Kansas City Council

For five years, Kansas City has required developers to set aside affordable housing units if they get a tax break — but Port KC undermined that rule by offering its own incentives. Under a proposal by Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City Council is considering slashing the fee by 95%.

Kansas City previously honored farmworker advocate and union leader César Chávez with murals and a street in his name on the Westside. But some community leaders are reconsidering after a bombshell investigation accused him of sexually abusing multiple girls and women.

The Kansas City Council is considering an ordinance that calls for barring the sale of single-serving bottles of alcohol in five parts of town. The city believes the plan could curb public safety problems like violence, loitering and other crime near liquor stores.

After Kansas City's finance department warned of a $100 million budget deficit, city leaders made some trims to spending. But tough decisions lie ahead, as Kansas City opens budget hearings to the public this week.

Kansas City adopted stricter energy conservation codes in 2023, hoping that neighboring cities would follow its lead. Instead, it may have become a competitive disadvantage, as Kansas City saw a drop in building permit applications while its neighbors saw big spikes.

An ordinance set to go before the Kansas City Council would ban small and individual bottles of alcohol and malt beverages to help lower crime in targeted areas of the city. The owner of one convenience store says limiting sales only hurts his business and customers.

Legal settlements paid by the Kansas City Police Department for fatal shootings and other excessive force cases are among the reasons Chief Stacey Graves has called for “drastic” cuts. The mayor and city council will soon attempt to take back some control of the purse strings.

Kansas City, Missouri, became the first major city in the U.S. to repeal its anti-jaywalking ordinance, after research found that tickets were being disproportionately issued to Black men. It’s a full-circle moment, because Kansas City was also the first city to criminalize jaywalking more than a century earlier.

A group of Kansas City musicians has been tasked to review a city-wide music strategy and draft recommendations for how to implement it. One of the goals is to enhance Kansas City’s music economy — and that includes possibly standardizing much musicians get paid for live performances.

Port KC commissioners voted to terminate and refrain from any negotiations with Platform Ventures. The company owns a south Kansas City warehouse rumored to be part of a federal plan to convert such spaces into immigration detention facilities.

On Thursday morning, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement toured a warehouse in south Kansas City with aims to hold detainees there. By the afternoon, city lawmakers put in place a measure to stop such detention centers from being approved.

Kansas City elected officials are bracing for a challenging 2026 legislative session. Here’s what they hope to see passed — like World Cup funding — and what looks unlikely — such as local control of the KCPD.