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Jackson County Sports AuthorityKansas 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. -
Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri IndependentThe 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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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. -
Kansas City is a regional hub for federal offices and the almost 30,000 federal workers who make up the largest workforce in the area. Many of those workers are furloughed without pay, their agencies closed until the government reopens. -
Tuesday's election saw 85% of voters supporting the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr., which will set off a rush by county legislators to appoint his replacement. But White is asking the Missouri Supreme Court to stop the vote certification. -
Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins will have to rewrite the ballot summary for a proposed constitutional amendment a third time, because the judge ruled that it "fails to adequately alert voters" that the measure would ban abortion. -
The Unified Government could vote this week on an ordinance that would make it illegal for people to sleep outside on public and private property. But without a single overnight shelter in Wyandotte County, community groups say the crackdown will only worsen conditions for unhoused residents. -
The Democratic National Committee announced it will send people and money to Missouri, to help a referendum effort aimed at blocking a new congressional map from going into effect. -
White has served as county executive since 2016. Tens of thousands of signatures were gathered to trigger the special election, which White believes was called illegally. -
Kansas Republican lawmakers are circulating a petition for a special session to redistrict. The goal is to defeat the state's only Democrat in Congress. -
The move comes amid President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement practices garnering increasing criticism. Kehoe said that Missouri National Guard troops will help with "administrative, clerical and logistical duties." -
The federal shutdown will affect people across the United States. NPR's network of member stations explains what will be impacted and where. -
Federal Medicare and Medicaid regulations mandate staff vaccinations for employers that receive funding. But the high court ruled that Katlin Keeran was protected by a 2021 Kansas law making it illegal for employers to question the sincerity of religious beliefs for opting out of vaccines. -
A rarely-used maneuver could force a vote in the U.S. House on a bill requiring the Justice Department to publicly disclosed unclassified records and documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver has signed onto the petition, but of Missouri's GOP representatives, only Rep. Mark Alford says he will vote to advance the bill.
Government
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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
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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.
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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. -
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, is tackling political issues even as polarization burdens congregations across the country.
