News & Issues

Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.

A reveler participates in the famed Netherlands fan walk on June 25, 2026, in Downtown Kansas City. (Vaughn Wheat | The Beacon)

Preparations Aside, KC World Cup was Quiet for Hospitals, Police

Officials said months of planning will serve them well in the year’s to come through improved collaboration.

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Vice President JD Vance touches down in Kansas City for a visit on Monday. (U.S Air Force)

Nick’s Picks | Veep, Gerrymandering, Football and More …

Vance Lands in KC Again … Vice President JD Vance will make two stops in the Kansas City area today, his second visit to the metro in less than four months. The White House says Vance will visit a federal law enforcement facility in Kansas City, Missouri, to highlight the Trump administration’s crackdown on fraud….

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The Fight Against Forgetting 9/11

Schools, nonprofits, and firefighters work to ensure Kansas Citians remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.

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United in Opposition: The Bipartisan Response to Data Centers 

From Independence, Missouri, to Osawatomie, Kansas, data centers are angering residents and spurring bipartisan opposition.

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Independence voters head to the polls Tuesday in a recall election aimed at ousting City Councilman John Perkins. Opponents are angry that he voted for tax incentives for a data center under construction in the city. (The Beacon)

Nick’s Picks | Map, Recall, Trial and More …

The Missouri Supreme Court takes up a question about a local congressional district, an Independence councilman fights to keep his seat, and a long-delayed murder trial is set to get underway.

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Advocates Look to Make KCK Next Abandoned Housing Success Story

The Kansas Abandoned Housing Act is working in Leavenworth, and proponents are hopeful it will prove successful in Kansas City, Kansas, too.

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The only remains of Karleton Fyfe, one thighbone, are buried behind a church in Chapel Hill, N.C., not far from where he grew up.

25 Years Later, Still Trying to Make Sense of 9/11

Flatland columnist Bill Tammeus reflects on the “misguided, ugly and wildly destructive version of Islam” that drove the 9/11 hijackers.

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Nancy Kassebaum, the trailblazing former U.S. senator from Kansas.

Nick’s Picks | Call for Stadium Vote, Power Outages and More

Public Vote on Ballpark in Limbo Activist groups say they’ve collected enough valid signatures to put the issue before voters. But so far, the City Council hasn’t taken up the petition. The deadline to act is Aug. 31, making Thursday’s council meeting the last scheduled opportunity. Except that the mayor has canceled this week’s regular…

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The Checkered History of Bruce R. Watkins Drive

East Side residents have long complained that this stretch of U.S Highway 71 cleaved Black neighborhoods. The road is also considered unsafe for pedestrians and drivers.

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At a press conference, Interim Jackson County Executive Philip LeVota denied the charges against him. (Grace Hills | KCUR 89.3)

Nick’s Picks | Courts, Roads, Music and More …

New Royals Ballpark Heading to Council Vote It could be a pivotal week for the Royals’ proposed new home. The $3 billion Crown Center ballpark plan could get a final council vote Thursday, after the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee takes up the funding and rezoning package Tuesday. Critics, including Councilmember Jonathan Duncan, say…

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