guns

As Kansas City heads toward a record-setting year for homicides, these Black women say guns are not the problem but a symptom of underlying problems. They're also buying guns and learning how to use them safely. Plus: A fatal illness spreading among cervid populations could cause Kansas to ban deer baiting.

As Kansas City heads toward a record setting year of homicides, these Black women say guns are not the problem but a symptom of underlying problems. They're also buying guns and learning how to use them safely.

For 30 years, a Jackson County tax has funded anti-crime efforts. But as gun deaths continue to climb, tracking the program's success can be challenging. Plus: coverage of homicides in Kansas City often centers victims. But the pain that stays with family and friends left behind is long-lasting and often overlooked.

Artists have long used their work to advocate for a better world, and these Kansas City creatives think that solutions to one of today’s biggest issues — gun violence — can be found through art.

For a third consecutive year, homicides in Kansas City are skyrocketing — and many of the victims are mothers. After shootings, headlines tend to focus on suspects, victims and charges. But what happens to the families left behind?

Between 2018 and 2020, more than 200 women in Missouri died during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth, according to a state health department report released this week. The number of deaths from suicide and firearms increased, and Black women were three times as likely to die as their white counterparts.

As he enters his second term, Mayor Quinton Lucas is on a mission to lower gun violence in City — but there's only so much he can do. Plus: River Hawk Boat Shop in Lee's Summit is crafting sleek, state-of-the-art racing boats that are in demand for the MR340, a 340-mile river race that begins at Kaw Point.

Kansas City is on pace to have more homicides this year than last, and reports of gun deaths are a weekly, if not daily, occurrence. But local leaders like Mayor Quinton Lucas say they’re restricted by state policies that make it impossible to pass local regulations — and they want to change that.

SleazyWorld Go, who calls Kansas City home, is one of hip-hop’s most exciting new voices. His songs about the city's epidemic of violence earned him a spot in XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2023. Plus: Kansas City physicians are preparing medical students for the inevitability of gun trauma.

The vetoed bill would have increased payments for Missouri prisoners who were freed after being found innocent, and expanded who is eligible for compensation. But Republican Gov. Mike Parson said the state should not have to pay for the mistakes of local prosecutors.

Joseph Isaac overcame his own obstacles to become the most popular artist from Kansas City in years. His songs depict the tragic bloodshed caused by an ongoing plague of violent crime, and earned him a spot in XXL magazine's Freshman Class of 2023.

The doctors, surgeons and psychologists of the Kansas City metro often see the worst parts of the area's growing problem with gun violence. Several of them are attempting to better prepare the medical students who work alongside them for the reality of dealing with this public health crisis on a day-to-day basis.