Wyandotte County

Emails show behind-the-scenes conflict as the Kansas City-area tuberculosis outbreak grew to one of the largest in U.S. history. The county's health director is no longer with the agency as of Tuesday.

El brote de tuberculosis comenzó en enero del año pasado. Los funcionarios de salud de Kansas dicen que los números están tendiendo a la baja, pero aún esperan encontrar más casos.

A tuberculosis outbreak that started in Wyandotte County, Kansas, has grown to be one of the largest in the U.S. since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started tracking the illness in the 1950s. We'll discuss the disease, what we know about this outbreak's origins, and who's at risk.

Kansas has reported one of its largest tuberculosis outbreaks since the 1950s, beginning in Wyandotte County. But infectious disease expert Dr. Dana Hawkinson says the risk to most residents is "extremely low."

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation officially concluded suicide was the former detective's cause of death, although it could not say how he obtained a gun. Golubski died the hour his federal trial was set to begin on charges of violating the civil rights of multiple women.

The outbreak started last January. Kansas health officials say numbers are trending downward, but they still expect to find more cases.

Persistent cold this month has meant more unhoused people in the Kansas City area have needed warm, safe places to spend the night. But neither Johnson or Wyandotte counties have enough beds, and consistently have to turn people away.

A patchwork of counties and cities huddled around the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers makes it harder to develop affordable, efficient public transit in the Kansas City region. Transit funding decisions get handled within each jurisdiction, with little or no coordination between them, and the KCATA has no power to levy taxes.

The Kansas-Missouri border splits Kansas City, and divides the metro region more evenly, and sometimes problematically, than any American metro region cut in two by a state line.

In an unusual court proceeding that began in October, the ACLU and other attorneys asserted that Kansas' death penalty law should be struck down because prospective jurors must be willing to impose capital punishment to serve — meaning that Black jurors get disproportionately excluded.

Even if you've lived in Kansas City for ages, the metro area continues to surprise with places for eating, exploring and spending the day — some of which deserve a lot more recognition. What are the best-kept secrets worth a trip outside the city?

Terra Morehead, who was disbarred by the Kansas Supreme Court in April 2024, was involved in several legal scandals including a high-profile case investigated by former Kansas City, Kansas, Police Detective Roger Golubski.