News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
La Raza outlines strategies to expand Medicaid
Advocates for expanding Medicaid coverage to more low-income Americans must refine their strategies to win over lawmakers in states such as Missouri and Kansas, which have resisted efforts to loosen eligibility requirements.
Me, getting by
LaJua Manning is a single mom who is involved with Stand Up KC, a group that protests for higher pay for low wage workers. As a certified nursing assistant, LaJua works overnight to take care of bedridden patients. Yet, she still struggles to get by. Her $12 an hour salary keeps her constantly juggling expenses…
Low-wage workers and the child-care conundrum
On July 16, KCMO City Council members are expected to vote on the issue of whether or not to raise the city’s minimum wage, potentially up to $15 per hour by 2020. It’s a highly contentious issue with the business community threatening it would trigger layoffs, and fast-food workers and others rallying and fasting in support. One key issue that supporters say a raise in the minimum wage would would address is the high cost of child care for struggling families.
How your zip code affects your wellbeing
Place matters. Be it a street that divides the city or two neighboring counties, the place where one lives often strongly predicts income, educational opportunities and health outcomes. Income disparity is a geographic marker seen in this city and those across the nation. Mapping it out Click on the zip codes in this map, which…
Conflicting police pursuit policies in the KC metro area
Police pursuits, more commonly known as car chases, can be very dangerous. Often they end in crashes or, in the worst cases, death. In the last decade in Kansas City, there have been at least 706 pursuit crashes that have killed at least 23 people – many of them innocent bystanders. Hundreds more were injured,…
The Birth of a ‘Smart’ Kansas City
From its offices in the Crossroads, Think Big Partners is working to help entrepreneurs turn their dreams into reality. But the business accelerator, which provides advice on everything from raising capital to building a network of contacts, is now looking to boost Kansas City’s status as one of the most technologically advanced municipalities in the world…
Regional group to look into the issue of police pursuits
A regional planning group says it will wade into the issue of conflicting police pursuit policies in the Kansas City area.
Mastering the uphill climb to college
Donte Walters thought he had cruise control set for his senior year at Wyandotte High School. He had earned A’s throughout high school, ranked in the top three of his class, participated in sports, and was accepted into the University of Kansas. But in spite of all this, his principal says she panicked during last year’s…
Five years after the Indoor Clean Air Act
When it took effect five years ago, the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act had some restaurant and business owners concerned. But their worries about the state law prohibiting smoking in most public places — including workplaces, public buildings, bars, and restaurants — have largely gone unrealized. The law had its start in cities such as…
A program that aims to get KC kids on their bikes
On a warm afternoon at Garfield Elementary school in northeast Kansas City, a class of grade schoolers charges out into the schoolyard to spend an hour riding bikes. They’re getting training from members of the nonprofit group BikeWalkKC. The program was created three years ago to teach bicycle safety skills. But BikeWalkKC’s education program manager, Maggie Priesmeyer, says she and her fellow instructors found they would often be teaching children to ride for the first time.