News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
The language of lullabies: KU professor develops music therapy for preemies
(Video by Todd Feeback/The Hale Center for Journalism) If the idea of music therapy brings to mind 1960s-era folk singers warbling to bemused patients, you haven’t seen Deanna Hanson-Abromeit at work. At Operation Breakthrough in Kansas City, Missouri, the University of Kansas assistant professor sings a good morning song to Daren, a curious, if slightly…
Plans for ‘Healthy Campus’ in KCK move forward
Updated 9:09 a.m. Oct. 10 Kansas City, Kan., Mayor Mark Holland on Thursday unveiled an initiative to ensure that all residents can use a proposed new community center regardless of their financial circumstances. Holland announced the initiative as part of a community forum for a “healthy campus” proposed for an urban site just west of…
Paving the launch pad for female astronauts: KC woman shares her experience in the Mercury 13
When Sarah Ratley received the invitation to be part of a secret project testing women as potential astronauts in 1961, she was at the beauty parlor. While working as an engineer for AT&T, Ratley had gone to get her hair done over the lunch hour. “They traced me down to the beauty salon,” said Ratley,…
McCaskill visits Avila U to discuss campus sexual assault bill
Sen. Claire McCaskill visited Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday afternoon to speak with law enforcement and students and representatives of area colleges and universities about sexual violence on campus. This stop, which was the tenth in a series across the state of Missouri, also included representation from Metropolitan Community College, Penn Valley Community…
Is KC an easy or difficult place to live for people with disabilities?
Share your insights and experiences with KCPT and KCUR.
Kansas City-area hospitals are being fined for ‘excessive’ readmission rates
Twenty hospitals in the Kansas City area will be penalized by Medicare starting Oct. 1 for excessive readmissions, although eight of them will be hit with lower fines than in Medicare’s previous round of penalties.
Excitement sweeps Kansas City
As the Royals advance to ALCS, see how fans are sharing their excitement via social media.
Kansas City Week in Review: October 3, 2014
The clouds surrounding the U.S. Senate race finally cleared as a three-judge panel meeting in Topeka ruled that Democrats do not have to nominate a replacement candidate for Chad Taylor, who abruptly removed himself from the race last month. Hours later, a possible appeal was dropped and the state ordered local officials to print ballots and…
Kansas City is flowing blue
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 first time in 29 years.
In Kansas, a new approach to heart disease, stroke
A new health care partnership, looked upon as a potential model for the rest of the country, is taking direct aim at heart disease and stroke in northwest Kansas. The federally funded initiative — the Kansas Heart and Stroke Collaborative — encompasses the University of Kansas Hospital along with 13 rural health centers and hospitals,…