News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
Record number of student writers illustrate their talents, KCPT Kids Writers Contest winners announced
A whopping 202 young authors submitted their stories to the 2014 KCPT Kids Writers Contest for K–3 students. From a saga about a lost Jayhawk to the tale of an African dwarf frog that aspires to be a popstar, the stories reflected the unique interests of each author. A team of educators and librarians poured…
KC Week in Review: FBI investigates influence peddling by Brownback advisers. Plus, the politics of tax breaks…
An FBI probe into the activities of top advisers to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback tops our look at the week’s news. According to a breaking story in the Topeka Capital Journal, federal agents have spent months investigating influence peddling including behind the scenes financial arrangements related to Brownback’s privatization of the state’s $3 billion Medicaid program. We examine what’s at…
Students at Kansas school for the blind get in tune with harmonica pro
Gabriel Lewis carefully ran his fingers over the edges of the small box before he took out the shiny, chrome harmonica inside and took a big breath to make the first notes. Lewis is one of 40 students at the Kansas State School for the Blind that received a new harmonica courtesy of the instrument’s…
Instructors, digital professionals debate value of social media certification
Liesl Christman is the digital content specialist for the Kansas City Public Library system. She is in charge of managing, among other things, website content and all social media accounts, like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. She has no formal social media training. “To be fair,” she said, “when I started college, it was 1998. Social…
KCK summit tackles food issues among the needy
John Hornbeck came to a Thursday forum in Kansas City, Kan., with two cans of green beans. His point was to illustrate that solving hunger isn’t as simple as merely providing someone something to eat — especially when health is thrown into the mix. The CEO of Episcopal Community Services in Kansas City, Mo., a…
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Truman Medical Centers Names New CEO
By Dan Margolies – KCUR An executive with TMC Lakewood has been chosen to succeed John W. Bluford III as president and CEO of Truman Medical Centers. Charles W. “Charlie” Shields, currently the chief operating officer of TMC Lakewood, part of the TMC Health System, will replace Bluford, who is retiring in July. Shields, a former Missouri state…
MO governor proposes health assistance for working poor
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is proposing that the state use federal health dollars to subsidize health insurance for low-wage workers. Under a program he is calling Missouri Health Works, Nixon is proposing that the state pay a portion of employers’ health insurance costs for their employees that make below 138 percent of the poverty level,…
Brownback proposes HCBS waiting list reduction
Mike Shields — KHI News Service LENEXA — Gov. Sam Brownback today said he will ask the Kansas Legislature to approve spending an additional $2.6 million in state funds to help reduce the waiting lists for in-home, Medicaid services for the disabled. If approved, an estimated 209 additional people would receive the services. There are…
Brownback signs controversial health care compact bill
By Dave Ranney — KHI News Service TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback has signed into law a bill that might make it possible for Kansas to join a compact of states that want the power to run Medicare and Medicaid within their borders. The new law also creates the possibility that the compact states could circumvent…