politics

Christal Watson, the mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, joined Up To Date to discuss the Chiefs moving to her county, concerns from her constituents about property taxes and much more.

For many people, artificial intelligence and chatbots have become a part of daily life. That includes some Kansas lawmakers, who are using chatbots to help keep track of bills or gather information in a fast-paced legislative session — since they have no guidelines for responsible use of AI.

A resolution in the Missouri General Assembly, if approved, would create a process to eliminate the individual income tax as soon as 2032. It would allow for an expansion of some sales taxes to recoup funding lost as a result of lowering or eliminating this tax. Any resolution passed in the statehouse would have to be approved by voters.

People Not Politicians filed open-records requests to review the collected signatures and says the minimum number required for a statewide referendum should be validated by the Missouri secretary of state.

A bill filed in the General Assembly would make Missouri the 24th state to call on Congress to overturn Citizens United. The advocacy group pushing for the bill says similar measures have gotten bipartisan support in other states.

Kansas this week invalidated the IDs of transgender Kansans who changed the gender marker on their driver’s licenses or birth certificates. The ACLU is suing to stop the law, which also restricts bathroom use, saying it violates the constitutional rights of residents.

Dozens of U.S. House and Senate members boycotted President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. But both Cleaver and Rep. Sharice Davids, Democrats who represent the Kansas City metro, attended.

Three Kansas Citians who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 spoke with KCUR's Up To Date about the first year of his second term. Although Trump's approval numbers have declined overall, in part due to multiple controversies around ICE, supporters say his handling of the southern border and deportations has been “great.”

Since Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law a new congressional map that splits Kansas City into three districts, with the goal of ousting Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II from office, a handful of lawsuits and hundreds of thousands of petition signatures have been submitted in opposition. Two of those cases will be heard in court this week.

More than a year after Missouri voters narrowly approved the legalization of sports betting, the books are now open across the state. Missourians wagered more than $543 million in December, although the state made little tax revenue from that. Now a bill could legalize video lottery terminals.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined KCUR’s Up To Date to talk about his concerns regarding a possible ICE facility in Kansas City, his new role as the president of the Democratic Mayors Association, and Argentina choosing Kansas City as its home base for the 2026 World Cup.

Missouri lawmakers arrived this week in Jefferson City for the start of the 2026 legislative session, which runs until mid-May. Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing to eliminate the state income tax, but a smaller budget will likely force spending cuts.