News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Tell us who is making a difference in education
From teachers to business owners, local leaders to volunteers, people from all corners of our community can have a major role in a student’s success and the impact of education.
Tax credits drop health insurance premiums for Missouri, Kansas consumers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday outlined the savings, by state, accrued by by consumers through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace for insurance policies. In Missouri, marketplace shoppers who selected silver plans — the most popular plan type– paid an average of $45 per month after tax credits. In Kansas,…
Johnson County health department in national accreditation vanguard
The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment has joined the vanguard of local and state health departments that have gained national accreditation. It is one of only 44 across the nation and the first in Kansas. The Public Health Accreditation Board, a relatively new organization bent on standardizing and improving the quality of health…
Kansas sees significant increase in Medicaid/CHIP enrollment
Unlike its neighboring states of Missouri and Nebraska, where significant decreases have been reported, Kansas has seen a significant jump in the number of people enrolled in its Medicaid/CHIP programs, even without loosening its relatively tight eligibility standards. According to a new report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, enrollment in the programs…
KC Week in Review: Rejuvenating the riverfront, Chu confirmed to NEA
This week, city officials announce what is being described as the first “vertical development” on Kansas City’s riverfront in more than 100 years. After decades of inaction, a $65 million development featuring 398 luxury apartments, retail, a fitness club, pool and sky bar is detailed on a five-acre site adjacent to the Berkley Riverfront…
Report: Kansas City Economy Lags Behind That Of Other U.S. Cities
The Mid-America Regional Council presented a sobering assessment of the Kansas City area economy Thursday, one showing the metro is having trouble bouncing back from the recession. The report, called “Prosperity at the Crossroads,” says that fewer than half of the 100 largest metropolitan areas, including the greater Kansas City region, had recovered all the…
Area legislator: Missouri lawmakers nearly reached medicaid expansion deal
A last-minute deal to expand Medicaid in Missouri almost materialized in the waning days of this year’s legislative session, briefly breathing life into an issue that had seemed all but doomed. Missouri State Sen. Ryan Silvey, a Kansas City Republican, provided a behind-the-scenes look at high-level negotiations that occurred just before the session ended without an…
KC Week in Review: Fireworks and a happy dance: Is it enough to sway the GOP Convention Committee?
Join Nick Haines and news reviewers Steve Kraske of KCUR, Barbara Shelly of the Kansas City Star, Garrett Haake, 41 Action News and Dave Helling of the Kansas City Star as they dissect this and other of the week’s top stories.
Summer 101
One is trekking through Europe. Another will immerse herself in the performing arts. And many will keep their noses to the grindstone. Those are just some of the summer plans shared with us by teachers from throughout the metropolitan area, as schools closed up shop for the next eight weeks. Here are some of the…
Aches & Pains? It pays to shop around
Considering a major joint replacement? If you check into the University of Kansas Hospital, you might be charged more than $115,000. But if you go to Olathe Medical Center just 22 miles down the road, you’re apt to be billed just over $50,000. Coping with renal failure? At Truman Medical Center, the bill is likely…