News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Anti-smoking measures advance to KC council
A Kansas City Council committee on Wednesday approved three anti-smoking measures that critics said wrongly include electronic cigarettes and premium cigars. Taken together, the three ordinances raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco products and e-cigarettes from 18 to 21 and add e-cigarettes, also known as vapes, to the city’s ban on indoor smoking, including…
Take 5 For Your Health
Children’s Mercy South Gets New Name To Reflect Its Statewide Reach Children’s Mercy Hospital, which opened its first clinic in Kansas nearly 30 years ago and now has eight spread across the state, has changed the name of its facility in Overland Park from Children’s Mercy South to Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas. Dr. Randall L….
Views of the News: An Historic Week For the University of Missouri
It’s been a historic week at the University of Missouri. On Monday, Tim Wolfe resigned as president of the UM System. Hours later, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin announced he is stepping down from that office at the end of the year. NPR-affiliate KBIA brings us this video, “Views of the News,” from the Missouri School…
Sounding Smarter
The Pentagon is confident that “Jihadi John” a British member of the Islamic State militant group, has been killed today in an air-strike. If nothing else, the strike demonstrates that it’s always a bad idea to use a nickname that starts with “Jihadi.” France’s RTL Radio reports that a formal dinner with French President Francois Hollande and…
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…
Parents, staff pan KC school district plan for Attucks Elementary
School supporters press the district on why it chose not to close two other nearby elementary schools.
Skywalk Memorial Installation
Today’s Skywalk Memorial dedication sought to bring some closure to one of Kansas City’s greatest tragedies, when, on July 17, 1981, two skywalks at the Hyatt Regency hotel collapsed, killing 114 and injuring around 200 people. At the center of the memorial space is a stainless steel sculpture by Kansas City artist Rita Blitt. She spoke with…
UG says no to police body cameras in KCK, for now
Citing high costs and legal unknowns, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County has rejected a federal grant for body cameras for the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. In the wake of the Ferguson crisis in Missouri, police body cameras have received national attention, and KCMO Mayor Sly James has expressed a desire to bring the…
Eleventh Hour | Eleventh Day | Eleventh Month
The history of the day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: In November 1919, “Armistice Day” was proclaimed by President Wilson as a day for businesses and citizens to “briefly” pause at 11am on November 11, as moment to remember the temporary cease-fire between the Allied nations and Germany during WWI. The next great war came,…
Take 5 for your health
Weed Eradication Changes In Kansas Draw Environmental Concern The rows of grapevines at Somerset Ridge Vineyard and Winery near Paola, Kansas, are withering, with dying leaves and shriveling fruit. But that’s expected this time of year. The prospect of it happening in the middle of the growing season concerns owner Dennis Reynolds more. Grapes are a…