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Rural communities have been turning to nonprofits and other strategies to keep grocery stores open. But one of those new stores is closing in Kansas, which shows how challenging it can be to provide food in small towns.

The Hickman Mills School District is trying to help fill its budget shortfall by asking voters to approve a $20 general obligation bond, and allow it to shift 30 cents of the district’s debt service levy into the operating levy. Voters will decide both questions in the April 7 election.

The biggest tasks left are the state budget, where Gov. Mike Kehoe has proposed a number of spending reductions, and a Republican plan to eliminate the income tax.

Independence, Missouri, residents will vote on April 7 for their next mayor and to fill two at-large city council seats. Recent debates over tax incentives for a massive data center could factor into the election.

Music is a part of many peoples’ everyday lives but the benefits of listening aren’t just recreational. A professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center is researching new ways to use music to ease that incessant ear-ringing, concussion symptoms and more.

A mural depicting hamburger-like UFOs at the Cozy Inn in Salina, Kansas, is at the center of a dispute that could end up going before the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue: Is it a work of art protected by the First Amendment? Or is it an advertisement subject to the city’s sign code?

The Kansas News Service interviewed lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about their use of AI chatbots in the legislative process. There are no restrictions on lawmakers using ChatGPT, Claude and other services.

Wyandotte County has experienced catastrophic floods for decades, causing millions of dollars in property damage as well as loss of life. With a multi-year levee improvement project set to be done this fall, some residents and experts say more attention must go to the impact of decaying underground infrastructure.

Three students at Derby High School, southeast of Wichita, tell us why they participated in an anti-ICE walkout at their school.

Child welfare advocates say Kansas foster care regulations unintentionally tear families apart. State law forced one family to decide between asking their adopted son to move out when he turned 18 or send four younger boys out of their foster home.

Some Missouri lawmakers say a free market for energy could curb prices by allowing customers to shop around for better rates. But the state's largest electric companies, Ameren and Evergy, both oppose the plan.

The National Museum of Natural History commissioned Missouri artist Gary Staab for a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Staab sculpted three bison on a heroic scale.