News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Wyandotte County Could Lead Region In hiking Legal Age For Cigarette Sales
Smokers in the county would have to be at least 21 to legally purchase cigarettes under a plan under consideration.
‘Talking Scripture’ explores sacred text and meaning through interfaith dialogue
Two pastors, a pair of religious scholars, a Muslim, and a Baha’i lawyer sat down on the stage of a UMKC auditorium recently to chat. And no, this is not the set-up of a joke: It is the actual panel of interfaith leaders that led a thoughtful discussion on scripture and its meanings in our…
Take 5 for your health
KU Tobacco Cessation Expert Sees ‘Big Disparity In Who’s Smoking And Who’s Dying’ Studies have shown that nearly half of the cigarettes consumed in the United States are smoked by people thought to have a mental illness. At the same time, people who have a mental illness die an average of 25 years earlier than those…
Sounding Smarter
According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese Communist Party has banned its members from joining golf clubs. Additional rules were announced against “extravagant eating and drinking” and “improper sexual relationships,” proving there ain’t no party like a communist party. Because a communist party is lame. The golf clubs in China, however, sound like…
KC effort aims to snuff out teen smoking
Effort aimed at raising cigarette purchase age to 21
Med students mix volunteerism, fitness in KC’s Historic Northeast
Students from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences are helping train elementary school students for an upcoming 5K
90 Seconds With Mighty Handle
Ed’s Note: Flatland and Startland News have partnered to highlight Kansas City’s innovators and entrepreneurs, all in 90 seconds. This is the fifth and final episode in the series. Think of Mighty Handle as your digital defender. No, Mighty Handle is not anti-virus software. Rather, the handy, Kansas City-made contraption is a device that can save your fingers from…
Take 5 for your health
Medicaid Mystery: Why Is Coverage Dropping Among Kansas’ Youngest? For two years now, the staff at Kansas Action for Children has been trying to unravel a mystery: Why is Medicaid enrollment dropping among the state’s youngest children? Enrollment of low-income children 1-5 peaked in October 2012 and has been dropping steadily since. Enrollment of infants…
Kansas City is flowing blue… again
Editor’s Note: This story, which originally published October 3rd, 2014, has been updated. Daniel Boothe contributed to the story. Six of Kansas City, Missouri’s, fountains, as well as several privately-owned fountains and fountains owned by surrounding cities are dyed bright blue to celebrate the Royals making it to the playoffs for the second consecutive year. It…
Cargill Executive Says Climate Change Threatens Food Production
Climate change is real and must be addressed head-on to prevent future food shortages. That’s the message Cargill Executive Director Greg Page delivered Monday night to an audience at Kansas State University in Manhattan. “Climate change is not a particularly popular subject in much of the heartland,” he said. “But at Cargill, we have come to believe…