to bring that service back in-house. -
Family of mother and baby killed by Independence police call for full release of video from incidentThe family of Maria Pike and her baby Destinii Hope rallied outside of Independence Police headquarters Sunday and demanded transparency from investigators. Independence Police released highly-edited footage of the incident last week. -
Independence has not named the officer who fatally shot Maria Pike and her daughter Destinii Hope, after police responded to a domestic disturbance call on Nov. 7, 2024. The body camera footage shows just three minutes from the 20-minute incident. -
For the first time in more than four decades, Sandra Hemme may get to spend Thanksgiving with her family — not in prison. Hemme was wrongly convicted of murdering a St. Joseph librarian in 1980, but a Missouri judge overturned the charges this year. -
In its second lawsuit against the KCKPD since 2021, Roc Nation claims the police and the Unified Government have “stonewalled” a public records request it made last November. -
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’ latest plan to fight crime involves asking for help from the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. But so far, the city says KCPD isn't willing to pay for the additional officers. -
The Missouri Court of Appeals Tuesday rejected all arguments from state Attorney General Andrew Bailey to return Hemme to prison. Hemme served 43 years in prison — more time than any other wrongly convicted woman in the U.S.
