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Jackson County Sports AuthorityKansas has been trying to sway the region’s NFL and MLB teams to cross the border. Lawmakers in both Kansas and Missouri have lobbed tax incentives and construction fund packages at the teams. -
Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependentThe proposed amendment drafted by Republican lawmakers will appear before voters in November 2026, two years after Missourians codified the right to reproductive health care in the state constitution.
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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. -
Gov. Mike Kehoe wouldn't say whether he would call a special session to gerrymander the congressional map around Kansas City, and make it difficult for a Democrat to win in the 5th District. But he did say he shares Trump's vision for Republicans keeping control of the U.S. House. -
State leaders in both parties say they're ready to redraw political lines ahead of 2026, but state laws and constitutions make mid-decade redistricting virtually impossible in many places. In Missouri, Republicans are taking aim at Kansas City's U.S. House seat. -
Shawnee Mission, Olathe, Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas, public school districts allegedly allowed students to participate in sports and use restrooms that align with their gender identity. The districts also permitted teachers to maintain confidentiality with transgender students. -
Missouri Republican lawmakers seem to have all the leverage to gerrymander congressional districts in September, with the explicitly partisan aim of making it difficult for Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to win reelection. But if they succeed, it could unleash a torrent of legal and political consequences.
Government
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Emily Brown runs a nonprofit in the Kansas City area. She is a black woman who wears her hair naturally. In 2016, she was invited to speak at a national… -
Taxpayers in Kansas City, Missouri, have a chance between now and March 3 to influence how the city spends their money.Mayor Quinton Lucas released his… -
As city and state governments across the country legalize marijuana, Kansas City’s mayor wants to make it easier to clean the slate for people convicted… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas is unmatched in its tracking of ex-convicts, resulting in more than 21,000 people convicted of sex, drug or violent crimes being… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — When it comes to cybersecurity, most Kansas counties are behind. Overall, only eight county websites end in .gov, a domain extension… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s transportation plan isn’t as bold as those that came before it.Since the 1990s, Kansas has spent tens of… -
Kansas is slipping to the back of the pack on some critical economic measures. In this episode of Statehouse Blend Kansas, host Jim McLean talks with… -
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says that without focusing on basic city services in 2020, any goodwill that’s been built up means nothing.“I can say… -
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is set to release his proposed budget Thursday, and it’s roughly $3 million short of what transportation officials say… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — Wendy Couser, a former juvenile intake officer at the Newton Police Department, has always believed in the importance of consequences.…
Elections
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Missouri residents voted to legalize abortion, overturning one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation. They also voted to raise the minimum wage and send Josh Hawley back to the U.S. Senate. In Kansas, voters reelected Sharice Davids to the U.S. House. Plus, Kansas City and Johnson County voters made big decisions about their top law enforcement officials. -
Flash floods led to the deaths of two poll workers in Wright County. -
Around 79,000 eligible Kansas voters are naturalized citizens. Their vote could help decide close races. -
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Missouri and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Kansas (although Johnson County opens an hour earlier!). With the U.S. presidential race at the top of the ticket, and a critical abortion rights amendment plus statewide and congressional races below, it's a stacked election. We break down the races on both sides of the state line.
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Missouri polling places are open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. See live primary election results for U.S. president, Senate, governor, and statewide ballot issues like abortion rights and sports betting. -
Kansas polling places are open from at least 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. See live election results as they come in for the U.S. presidential election, U.S. House and more. -
Students at Guadalupe Centers High School have spent weeks learning about specific races, ballot measures and candidates — even though many of them can't vote yet. -
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have used vastly divergent communication strategies this election cycle. A rhetoric professor explains to KCUR's Up To Date what he is seeing from both campaigns. -
Do you have a valid voter ID for Missouri or Kansas? Or know what you cannot wear inside a polling location? Anne Calvert, president of the local League of Women Voters, shares what you need to know as we near the last days to vote. -
Racist and nativist rhetoric has made headlines in the 2024 election, and immigrants and refugees around Kansas City have taken notice. Plus: One of Missouri's few openly gay Republican lawmakers says his vote on transgender rights cost him his party's support — and reelection.
