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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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Scientists in the Columbia, Missouri, lab have studied the relationship between animals, toxic chemicals and ecosystems since the 1960s. Today, research of PFAS, invasive and endangered species and other environmental risks could end if this part of the U.S. Department of Interior is defunded. -
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach alleged that the Olathe, Shawnee Mission, and Kansas City, Kansas, school districts are violating federal law by not properly notifying parents of their students’ gender identity. -
At issue was whether school systems are required to provide parents with an "opt-out" option when parents claim their religious beliefs conflict with their children's course material. -
The decision issues some limits on the power of federal judges to universally block President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship, asking lower courts to reconsider their rulings. -
Business leaders don’t mind if Chiefs or Royals move to Kansas — as long as they’re near Kansas CityThe Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce hosted an online presentation downplaying the border question days before teams must decide on Kansas stadium offer. -
The Missouri Hospital Association strongly opposed a plan to cap medical provider taxes at 3.5 percent. The tax helps hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies pay to treat low-income patients. -
Missouri is among several states that have tried to remove Planned Parenthood clinics from state Medicaid programs, even though Medicaid funds cannot generally be used to fund abortions. -
Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee pushed back against the Trump administration's bid to rescind federal funding for public broadcasting and international aid programs. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt spoke in favor of revoking funding. -
Kansas' ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender minors takes effect next year. This family is trying to navigate the changes — and give their daughter a normal teen life. -
Rising housing costs have put property taxes are calculated under the microscope, with lawmakers looking to provide relief to taxpayers without bankrupting local governments. A property tax cap included in the governor’s stadium funding plan may not be constitutional. -
Critical mineral producers in Missouri are exploring extraction methods as international trade policies fluctuate, and the president's tariff regime plays out. -
Federal lawmakers from Kansas have introduced legislation that would transfer control of Haskell Indian Nations University from the U.S. Department of Interior to Haskell’s Board of Regents but continue federal funding for the school.
Government
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Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says she will decide whether to extend the statewide stay-at-home order “later next week.” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says most businesses should be able to open May 4. -
The lawsuit accuses Smithfield of refusing to change its practices at its plant in Milan, Missouri, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. -
Protesters ringed the state Capitol in Topeka to press Gov. Laura Kelly for an end to her stay-at-home order. -
Kansas will have to plug a $1.3 billion budget shortfall between now and June 2021, but the state will have to be careful about where it makes cuts. -
Judge ruled state health department 'purposely' violated Sunshine Law in a case brought by a genealogical research service. -
Amid Economic Uncertainty, Kansas City, Missouri, Approves $72 Million To Replace Buck O'Neil BridgeThe Kansas City Council approved millions of dollars in expenditures, despite uncertainty over how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect tax revenues. -
Missouri's governor said he will look at metrics like testing availability and hospital capacity to decide how to ease restrictions. -
The state audit calls into question the sale of a county building for $10 after spending more than $1 million on renovations. -
The coronavirus put tens of thousands of Kansans out of work, and left them frustrated when they try filing for unemployment benefits. -
Kansas' stay-at-home order was supposed to expire Sunday, but Gov. Laura Kelly extended it until at least May 1.
Elections
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During the Super Bowl, money changes hands based on the result of almost everything — the coin toss, the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach and even the length of the national anthem. Kansas' attempt to cash in on sports betting has yielded paltry results so far, and Missouri voters are considering a similar measure this November. -
Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the coalition behind Amendment 3, has raised more than $16 million since launching in January. The largest donations have come from four out-of-state progressive nonprofits that are supporting abortion rights campaigns in several states. -
Former President Trump was the target of what the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination” at his West Palm Beach golf club. President Biden said he was briefed and a person has been detained. -
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican who serves as the state’s chief elections officer, told Postmaster General Louis DeJoy there was cause to be “extremely concerned” about “a troubling pattern that persists in the U.S. Postal Service’s processing and handling of ballots.” -
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft decertified a November ballot measure to legalize abortion, and pulled it from the state website, before the Missouri Supreme Court had the chance decide whether it violated state law. -
Unhoused people face unique challenges in voting. Learn how to register to vote with a step-by-step guide tailored for homeless people in Kansas City. Here's how to get necessary documents like a birth certificate and state ID. -
The campaign behind the reproductive-rights amendment plans to appeal the decision, and as part of the judge’s stipulations, Amendment 3 will not yet be taken off the ballot -
An increasingly popular way for political campaigns to connect to voters is through text messaging. And while you may find them annoying — they're probably working. Plus, Kansas Democrats are hoping to flip enough seats in the state Legislature to get rid of the Republican supermajority. -
World renowned crop artist Stan Herd completed his images of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz on Sunday, on a farm near the Kansas River in north Lawrence. -
Missouri doesn’t have a particularly robust history of supporting third party or independent candidates. Jared Young, a member of the newly-formed Better Party, hopes to change that in the U.S. Senate race.
