Jackson County

Abarca ganó con facilidad las elecciones primarias demócratas para el distrito 1, que tiene la mayor concentración de residentes hispanos en el condado de Jackson.

Abarca handily won the Democratic primary for the 1st District, which has the highest concentration of Hispanic residents in Jackson County.

Republicans have gotten most of the attention in the U.S. Senate primary in Missouri, but August 2 also has a competitive Democratic primary too. Plus, one candidate hopes he will become one of the few elected Hispanic officials in Jackson County.

Only about 51% of Gen Z citizens voted in the November 2020 election, the lowest turnout rate for any generation. But younger candidates say they see less engagement among their peers because their concerns are being ignored by politicians.

Kansas City attorney Stacy Lake has a plan to do better than the incumbent. That plan focuses on putting county residents first.

Jackson County's 1st District has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents in the county — but that's not reflected in the county legislature.

Incumbent Missouri Sen. Mike Cierpiot is facing primary challengers from the right, who criticize him for being "worst Republican in our area." But his campaign priorities tend to line up even with his opponents.

Legislators had been concerned with what they said was a lack of transparency about the new detention center.

The Missouri Supreme Court sent a case involving the Second Amendment Preservation Act back to a lower court on Tuesday. The ruling lets St. Louis and Jackson County argue that the law, which prevents police in Missouri from cooperating with federal officials to enforce gun regulations, is unconstitutional.

Residents of Heart Mobile Village were required to relocate by February so the county could move forward with a new detention center. While Jackson County allocated about $2.5 million to help residents relocate, some say officials haven't lived up to their promises.

Facing a budget shortfall in 2020, Missouri cut 200 jobs at the Department of Social Services including positions in the division overseeing abused and neglected children.

Medicaid expansion in Missouri was supposed to give thousands of Kansas City area residents access to critical health care. But the rollout is going so slowly, many are postponing medical care. At the same time, GOP lawmakers in Missouri are actively trying to defund the program — again.