broadband

North Kansas City built a fiber network almost two decades ago that it now uses to provide its residents with gigabit internet. Here’s how it happened and why other cities in the country are, or aren’t, trying to do the same.

States, local governments and internet providers have until Friday, Jan. 13 to challenge the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map. The map shows where service is and isn’t across the country.

Installing fiber-optic internet in sparsely populated places like western Kansas is extremely expensive, even with government subsidies. But some smaller, local broadband providers are finding ways to make it work where the big national companies have not.

The federal government is offering grant money to help address the problem, but small towns fear they lack the tech knowhow and resources to defend their systems and are daunted by grant applications.

The Missouri governor's State of the State address on Wednesday also included calls to invest $400 million in water and wastewater systems, investments in agriculture and telehealth upgrades and economic development.

As the Missouri legislature began its 2022 session, Gov. Mike Parson explained his priorities on spending federal dollars, congressional redistricting and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As President Biden visited the Midwest to tout the recently passed infrastructure measure, the Midwest Newsroom breaks down a regional “wish list,” and explains how some of the money will be spent.

Roughly $9 billion in federal funding has been allocated for Missouri's infrastructure needs. The director of the state's Department of Transportation explains where that money is going.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is giving $702,000 to help install broadband in central Missouri, but many utilities might lose out on the grants because of delays when ordering equipment and supplies to install high-speed internet.

Governor instead working on motivating Kansans to take advantage of state's plentiful supply of vaccines.

Using the internet was integral to getting through the pandemic, however, many in Kansas lacked a reliable connection.

What's keeping parts of Kansas from getting good internet service, and Waxahatchee on post-pandemic touring and her latest album.