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Provided photosThis year’s candidates for mayor include a 30-year attorney and a nonprofit executive. They told The Beacon about the biggest issues facing Wyandotte County, including property taxes, public safety, staff culture and affordability. -
Vaughn Wheat/The BeaconPrairie Village is divided on whether to construct a new municipal complex — mirroring a dramatic fight two years ago over housing and zoning. Nowhere is that conflict more apparent than in this year’s city council election.
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Employees at Missouri's food banks said the government shutdown's halt of food benefits could put a strain on their organizations, which have already seen an increase in demand this year. -
A new lawsuit accuses Missouri GOP lawmakers of trying to trick voters by writing an intentionally deceptive summary for a ballot measure that would make it much harder for voters to pass a constitutional amendment. -
The federal government remains shut down. Soon, that could affect Head Start educational programming and SNAP benefits in the Kansas City region. -
The Department of the Interior is currently blocked from carrying out its plan to terminate more than 2,000 positions. That includes nearly everyone at the Columbia Environmental Research Center, which has studied ecosystems, animals and toxic chemicals for more than 60 years. -
Because the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is funded by the federal government, the ongoing shutdown means states aren't getting that money. House Minority Leader Ashley Aune said it will be devastating for Missouri families. -
Rep. Sam Graves of Tarkio is trying to pass a major overhaul of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including taking it out of the purview of the Department of Homeland Security. -
A Missouri group is working to overturn the map that gives the state one more Republican seat in Congress. If they get enough signatures, the map cannot take effect unless Missourians approve them. -
Volunteers at protests across the state focused on collecting signatures for a 2026 ballot measure that would overturn Missouri's recent redistricting plan. The new map was drawn by Republican lawmakers to weaken Democratic voting power around Kansas City. -
"Free buses" is one of the big ideas that helped Zohran Mamdani win the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City. But in Kansas City, the bus system is going the opposite direction after years of free fares — mostly because of a lack of transit funding. -
Since 2023, access to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones has radically diminished in Missouri, thanks in part to national attention and political outcry. -
Catherine Hanaway recently returned to public office after nearly 20 years. As Missouri's attorney general, she’ll be handling major litigation involving abortion and congressional redistricting. -
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is arguing that the referendum is usurping the legislature's power to redraw congressional districts. But lawyers with the anti-redistricting group say Hanaway is "absolutely wrong" about the constitution.
Government
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After Compromise With Kansas City Schools, Waddell & Reed Will Get Fewer Tax Breaks To Move DowntownKansas City officials agreed to a scaled-back tax incentive package Thursday for financial services firm Waddell & Reed to build a new $140 million… -
TOPEKA, Kansas — A Shawnee County district judge was named Monday to one of the vacancies on the Kansas Supreme Court.Though the state’s most prominent… -
The weeks of secret and public hearings in Washington, D.C., are over, the articles of impeachment have been drawn up and the U.S. House is set to vote… -
Kansas City Chips Away At Tax Breaks For Waddell & Reed, But Schools Say They'll Still Lose MillionsWaddell & Reed will have a week to get city officials and Kansas City Public Schools on board with an incentive deal for its new headquarters.The Kansas…
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TOPEKA, Kansas — One solution to Kansas prisons’ woes could come with a $35 million price tag for three new specialty prisons.The state’s corrections… -
Kansas City is poised to become the largest city in the country to eliminate bus fares.The Kansas City Council on Thursday enthusiastically endorsed the… -
A consultant's report, written by two Los Angles murder investigation experts, is significantly changing the Kansas City Police Department's Homicide… -
Updated Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. with additional data— Missouri’s reporting system for adult abuse and neglect is undergoing significant changes after an… -
Holes punched in walls. Car headlights smashed. Windows broken. Weapons, threats, sexual comments. Children who can’t live with other children. Children… -
There is no doubt Jackson County has some monumental, vexing problems.The county jail is in desperate need of being replaced. The downtown courthouse…
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.
