News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Life, Prison, Then Life Again
The prison population is growing, and growing fast. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the number of incarcerated felons grew by 408 percent between the years of 1978 and 2014. Even more eye-opening: The number of incarcerated women in the United States ballooned 646 percent between the years of 1980 and 2010, according to a study from The Sentencing Project, a…
Take 5 For Your Health
Nonprofit Groups Launch Open Kansas Government Initiative Several nonprofit organizations that advocate for children, minorities and low-income Kansans are concerned about what they see as a trend toward less open government in Kansas. So, they’ve joined forces to launch what they’re calling the Open Kansas initiative and to ask legislators to sign a “transparency pledge”…
Supreme Court Decision Has Repercussions for KC Man Serving Life Sentence
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a resentencing hearing in the case of a Kansas City man serving a life sentence in federal prison for a 1988 explosion that killed six Kansas City firefighters. Bryan Sheppard, one of five defendants serving life sentences after their 1997 convictions in federal court, will now…
Take 5 For Your Health
Kansas Appeals Court Rules That State Constitution Provides Right To Abortion In a sweeping decision, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights provides a right to abortion and blocked a Kansas law banning the second-trimester abortion method known as “dilation and evacuation.” The ruling represents a major victory…
For Innovators, Winning Isn’t Everything
Last year’s Innovator of the Year, Alicia Herald, put winning the Pipeline Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program’s marquee award into perspective. “I think it’s a fun title, and you get a beautiful celebratory bowl,” said Herald, CEO of myEDmatch. “But internally amongst the Pipeline family, we think of the event as the celebration of how far all…
KCPT Crime Discussion Yields Many Proposed Solutions
Panelists, audience members say there is no one clear-cut answer; police argue against more cops
KCPS Chooses Bedell for Superintendent Post
Kansas City Public Schools announced Wednesday that it has selected Mark T. Bedell to be its next superintendent, pending contract negotiations. “The KCPS school board appreciates the thoughtful input we received throughout this process,” Board Chair Jon Hile said in a news release. “The board, like our community, has set high expectations for quality leadership in…
Take 5 For Your Health
Kansas Citians Demand Urgency From Citizens Task Force Against Violence None of the houses Kansas City Councilwoman Alissia Canady lived in growing up east of Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, are occupied. Most of the schools she attended have closed. “When you look at the areas where violent crime is occurring, you see vacant…
Sounding Smarter
This week, two small U.S. naval vessels reportedly entered Iranian territory, close to an important Iranian military base. U.S. Navy said the boats “inadvertently drifted” into Iranian waters due to mechanical failures. In other words, we were totally spying on Iran. Terrorists in Pakistan have begun targeting polio vaccination centers. According to analysts, the radicals…
Public Quizzes KCPS Superintendent Candidates
Both men vying to be the next superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) stressed Thursday evening how their humble beginnings could help them connect with students in an urban school district. Ronald Gerald Taylor, superintendent of Willingboro (New Jersey) Township Public Schools, noted that his modest upbringing in Detroit and his life experiences make…