-
The Kansas City Council moved forward with a plan to build a modular jail with about 100 beds. Officials say the temporary facility is necessary, as plans to build a permanent municipal jail will take years.
-
Opponents fear that Kansas Republican lawmakers will break Johnson County into multiple Congressional districts in order to push out Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids. GOP leaders were at the White House this week after approving funding for a special session.
-
Lawmakers voted to repeal the Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act, a 1988 law now seen as a property rights violation and a barrier to a fresh start after prison.
-
The Cass County Republican represents a safe GOP seat in the Kansas City area and mid-Missouri. But that could change if the Missouri legislature decides to redraw the state's congressional districts.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Government
-
Proposition C supporters say changing the form of government will bring needed reform to the county while opponents say the problem is the current commissioners.
-
Lucas plans to enforce his rules, which allows businesses to increase their capacity to 50%, over more restrictive measures announced by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Thursday.
-
City voters have traditionally supported firefighters, but critics worry the city's tax burden is already too high, especially for low-income residents amid the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
-
An estimated 200,000 people could receive coverage if the program was expanded.
-
The fire department, whose employees include numerous relatives, had pressed for the changes
-
Councilmembers cited a memo by Police Chief Tim Schwartzkopf, who said he was against the ordinance because of the strains it was likely to put on his department.
-
Jackson County received nearly $123 million in the first round of CARES Act funding, but Kansas City didn’t receive a dime.
-
KCPD has curtailed contact with the public in order to protect investigators from COVID-19. At the same time, homicides and shootings are up over last year.
-
Lawmakers say they expect to come back soon, especially if Congress passes a bill allocating money to help state and local governments with budget shortfalls.
-
In 2018, voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment known as Clean Missouri, which included state redistricting and ethics changes.
Elections
-
Question 1 on Jackson County's Nov. 5 ballot would increase the average homeowner’s tax bill about $20 a year and bring in $8 million for senior services like free meals and transportation.
-
With Jackson County's senior services already straining for lack of funding, and the senior population expected to get even bigger, advocates are asking Jackson County voters to approve a property tax this November to help older adults age in place.
-
Aunque la población Latina de St. Louis y Missouri es todavía relativamente pequeña, está creciendo rápidamente. Los observadores políticos dicen que su voto podría ser cada vez más influyente en los años que vienen.
-
Though Missouri's Latino population is still relatively small, it’s growing rapidly. Political watchers say the vote could be increasingly influential in future elections, but reaching and convincing Latino voters is not simple.
-
State Sen. Denny Hoskins and State Rep. Barbara Phifer are running to become Missouri’s next secretary of state, the top election official in the state. Here's what they said on issues like absentee voting, mail-in ballots, initiative petitions and libraries.
-
Kansas law requires all ballots to arrive by three days after Election Day, with a postmark on or before Election Day. But to avoid delays with the U.S. Postal Service, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab is encouraging voters to drop their ballot off in person.
-
The Midwest Newsroom partnered with Emerson College Polling to ask registered voters in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska a wide range of questions ahead of the general election.
-
Democrats have long enjoyed support from organized labor, but many union members don’t feel a party allegiance any more. Missouri state Rep. Bill Allen, a Republican, and his opponent, Democrat Shirley Mata, a UAW member, both hope to win over dissatisfied voters.
-
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, is tackling political issues even as polarization burdens congregations across the country. Plus: Residents near the Lake of the Ozarks hope that approving a new casino could help bring in more tax revenue and fund some long-needed infrastructure projects.
-
Missouri voters: Oct. 9 is your deadline to register to vote for the November election. The deadline for Kansas is Oct. 15.