Getting By in KC
KCPT and the Hale Center for Journalism present “Getting By,” a series of stories and discussions examining the impact of inequality in Kansas City.
A call for help, from the helpers
Holding her daughter Ravaira close to her, Lajua Manning smiles as she looks out the window. A full-time student training to be a registered nurse, Manning, also a full-time mom, has worked full-time as a certified nursing assistant for five years. She says the juggle may be the hardest thing she has ever done. But there’s…
Minimum Wage increase: Rally cry heard from Westport to NYC
As it turns out, $13 an hour is not enough for Kansas City fast food workers.
Getting By In Retirement
Patricia Corry, 79 “Whatever is coming down the pike, is coming down the pike” [FLEX-CONTENT] Originally from Canada, Patricia lived in Texas before moving to Kansas City. A self-described “fatalist and eternal optimist,” Patricia tries to take retirement day by day. She spends part of her time working for Reconciliation Services. Hear Patricia’s story: …
Upside Down-Land: Bitter Harvest
As Cerner and other businesses use TIF to ensure their growth, Kansas and Missouri keep squeezing their poorest citizens.
Upside Down-Land: Cerner's TIF Transplant
Neal Patterson personifies 21st-century Kansas City entrepreneurialism. He is his generation’s Henry Bloch or Joyce Hall, the head of a company he started from nothing — Cerner Corporation — and made KC’s most prosperous business. Cerner, a health-information technology firm, makes more than $3 billion a year. The company’s market capitalization — the value of…
Who says no one gets a free lunch? USDA program brings exactly that to KC kids.
On a recent scorching July afternoon in front of the De Soto Aquatic Center, a young boy is shouting out his lunch choice, as his parents look on in amusement. “I want the jammy sammy!” Of course he is choosing the PB&J over the more sophisticated fruit and cheese plates also on offer at this…
Many Americans are staying away from banks
LaJua Manning works 40 hours a week, and sometimes more than that. She’s a certified nursing assistant, working nights to take care of bedridden patients. Still, she struggles to make ends meet for her and for her two-year-old daughter. When the paychecks do come in, Manning doesn’t deposit them in a bank. In fact, she…
Kansas City Week In Review Tackles the Minimum Wage Decision
In the most recent episode of “Kansas City Week in Review,” host Nick Haines and a guest panel discuss the council’s decision last week to raise the city’s minimum wage. Also, “Week In Review” weighs in on the National Council de La Raza convention, Kansas tax hikes, the exodus of teachers from Kansas, and the gay…
City Council Sends A Message With Minimum Wage Increase
Kansas City’s decision to raise the minimum wage is a bid by council members to take a stand for low-income working Kansas Citians and to be “on the right side of history,” even as council members acknowledged the legal onslaught that may be in store.
Attacking infant mortality in Wyandotte County
After Ashley Anderson gave birth to her daughter, Jade Marie, the nurses placed the little girl on her mom’s chest. She says she remembers her newborn looking serene, with delicate lashes, her eyes gently closed. The heart-breaking truth – as Anderson had learned during the delivery – was that Jade had died in the womb….