These Midwest cities are cutting pesticides from public parks with the help...
Beyond Pesticides is working to help cities phase out the use of chemicals like weed killers from public outdoor spaces. Advocates and organizers hope it will make communities healthier.
View ArticleJean Peters Baker on her time as Jackson County Prosecutor
Jean Peters Baker is leaving office next month after 13 years as Jackson County's top prosecutor. In a recent exit interview, she said she's faced threats and criticism for her decisions — especially...
View ArticleKansas nears a ‘constitutional crisis’ as small-town lawyers become a scarcity
Cities, counties, courts and everyday Kansans are struggling to find legal help in rural Kansas. But there is a blueprint to fix it.
View ArticleWhat Kansas City, Kansas, residents want the nation to know about their...
KCUR and NPR spoke with 30 small groups of people around the country — including in Kansas City, Kansas — about what they'd want other people to understand about where they live, and what they want to...
View ArticleKansas City's longest-ever rent strike
Tenant union members at an Independence apartment building are in their third month of a rent strike. Has it been worth the risk? Plus: A Kansas native explains how Truman Capote and Harper Lee ended...
View ArticleBiden commutes federal death sentences of 4 men with Missouri ties
The men will now spend the rest of their lives behind bars. They were convicted of crimes near Forest Park and in Springfield.
View ArticleSearching for a Kansas City composer's stolen music
Kansas City’s Nora Holt was an accomplished pianist, composer, singer, music critic, and even a club-hopping socialite. She composed more than 200 musical works in her lifetime, but you've probably...
View ArticleWhat Kansas City, Kansas, residents want the nation to know about their...
KCUR and NPR spoke with 30 small groups of people around the country — including in Kansas City, Kansas — about what they'd want other people to understand about where they live, and what they want to...
View ArticleKansas City's biggest stories of 2024
What were the most important stories this year in Kansas City and Jackson County? We're discussing the fight over a downtown baseball stadium, the city's homicide and property crime issues, and the...
View ArticleKansans won't have to pay the state sales tax on groceries starting Jan. 1
In 2022, Kansas passed a three-year plan to reduce the state’s sales tax on groceries. Residents will still have to pay city and county grocery taxes.
View ArticleKansas has millions to help youth in the criminal justice system. But little...
Kansas created an evidence-based fund to help minors avoid the criminal justice system. With some community groups struggling to access the money, lawmakers are looking to make more changes.
View ArticleJohnson and Wyandotte County's biggest stories of 2024
Wyandotte County this year saw the death of ex-KCKPD officer Roger Golubski, budget cuts in the city government and concerns over high utility fees. Meanwhile, housing issues and homeless shelters, a...
View ArticleThis Kansas City group is providing critical medical care in Palestine: ‘Gaza...
The Palestinian American Medical Association, founded in Kansas City in 2013, works to ensure Palestinians have access to the health care they need. Since the current war began last year, their work...
View ArticleKansas City's arts community gets a fresh look with the relaunch of Forum...
Twenty-three years after the final issue of Forum magazine rolled off the presses, the Kansas City Artists Coalition’s local arts magazine is roaring back to life thanks to the efforts of a new editor....
View ArticleMissouri man indicted for federal hate crime after threatening NAACP chapter
Darryl Jaspering of Warrenton wrote a threatening message on the St. Louis NAACP’s contact page, tried to intimidate employees and threatened use of a weapon, alleges the indictment.
View ArticleJackson County Prosecutor calls on KCPD to fire officer who’s allegedly...
A report from the prosecutor examines officer-involved shootings by the Kansas City Police Department, focusing primarily on the killing of Donnie Sanders, an unarmed Black man, in March 2020.
View ArticleHow a Missouri lawmaker's grandkids inspired a bill allowing more people to...
The legislation allows Missourians with two-tenths of an acre or more to own up to six chickens. Missouri state Rep. Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis County, sponsored the bill — and his grandchildren Josie and...
View ArticleWatchdog group sues to get disbarred Kansas prosecutor's 'shocking' case records
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...
View ArticleWhat we're watching in Kansas politics in 2025
With a Republican-controlled legislature and a Democrat in the governor’s chair, 2024 was always going to be a contentious and complicated year in Topeka. That proved true on everything from taxes to...
View ArticleTeen dads need support. A new Kansas City program guides them through fatherhood
‘The overarching goal is to make sure they realize their life doesn’t stop just because they’re a teen father,’ said James Hogue, the founder of Dad Prep Academy.
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