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Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesThe Trump administration says it has started the process of issuing reduction-in-force notices to federal employees. It's not clear how many agencies are affected or how many people. -
Carlos Moreno/KCUR 89.3The Jackson County Legislature will appoint an interim county executive to serve until November 2026. Former County Executive Frank White Jr. was recalled by voters on Sept. 30, and former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes is serving for up to 30 days as temporary county executive.
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Overland Park is set to replace what flag experts had ranked as one of the worst city flags with a new design that evokes the city’s park identity. The old flag features a plain, white background with Overland Park's name and slogan. -
An open letter signed by a majority of Kanas bishops encouraged Kansans to see immigrants as humans, not criminals. Meanwhile, the Kansas Legislature is pushing the governor to "fully cooperate" with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. -
The audit into the city’s communications department investigated issues with transparency. The department was consolidated and controlled by former City Manager Brian Platt, who was fired in March. -
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.
Government
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The Kansas House of Representatives has stopped — at least temporarily — an all-out push by anti-abortion groups for a constitutional amendment that they… -
The Kansas House of Representatives has stopped — at least temporarily — an all-out push by anti-abortion groups for a constitutional amendment that they…
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TOPEKA, Kansas — The Kansas House narrowly rejected a constitutional amendment Friday that would have said there’s no right to abortion in the state… -
Kansas lawmakers are nearing decisions on two big issues — Medicaid expansion and a constitutional amendment on abortion. They’re also talking about how… -
Kansas City, Missouri, has finally agreed to hold up its end of the so-called economic border war truce with Kansas.The move on Thursday came more than… -
A near-record number of Americans died by gunshot in 2018 according to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.According… -
A federal judge has refused to sign off on a deal that would cap the number of cases Missouri’s public defenders are allowed to handle.U.S. District Judge… -
In this episode of Statehouse Blend Kansas, host Jim McLean looks at the legislative session. Lawmakers are already at odds on the hot-button issues of… -
In this episode of Statehouse Blend Kansas, host Jim McLean looks at the legislative session. Lawmakers are already at odds on the hot-button issues of…
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A 73-year-old Kansas prison dental instructor accused of sexually abusing inmates goes on trial Monday.Tomas Co, 73, taught inmates at the Topeka…
Elections
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The departing GOP official made a major splash in his short time as Missouri attorney general. -
Two county clerks report being contacted by the DOJ seeking access to election machines made by Dominion Voting Systems, the company at the center of false allegations of vote rigging during the 2020 presidential election. -
Few election cycles in living memory have been quite as chaotic as the 2024 presidential election. A new book from journalists Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen looks at what happened behind the scenes in Washington as the campaign unfolded. The authors are in Kansas City for an American Public Square event on Wednesday. -
President Trump recently announced his intent to "lead a movement" to end mail-in ballots and the use of voting machines in states' elections. Both are used extensively in Missouri and Kansas, and election officials weigh in about what those changes would mean. -
A new Missouri law requires the school district to get voter approval to continue the four-day week. But whether Independence voters will weigh in on keeping the shorter schedule may depend on the outcome of a lawsuit the school district filed against the state. -
Voters in Prairie Village, Kansas, will be faced with an unusual question on their ballots in about three months: Shall the city abandon the mayor-council form of government? We'll hear about how a fight over zoning and housing wound up in a legal battle over the city government's structure itself. -
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. -
Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg is visiting Kansas City to speak at an American Public Square event. He spoke with KCUR’s Up To Date about the issues he sees in the modern Democratic party — and why he believes younger leadership and a focus on grassroots organizing can help the party in future elections. -
Last November, Missouri voters approved a measure that raised the minimum wage and allowed employees to earn paid sick leave. But state lawmakers have ensured that in less than a month, the sick leave requirement is going away.
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Kansas Governor Laura Kelly only has one more year in office, and candidates are already lining up to replace her. We’ll learn about the crowded race to succeed the Democratic governor.
