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Abortion decision weighs heavily on Missouri Supreme Court judge retention races
If three Missouri Supreme Court judges had their way, voters would not have a say on whether to legalize abortion statewide on this year’s general election ballot. This November, those voters will have the option to use a power they’ve never used before — to boot two of those judges off the state’s high court. […]
Have a felony record? You still might be eligible to vote in Missouri
Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote. And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2. “I’ve had people that I […]
Why North Kansas City pays its residents’ internet bills, and your city doesn’t pay yours
Free internet? It sounds like a nice dream. We’d all love to ditch the $80 a month we pay for the ability to stream movies, do doctor’s appointments from home or check in on our cousin’s latest Facebook post. But in North Kansas City, residents get a steady online connection with no monthly bill. Anyone […]
Schools say a lawsuit targeting Jackson County property assessments would be ‘catastrophic’
School districts in Jackson County saw home property assessments leap by nearly a third — and add more heft to their tax bases. They set their property tax rates lower to reflect the beefier assessments — amid a furor from homeowners and politicians contending the numbers inflated the real value of properties in the county. […]
The Missouri legislature is cutting local governments’ power to pass their own laws
If Kansas City had its way, the local minimum wage would run $17 per hour, grocery stores would only use paper bags and you’d need to pass a background check to buy a gun in town. But politicians and businesses that see these policy ideas as threats to their authority or their bottom lines, shut […]
What the KC stadium tax defeat says about teams, their subsidies and Jackson County voters
The Royals and the Chiefs had everything. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce — fresh off of a Super Bowl victory — endorsed a “yes” vote in ads airing on TV and on YouTube. Endorsements rolled in from the city’s top political players: Mayor Quinton Lucas (belatedly), U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and nearly every union in […]
If voters OK taxes for a ballpark, Royals will ask city and state for up to $700M more
The proposed extension of Jackson County’s sales tax won’t be enough to pay for a new downtown Kansas City Royals stadium. So the team is in conversation with city officials and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to fill a $700 million funding gap with taxpayer dollars from Kansas City and the state. On April 2, Jackson […]
Does Kansas City overuse jails? Commission looks for better solutions
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story inaccurately reflected the kind of assault cases that appear before the municipal court. The story was updated on Sept. 27 to reflect that violent charges can include cases where a person intentionally inflicted harm on someone else. Kansas City Municipal Judge Courtney Wachal sent a letter to […]
Kansas City is trying to reduce energy use, but building owners won’t comply
Every year, Kansas City residents spend nearly 5% of their income on electricity, ranking the city among the most energy-cost-burdened in the nation. And the cost doesn’t only affect the wallet — energy consumption within buildings and homes causes nearly two-thirds of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. For years, Kansas City has focused on reducing energy […]
State control of Kansas City’s police has roots in the Civil War
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Kansas City is the only major city that lacks control over its own police department. The oft-stated rationale for state control is to prevent local partisan politics from interfering with the workings of the department. Champions of the unusual setup often cite the political corruption under […]
After decades of Democratic dominance, GOP optimistic in Jackson County executive race
This story was originally published by the Kansas City Beacon. Over the past seven years, Jackson County has seen three different county executives. After then-County Executive Mike Sanders resigned at the end of 2015 — and went to prison in 2018 for corruption — Fred Arbanas served for one week as interim executive until Frank White Jr. was […]
Goodwill for Ukrainian refugees is abundant in KC. But what about other refugees?
This story was originally published by The Beacon. It wasn’t long after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, sending more than a million civilians scrambling for safety, that resettlement organizations around the Kansas City area began receiving offers of refugee support. The messages were almost universally well-meaning. People offered financial donations and even volunteered to […]