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The state's new congressional map uses Troost Avenue as a dividing line, and groups majority Black neighborhoods in east Kansas City with rural communities in the middle of the state. Community leaders worry the new divide will mean the needs of underserved urban neighborhoods go ignored.
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Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe mobilized Guard members to assist ICE with "data entry, case management, and logistical support." Military experts say they also worry how these new deployments will affect recruitment and public trust.
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Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that Secretary of State Denny Hoskins' proposed ballot language was "fair and sufficient," even though it does not explicitly state that the constitutional amendment would again ban most abortions in Missouri.
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A 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.
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The 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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The office of Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is subpoenaing patient medical records, incident reports, “adverse event documentation” and more from Planned Parenthood. The organization called the request "nothing more than an attempt to harass" them and is fighting back in court.
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The St. Louis Democrat's decision sets up a nationally watched rematch against Congressman Wesley Bell, who defeated Bush in one of the most expensive primaries in American history. Pro-Israel groups had spent millions of dollars against her 2024 campaign.
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Shawn Koch saved hundreds of threatening emails from her ex, Christopher Koch. He threatened to kill her, get her fired, keep their children from her and ruin her life.
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Kansas 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.
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The 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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State Senate Democratic Leader Doug Beck said Gov. Mike Kehoe should not have authorized a deployment just hours before the federal shutdown.
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The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s collection.
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A group called "Stop The Ban" is already receiving six-figure donations for its effort to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal abortion rights in Missouri. The amendment was written by Republican lawmakers and is set to appear on the 2026 ballot.
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Fred Wellman is the host of the On Democracy podcast, which has been critical of the Republican Party gravitation to Donald Trump. He's the second candidate to join the Democratic primary for the 2nd District, which has become more competitive in recent years.
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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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TOPEKA, Kansas — When it comes to cybersecurity, most Kansas counties are behind. Overall, only eight county websites end in .gov, a domain extension…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.