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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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Fighting fires has evolved, but federal safety regulations haven’t changed for nearly half a century. Now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed new safety standards. It's great news for career and paid firefighters, but volunteer departments say the new rules could bog them down with expensive and irrelevant regulations.
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The police raid on the Marion County Record potentially violated federal law and constitutional rights. It could leave taxpayers covering a big legal settlement.
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Mirroring federal legislation passed on Dec. 8, Missouri Rep. Chris Sander, a Republican from Lone Jack, has pre-filed a bill to recognize marriage between two individuals.
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The proposal by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft would threaten the funding of libraries over "non-age-appropriate materials" for minors. But former library administrators say the rules are "redundant and unnecessary."
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer's latest book examines the moral evolution of the 16th president from childhood through his time in office.
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The comprehensive collaborative plan would work on reducing homelessness not only in Kansas City but in the region.
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Kansas City attorney Stacy Lake has a plan to do better than the incumbent. That plan focuses on putting county residents first.
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David A. Paterson says he was ready to be governor, but the media's focus on his blindness obscured what he was trying to accomplish.
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Mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde have reinvigorated gun control advocates across the country. March For Our Lives rallies in hundreds of U.S. cities will take place Saturday to 'demand a nation free of gun violence.'
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A deep dive from the 2020 election through Joe Biden's first year as president reveals the struggle to hold the country together.
Elections
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The primary election for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas mayoral race is August 5. Up To Date spoke with three of the candidates.
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County legislators met Friday morning to override White's veto. The election, which follows years of frustration with White from county legislators and community members, is scheduled for Aug. 26.
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Wichita district officials say another bond issue is the only reasonable way to finance needed repairs and upgrades. Board members gave initial approval to put a new bond issue on next year's general election ballot.
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GOP lawmakers are trying again to exclude millions of non-U.S. citizens living in the states from census counts that the 14th Amendment says must include the "whole number of persons in each state." Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt and Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall are co-sponsors of one of the bills.
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Frank White Jr., a former star second baseman for the Kansas City Royals who won eight Golden Glove Awards during his career, infuriated county legislators and a citizens group with his veto. "Eight Golden Gloves mean nothing!" said the Rev. Dr. Vernon Percy Howard, leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. "Bench Frank White!"
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Business groups lobbied heavily to overturn Proposition A, passed by 58% of Missouri voters in November 2024, arguing it would cost jobs. The bill also repeals annual inflation adjustments for the minimum wage, which have been in effect since 2006.
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Jackson County’s top elected official is facing a recall election. County Executive Frank White Jr. says it’s a political vendetta, while lawmakers say it’s actually aboutproperty taxes. But will it actually happen next month?
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Jackson County's legislature has certified a recall election against County Executive Frank White Jr., although the date has yet to be determined. Legislative Chair DaRon McGee says the recall vote is about White's mishandling of property taxes, but White says the campaign against him is politically motivated.
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The election board says it is in limbo waiting for County Executive Frank White to sign or veto an ordinance unanimously approved Monday. There is not enough time to “build the election.”
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Republicans still support changing the process even after watching the most recent Supreme Court nominating process. Democrats say the process is working.