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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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The Kansas Court of Appeals decision reverses a district court order that prohibited transgender people from changing driver's licenses to reflect their gender identity. -
Mayor Quinton Lucas called the action by Republican Mike Kehoe an "unnecessary escalation." He also criticized the state's lack of response when a white nationalist hate group marched through Kansas City last month. -
The “No Kings Day of Defiance” was organized nationwide at the same time a military parade will mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary in Washington, D.C. The date also coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday as well as Flag Day. -
The U.S. House voted Thursday on a rescission bill to claw back money for foreign aid programs, along with the next two years of funding for the public media system. The measure now goes to the Senate. -
The city of Prairie Village wants to move ahead with a new $30 million municipal complex, but a vocal group of residents say the public deserves more input. Signs with the message "Let Prairie Village Vote" have begun popping up in yards across town. -
The Missouri House closed the special session Wednesday with votes to finance professional sports stadiums in Kansas City and disaster relief. -
Bills that would help fund new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals and provide $100 million in storm relief for St. Louis passed out of committees. If the House does not make any changes, the bills could pass the entire legislature on Wednesday. -
The bill has been called “Trey’s Law,” referring to the late Trey Carlock, who died by suicide in 2019 after being sexually abused at the Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps. It passed as part of a larger public safety package. -
Trump's decision opens up individual aid for people affected by the deadly tornado that devastated parts of the St. Louis region. -
Kansas lawmakers inserted language in the state budget that would restrict what food benefit recipients can buy. Critics say that defining what counts as unhealthy food and drinks is tricky, and the current ban has glaring loopholes. -
Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin stepped down as chair of the Missouri Freedom Caucus just days after voting in favor of a Kansas City stadium funding deal. The conservative group criticized the plan as a "handout to billionaire sports team owners." -
Businesses along Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, are taking a hit as customers stay home and cut back on spending. "I don’t know what will happen,” one business owner said. "It's scary."
Government
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Even though it’s the offseason, Kansas Rep. Rui Xu says being a legislator is a full-time job.Over the course of a week, on top of his part-time gig as a… -
A growing coalition of groups and citizens wants Wyandotte County to become the first place in Kansas to issue local identification to residents.Advocates… -
The head of the embattled Missouri Public Defender System is stepping down after more than four years on the job. Michael Barrett said he’s resigning… -
Underwire bras may still be setting off the metal detectors at the Jackson County jail, but the standoff over the issue, nicknamed “bra-gate,” has ended —… -
Dave Hardy, an attorney in private practice in Arizona, thinks this is the term when the Supreme Court finally decides whether a constitutional right to… -
The federal public defender's office in Kansas says it’s entitled to nearly $224,000 in legal fees because of prosecutor misconduct in an explosive case… -
People from all over Kansas City packed a city council hearing Wednesday to support a change in the city's marijuana laws. The committee delayed a… -
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:15 p.m. to include comments from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.Kansas City, Missouri's longtime City Manager… -
On Friday, when Jerry Bausby got two life sentences for the sexual assault and murder of his 18-year-old daughter, it was the culmination of three years…
Elections
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Voters in Independence, Missouri, will consider whether to approve a $197 million general obligation bond on April's ballot. The majority of the money would fund building a new police campus, but money for infrastructure and the city's youth sports complex are also under consideration. -
Kansas City is asking voters to buy into its public school system for the first time in nearly 60 years. Even after Kansas City Public Schools regained accreditation and turned the tide of student performance, crumbling buildings offer a persistent reminder of the city's disinvestment. It's a relationship strained by decades of racism, a history-making desegregation case and plenty of internal turmoil. -
Voters in the Park Hill School District will see two tax measures on their April 8 ballot. Proposition G would raise the operating tax rate to support teacher salary increases. Proposition O would allow the district to borrow money for building renovations and replacements. -
The bond question in North Kansas City's April 8 election would help build new performing arts centers and two high schools and fund renovations at middle schools. The district says the tax rate would stay the same whether or not voters approve the bond. -
The bond plan calls for building new elementary schools, major renovations and reopening Southwest High School as a middle school. Kansas City voters have not passed a bond for KCPS since the 1960s, and the district has been left with more than $600 million worth of repair needs. -
A proposed state constitutional amendment would require Kansas Supreme Court justices to be elected rather than appointed by the governor. -
El impuesto a las ventas de seguridad pública de Kansas City se ha utilizado para apoyar al departamento de policía y los servicios médicos y de emergencia. El alcalde Quinton Lucas y otros funcionarios quieren que los votantes lo renueven para que la ciudad pueda usar el dinero para construir una nueva cárcel y un centro de rehabilitación. -
After years of legal fights, Westwood residents are voting in a special election to decide the fate of Joe D. Dennis Park. The small patch of land has come to encompass tensions over city power, green space, development, and First Amendment rights. -
Kansas City’s public safety sales tax has been used to support the police department and emergency and medical services. Mayor Quinton Lucas and other officials want voters to renew it so the city can use the money to build a new jail and rehabilitation center.
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Missouri voters approved Proposition A by a martin of 15% and more than 445,000 votes. But business groups argue that the ballot measure violates state law.
