News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Johnson County Establishes Healthy Foods Advisory Panel
Johnson County has created a panel to advise the county commission on food issues. One of the Food Policy Council’s goals will be to increase county residents’ access to healthy foods, according to a news release from the county. But the council might also touch on other areas, such as economic development, agriculture and food…
And the State of the City Is …
Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Sly James delivered his annual State of the City address today to a lively, packed audience that nearly filled Midtown’s Uptown Theater. Here are five takeaways, and some interesting tweets, from the mayor’s speech. 1. Since Mayor Sly James has taken office in 2011, the city is doing a whole lot better,…
Take 5 For Your Health
Alliance Forming To Push For Kansas Medicaid Expansion A new organization is forming to strengthen the lobbying effort for Medicaid expansion in Kansas. The Alliance for a Healthy Kansas will focus on passing an expansion bill in 2017, not in the waning days of the current session, according to Billie Hall, the chief executive of…
Fountain City Frequency | Tending the Troostwood Garden
Community gardens have been a source of food stability and financial savings for Americans since the 1800s. During the Great Depression, they provided food to the unemployed, and The Victory Garden campaign during WWII encouraged people to help a rationed economy by growing their own fruits and vegetables. And although many of those national campaigns…
Kansas City Council approves health funding increase
The Kansas City Council on Thursday approved a $1.5 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that boosts spending from health fund reserves to pay for indigent care. After some last-minute lobbying from providers, the council took $300,000 from the reserve to bump up next year’s allocation for Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center and Children’s Mercy…
Muslim Like Me | A Journey Toward Islam
According to the Pew Research Center, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and Muslims currently make up just less than 1 percent of the total U.S. population. Pew projects the numbers of Muslims in America to grow to 2.1 percent of the population by the year 2050. What these findings suggest is that Islam,…
Muslim Like Me | On a Mission
According to the Pew Research Center, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and Muslims currently make up just less than 1 percent of the total U.S. population. Pew projects the numbers of Muslims in America to grow to 2.1 percent of the population by the year 2050. What these findings suggest is that Islam,…
Samuel Rodgers, Children’s Mercy get funding reprieve
A Kansas City Council committee has added some funding for indigent health care services in a revised 2016-17 budget to be considered Thursday by the full council – much to the relief of Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center. The Finance and Governance Committee on Wednesday recommended approval of the revised budget, which allocates about $300,000…
Mental Health Crisis Center Set to Open Ahead Of Schedule
A new 16-bed mental health crisis center on Kansas City’s East Side could open as much as two months ahead of early projections. The target date is now July 1. Details approved this month by the City Council call for a $1 million contribution from Missouri-side hospitals toward annual operating costs of the Kansas City…
Muslim Like Me | To Keep Searching
According to the Pew Research Center, Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and Muslims currently make up just less than 1 percent of the total U.S. population. Pew projects the numbers of Muslims in America to grow to 2.1 percent of the population by the year 2050. What these findings suggest is that Islam,…