KNS

After a two-year court battle, Sniper 1 can finally be identified as Keaton Siebenaler. KCUR and The Midwest Newsroom have confirmed he departed the Joplin Police Department in August and graduated from the MSHP academy last week.

Even in the Midwest, the cost of life’s essentials is going up. Rising everyday expenses, including food, energy and transportation, are straining household budgets. We invite you to share how you are affording life in 2026 in a short survey.

When a low-income driver in Kansas fails to pay their traffic tickets on time, it could turn the fine into thousands of dollars of debt. Plus: Some Kansas districts are scaling back on screen time for students.

A report from an advocacy group reviewed 2,000 hospitals across the county and found only a quarter were fully complying with the federal hospital price transparency rules. In Kansas it's even less.

Police departments across Kansas are struggling to hire. In Dodge City, that means younger officers walking the beat.

Kansas voters will decide whether to strip abortion rights from the state constitution and open the door for a possible ban on all abortions. The political fight has ignited protests, contentious campaigns and a flood of political financing.

Communities of color here face a burden of medical debt that dwarfs what white people experience, and what people of color experience in many other states

State officials announced that Panasonic Energy chose Kansas for the plant because of its tax rates and taxpayer incentives.

Religious institutions normally avoid advocating during election cycles to protect their charitable status under federal law. But the Kansas constitutional amendment on abortion provides a rare opportunity for them to get actively involved.

Kansas is dealing with the most severe teacher shortage it’s ever known, and it's likely to be even worse by the fall. Plus, celebrate Sliced Bread Day in Missouri with the story of how one small town revolutionized our food culture — and then forgot about it.

The Kansas teacher shortage has been building for years. But new research by the RAND Corporation shows that the COVID-19 pandemic increased teachers’ levels of stress and burnout and may be accelerating the exodus.

A foster child was sexually assaulted while left unattended in 2018. Now, the state and its private contractor are settling in court.