Savannah Hawley-Bates
Missouri Government and Politics ReporterAs KCUR's local government reporter, I’ll hold our leaders accountable and show how their decisions about development, transit and the economy shape your life. I meet with people at city council meetings, on the picket lines and in their community to break down how power and inequities change our community. Email me at savannahhawley@kcur.org.
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The Kansas City metro is under a winter storm warning. It's expected to see snow and bitterly cold temperatures starting Friday evening, which will affect city services and people’s ability to drive. Missouri's governor has issued a state of emergency. -
The zoning change is the first regulation on where data centers can be built in the city. Advocates see it as the first step in limiting the AI data center boom. -
A data center in the Crossroads is using the clean energy loan for its chilling equipment. Supporters hope that the loans will encourage the projects to be more environmentally friendly. Critics want the city to do more to regulate the developments. -
For the last five years, Kansas City has been transforming street infrastructure and redesigning roads through the Vision Zero program. Advocates applaud the progress, but want to see even more money dedicated to underserved neighborhoods. -
Around 80% of bus stops across the metro do not have somewhere for riders to sit. Even fewer have a shelter. An interactive map from KCUR shows where to find amenities at each bus stop in the metro, and what the area transit agencies are doing to add more. -
Gail McCann Beatty was removed from office in November after a county-wide vote to make her position elected, rather than appointed. In a lawsuit, she claims her firing was retaliatory. -
The city is giving the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority an additional $13 million as part of a contract agreed on in August. But the KCATA still plans to cut two bus lines and limit hours on more than a dozen others. -
Kansas City’s transit agency is getting rid of its CEO after years of budget problems and route cutsFrank White III has led the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority since 2022. The KCATA board decided to not renew his contract amid high tensions between the agency and Kansas City, and a looming fiscal cliff that has threatened service cuts multiple times this year. -
The Panasonic plant in De Soto, Kansas, shut down after officers shot a person suspected of stabbing another. The suspect is dead, and the stabbing victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition. -
The tax credits are meant to provide relief for the contested 2023 assessments, which led to skyrocketing property taxes. They previously did not apply to homeowners who had agreed to a new rate after an appeal.
