Housing

People selected to be screened for housing vouchers from the Housing Authority of Kansas City last weekend say the event turned chaotic when they were forced to wait for hours. Plus: Families say Kansas Medicaid red tape cuts off kids from the medical equipment they need.

The city started Monday paying $12 an hour to people experiencing unstable housing to collect litter from some of the city's main thoroughfares. Workers will also get additional money to save toward future housing.

Since launching last June, right to counsel has helped hundreds of tenants avoid eviction, proof to advocates that the program is working.

Kansas City's municipal elections are coming up on April 4, with three ballot questions and three dozen candidates up for a vote. The election will determine the direction of the city for years to come.

Kansas City's lone furniture bank offers formerly homeless residents a free shopping spree to help make their new house into a home. Plus: Kansas is one of the biggest wind energy producers in the country, but the lights from thousands of turbines annoy some rural residents.

Chicago-based Mac Properties was seeking tax incentives from the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority for a $100 million apartment and retail project in Midtown with no units designated as "affordable." City Council rejected a similar request last year.

Flourish Furniture Bank started in a church basement and has since expanded to a 30,000 square foot warehouse, bursting with upcycled furnishings and home supplies. And thanks to its partnerships with Kansas City social service agencies, the shopping spree is entirely free.

With the end of pandemic-era housing protections, Midwest states are ramping up evictions again, which is causing a growing public health crisis. Since March 2020, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has increased nearly 18% percent in Missouri.

Two bills introduced in the Kansas Legislature were drafted by officials in Roeland Park, which has struggled for years to fully eliminate racist deed restrictions that are now illegal to implement but remain stubbornly on the books of homeowners' associations.

The Neck neighborhood was in the center of historic Independence, Missouri, and housed the biggest Black community in the city. When the Harry S. Truman Library was built to honor the president, urban renewal policies he put in place destroyed the neighborhood.

The Neck neighborhood was in the center of historic Independence and housed the biggest Black community in the city. When the Harry S. Truman Library was built to honor the president, urban renewal policies he put in place destroyed the neighborhood.

Dozens of tenants in a Kansas City apartment building were left without heat and electricity for days, while freezing temperatures took hold of the city. Even after the utilities were restored, residents blame an absentee landlord for the building's poor living conditions.