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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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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. -
The working group established by Gov. Mike Kehoe to look at the regulations governing parole has met twice since a public hearing in June. Neither the public nor the media was notified of either meeting. -
Republican lawmakers say a 7-1 congressional map reflects Missouri's politics, but advocacy groups and state leaders believe efforts to redraw district lines are an affront to voters. -
Cleaver, an 11-term Democratic congressman, said he would not talk about running for a 12th term before "going to federal court," in response to Republican efforts to redraw the lines of the 5th District in favor Republicans. -
Lucas Cierpiot, a disability-rights activist, said he felt intimidated by the governor’s actions and too unsafe to attend any “No Kings” protests on June 14. -
Joining anti-Trump rallies across the country on Labor Day, workers, civil rights advocates and ordinary citizens gathered at Mill Creek Park Fountain on the Plaza. The Kansas City protests took aim at the president’s effort to maintain Republican control of Congress by altering blue districts to favor his party. -
A protest, led by organized labor in Missouri, is set for Monday at noon on the Plaza. They say the redistricting effort — which would carve up Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City district — violates the Missouri Constitution. -
President Trump has been pressuring Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session for mid-decade redistricting. Republican lawmakers hope to gerrymander congressional lines around Kansas City, diluting Democratic voting power and making it harder for Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to win in the 2026 midterms. -
One ballot campaign hopes to amend the Missouri constitution to declare education a “fundamental right.” The other would prohibit most public funding of nonpublic schools, including charters. Both accuse the state's top election official, Denny Hoskins, of trying to mislead voters. -
The new requirements won't affect Missouri drivers until a new system from the Department of Revenue is put in place. -
Boone County residents questioned Republican Rep. Mark Alford about his vote for Medicaid cuts in the "Big Beautiful Bill," Trump's deployment of the National Guard, and other GOP priorities. -
The St. Charles County Republican was a strong supporter in 2022 of drawing a map that would have made it much harder for Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to win another term representing Kansas City.
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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After a week of festivities in Chicago, the Democratic National Convention came to a close last night as Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president. We spoke with a Missouri delegate and a rhetoric professor to recap the event. -
The majority of itemized donations to Kunce and Hawley come from outside the state, making up more than half of the total each has raised. -
Advocates for abortion rights in Missouri say they are feeling cautiously optimistic about the statewide vote coming up in November. -
Missouri voters will decide in November whether to enshrine abortion rights into the state's constitution. Planned Parenthood Great Plains CEO Emily Wales expects a "tough fight," but says that people are eager to restore reproductive rights in the state. -
The Secretary of State’s office announced Tuesday that petitions for abortion rights, raising the minimum wage and legalizing sports betting had enough signatures to go on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. -
Amendment 7 on Missouri's November ballot would ban ranked-choice voting and amend the state constitution to declare that only citizens can vote — which is already illegal. Critics say the language is "ballot candy" aimed at deceiving voters. -
From Wesley Bell's win over Cori Bush to Mike Kehoe's GOP gubernatorial victory, here's a look at some of the key questions answered in Tuesday's primary. -
Missouri and Kansas voters went to the polls Tuesday for a number of primary elections. Among the winners was U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Lucas Kunce, who faces an uphill battle to unseat Republican incumbent Josh Hawley in November. He joined KCUR's Up To Date to talk about the race. -
Kansas state Rep. Marvin Robinson got only 22% of the vote in a crowded 35th House District primary race that focused on a range of issues beyond transgender rights. -
Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring Kansas City to increase its funding to the KCPD, but rejected a measure allowing property tax exemptions for child care centers. And the contenders are set for November's elections for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Missouri governor and other statewide races.
