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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North AmericaA new draft White House memo suggests a 2019 law signed by President Trump that guarantees federal employees get paid after a shutdown ends would not apply to furloughed workers. The Kansas City region has tens of thousands of federal workers who could be affected. -
Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesThe federal government is currently shut down. NPR's network is following the ways the government shutdown is affecting services across the country, including in Missouri and Kansas.
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A new law requires human development videos in classrooms, but leaves it up to local school districts to decide what materials students will see and at what ages. -
Hundreds of workers and civil rights leaders in Kansas City expressed anger over efforts to redraw congressional maps to favor Republicans. Advocates say they're working to keep the same from happening to Missouri, even as President Trump declares that the state "is now IN." -
The police inquiry into Melanie Arroyo, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and has served on the Lenexa City Council since 2021, was sparked by a 74-year-old Republican resident who called the Kansas Bureau of Investigation -
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe hasn’t called a special session yet to discuss redistricting, but he indicated he's moving closer towards convening lawmakers. "We’re going to win the Midterms in Missouri again, bigger and better than ever before!” Trump declared Thursday. -
White sent a letter to all Jackson County employees Wednesday announcing his decision — and then, the next day, announced he had been battling kidney cancer. -
U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, a Democrat representing St. Louis County, was repeatedly challenged about the war in Gaza at a town hall that drew about 300 people. The event ended with security officers and police getting into a physical altercation with protesters, but no arrests were made. -
Less than 24 hours after Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he was resigning to join the Trump administration. Gov. Mike Kehoe selected Hanaway, who was also the first woman to serve as Missouri House Speaker, to fill out more than three years of the GOP statewide official’s term. -
After the resignation of Andrew Bailey to serve in the Trump administration, Catherine Hanaway will be Missouri's fourth attorney general since 2018. She was the first and only woman to serve as speaker of Missouri House of Representatives, and unsuccessfully ran twice for statewide office. -
Legal experts say President Trump lacks the constitutional authority to stop states from offering mail ballots. Both Missouri and Kansas currently allow absentee voting by mail, but Kansas Republican lawmakers recently made it harder by eliminating a three-day grace period. -
The USDA has requested Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and more personal information of Kansans who have received food assistance. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has joined a lawsuit with other states challenging the Trump administration's demands. -
Bailey’s short tenure as attorney general was defined by confrontation with the federal government and local officials, as well as accusations of corruption, incompetence and grandstanding. -
In a battle started by President Trump, Texas, California and even Missouri could redraw lines that change whose votes really matter in the 2026 congressional elections.
Government
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TOPEKA, Kansas — Gov. Laura Kelly appointed lawyer Keynen “KJ” Wall to the Kansas Supreme Court on Wednesday.Wall will fill the seat of former Justice… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — The state lost 13% of its public defenders over the past year.That’s actually an improvement. Nearly a fourth of the state’s public… -
A federal judge in Washington state issued a temporary injunction on Friday blocking Trump administration rule changes that could allow people to share… -
Kansas health officials say the state is ready to deal with the new coronavirus now that Kansans are starting to get sick.Lawmakers still aren’t ready to… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — A pressure campaign led by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly aims to force Republican Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle to drop her blockade… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas has one of the highest rates of suspended drivers in the country, and the majority of those more than 215,000 licenses are… -
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is rethinking some of his proposed budget cuts.The budget Lucas announced earlier this month included major cuts to arts,… -
Kansas lawmakers sped through dozens of bills this past week to keep them alive past a “turn around” deadline marking the midpoint of the session.Measures… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — From 2000 to 2019, the women’s prison population in Kansas rose by 60%. Over the same time period, the men’s population rose by only… -
Conservative Republicans at the Kansas Statehouse are attempting to block passage of Medicaid expansion until lawmakers send a constitutional amendment on…
Elections
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If Missouri voters approve the proposed amendment, it would bar local governments from adopting ranked-choice voting models. But it has has a carve out for St. Louis, which implemented ranked-choice in 2020 for its municipal elections. -
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and former federal prosecutor Will Scharf both repeated lies that the 2020 presidential election was illegitimate. That's despite numerous independent studies and government reviews proving there was "absolutely no evidence" of fraud. -
New Republican-backed laws in several states — including Missouri and Kansas — threaten large fines or criminal penalties for minor mistakes in voter registration work. As groups pull back, they're reaching fewer voters. -
The sheriff's admission that no judge signed his search warrant for old election ballots came in the middle of a Republican candidate forum. For years, Hayden has claimed he is investigating voter fraud, but his probe has not yielded any charges or evidence. -
On May 7, voters in Kansas City, Kansas, will decide whether to approve a ballot measure that would raise property taxes for the next 30 years. The bond would pay to consolidate elementary schools, build new buildings, increase early childhood education, and fund additional renovations. -
In 2022, KCUR brought together a politically diverse group of people to share their views on election issues and politics. It's 2024. Where are they now? -
As November 2024 nears, Kansas and Missouri pollsters say that transparency is one key factor for determining a poll's quality. -
Voters soundly rejected the question that would have extended a 3/8th-cent stadium sales tax for 40 years, allowing the Royals to fund their proposed downtown ballpark and the Chiefs to renovate Arrowhead Stadium. Plus: Families of the people incarcerated at Leavenworth are worried as visits and phone calls have been cut off.
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Incumbents prevailed in some Missouri school board elections, while other Kansas City-area boards saw shakeups that could shift how they handle book challenges, diversity initiatives, class instruction time and how to best support students. -
Kimberly Dragoo, who pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor for her activities at the U.S. Capitol, hopes to focus on bringing up test scores rather than spending money. Her conservative campaign for a seat on the school board is prompting fierce debates online and off.
