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Celisa Calacal/KCUR 89.3The 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. -
Celia Llopis-Jepsen/Kansas News ServiceThe Kansas Supreme Court’s decision to reject an appeal from Attorney General Kris Kobach allows the state to resume a process that had been in place for more than 20 years.
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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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
State Senate Democratic Leader Doug Beck said Gov. Mike Kehoe should not have authorized a deployment just hours before the federal shutdown. -
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. -
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. -
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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Kansas City’s new snow removal process has been tested as the city experienced several snowy days in recent weeks. -
CEO and Mayor Tyrone Garner discusses corruption within the police department, redistricting, taxes and infrastructure. -
One bill would revoke the licenses of doctors who prescribe any form of medical gender-affirming care for minors, such as hormone replacement therapy. -
Clay County lawmaker is sponsor of legislation to close a legal loophole in Missouri statutes.
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The legislature is being asked to update incentives policies for the multi-billion dollar deals of the 21st century. -
Journalist George Packer tackles the ideologies that have brought America to its current divide. -
Kansans can expect lawmakers to address some contentious issues including COVID-19 policies and Critical Race Theory. -
Abortion, vaccine mandates, and redistricting among the issues being addressed in Jefferson City -
Congressman says former President Trump bears the majority of the blame for the insurrection. -
Politicians and voters remain clearly divided over the insurrection, the events leading up to it and its lasting effects on democracy.
Elections
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The departing GOP official made a major splash in his short time as Missouri attorney general. -
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. -
Few election cycles in living memory have been quite as chaotic as the 2024 presidential election. A new book from journalists Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen looks at what happened behind the scenes in Washington as the campaign unfolded. The authors are in Kansas City for an American Public Square event on Wednesday. -
President Trump recently announced his intent to "lead a movement" to end mail-in ballots and the use of voting machines in states' elections. Both are used extensively in Missouri and Kansas, and election officials weigh in about what those changes would mean. -
A new Missouri law requires the school district to get voter approval to continue the four-day week. But whether Independence voters will weigh in on keeping the shorter schedule may depend on the outcome of a lawsuit the school district filed against the state. -
White sent a letter to all Jackson County employees Wednesday announcing his decision — and then, the next day, announced he had been battling kidney cancer. -
Legal experts say President Trump lacks the constitutional authority to stop states from offering mail ballots. Both Missouri and Kansas currently allow absentee voting by mail, but Kansas Republican lawmakers recently made it harder by eliminating a three-day grace period. -
Voters in Prairie Village, Kansas, will be faced with an unusual question on their ballots in about three months: Shall the city abandon the mayor-council form of government? We'll hear about how a fight over zoning and housing wound up in a legal battle over the city government's structure itself. -
Bailey’s short tenure as attorney general was defined by confrontation with the federal government and local officials, as well as accusations of corruption, incompetence and grandstanding. -
Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg is visiting Kansas City to speak at an American Public Square event. He spoke with KCUR’s Up To Date about the issues he sees in the modern Democratic party — and why he believes younger leadership and a focus on grassroots organizing can help the party in future elections.
