Raytown

A Raytown parent created a program to match teachers with donors so they don’t have to spend their own money on classroom supplies. But then the district warned that teachers needed approval for crowdfunding efforts, and that anything they received were district property.

The free-to-use machine, called a Bluebox, has public health items like the naloxone product Narcan, fentanyl test strips, COVID tests, safe sex kits and more. It’s the third such vending machine in Jackson County, with more still to be installed.

More than half the renters living at a Raytown apartment complex recently ended a four-month rent strike against their landlord. Members of the Bowen Tower Apartments union share why the strike took place and what deal they managed to agree on.

Joe Mount and Tina McDonald are two leaders in the Bowen Tower Tenant Union, a union of renters in Raytown. After a months-long rent strike, they reached an agreement with their California-based landlord that includes lower rent and utility rates, plus commitments to fix longstanding maintenance issues.

Tenants at Bowen Tower Apartments began withholding rent last October. An agreement with the California-based landlord now includes lower rent and utility rates, and commitments to fix longstanding problems in the building.

The Bowen Tower Tenant Union began withholding rent at the beginning of October in response to repeated flooding, pest infestations and plumbing issues that tenants say go ignored by management.

Some of the deep geothermal wells from the heating and cooling system at Raytown South High School and the Herndon Career Center allowed methane to accumulate below a parking lot. But repairs are underway, and students returned to class this week.

Nearly 8 million borrowers on the SAVE plan face dramatic monthly payment increases as sweeping federal changes eliminate most income-driven repayment options. Kansas City-area borrowers could see bills jump by hundreds per month.

Kansas City Public Schools and three other districts saw bond issues passed by voters Tuesday, allowing them to fund construction projects and pay for maintenance. Five districts in the Kansas City area also held school board elections.

Missouri will hold municipal elections on April 8. Voters across the Kansas City area will weigh in on issues like investing in public safety, improving infrastructure and electing their school board members. Here's a guide to what's on your ballot, plus what you need to vote.

Celebratory gunfire is illegal under a new Missouri law, but police fielded dozens of calls after the AFC Championship win on Jan. 26. As neighborhoods brace for even bigger celebrations if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, police are saying the law is hard to enforce.

Fewer Kansas Citians are dying of drug overdoses for the first time in over a decade. A local public health worker and a community paramedic joined KCUR's Up To Date to explain what’s contributed to the turnaround and what needs to happen to keep this trend going.