Government

Kansas City Council set the money aside to encourage small businesses, artists, and makers to move into the city's highly visible, but vacant, storefronts before the 2026 World Cup. “When visitors from all over the world visit next year, we need to be open for business,” one member said.

Some Kansas Citians on social media have criticized the way that the KCPD and Mayor Quinton Lucas responded to a march of masked white nationalists last weekend. In a wide-ranging conversation, Lucas defended his comments, as well as discussed the Royals' search for a new stadium, his recent trip to Qatar and fixing public transit.

The Kansas City Council has found its next city manager. Get to know Mario Vasquez, the first Latino to permanently hold one of most powerful positions in the city. Plus: Stay up to date with the latest political headlines from around the region.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson visited Kansas City on Thursday to accept the Good Neighbor Award from the Truman Foundation. She joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss what it is like to be a justice in this politically-charged era of government as well as her bestselling autobiography "Lovely One."

Kimiko Gilmore has filled in as Kansas City's acting city manager since Brian Platt was fired last month. She's now a finalist for the permanent job, and says the city needs to be "building confidence with the community."

President Trump's cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services will impact hundreds of millions of dollars in grant-funded projects around the country. Crosby Kemper, a former director of the Kansas City Public Library who served as IMLS director for four years, worries the agency will be eliminated entirely.

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to approve a $474 million bond for Kansas City Public Schools. On KCUR's Up To Date, Mayor Quinton Lucas reinforced his support for the bond, discussed the recent firing of City Manager Brian Platt and more.

Republicans in the Kansas Legislature are pushing a resolution that would put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in August 2026, that would require Kansas Supreme Court justices to be elected by the popular vote.

Workers who were hired in the past two years or recently got a promotion were fired for “performance reasons,” because they were listed as probationary employees. A judge ruled their firings illegal.

Thousands of probationary federal employees fired by the Trump administration must be offered job reinstatement within the next week, a judge has ruled, because they were terminated unlawfully. That likely includes many fired workers from the Kansas City region.

For more than 40 years, Mike Mahoney reported on government and politics for KMBC 9 News. Mahoney joined KCUR's Up To Date for the series "5 Questions."

Political scientists from universities in Missouri and Kansas are noticing more participation at town halls and legislative committee hearings since President Donald Trump took office last month. But whether that trend holds will depend on how future actions play out.