News & Issues

Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.

Education officials discuss future of KC public schools at forum

Several hundred people gathered at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library to hear local lawmakers and education officials discuss Kansas City Public Schools and the Missouri Transfer Law set to go into effect this summer. KCPT’s Nick Haines moderated the panel that included Missouri Board of Education member John Martin, Missouri Education…

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Kansas Governor Announces Bond Funding For New KU Med Building

Alex Smith — KCUR Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback announced bonding authority Monday morning to help fund the construction of a new University of Kansas Medical Center education building. The funding comes as part of a school funding measure the governor signed into law Monday afternoon. The measure was approved by lawmakers on April 6. The…

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Teens try to launch a lantern

Teens help community, themselves heal in aftermath of shootings

The plan was to memorialize each victim with the release of a hot-air-powered lantern, but the first attempt ended with stomps as a gusty wind ignited the white paper. A crew did finally get one to lift off in honor of all the dead. But a tree briefly snagged that one, and it skittered off…

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Kansas City Week in Review for Friday, April 18

Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom shootings, the arrest of the highway shooter, streetcar rails arrive in Kansas City and other stories on this week’s edition of the program with news reviewers Steve Kraske, KCUR/UMKC; Garrett Haake, 41 Action News; Kevin Collison, Kansas City Star and Stacey Cameron, Investigative Reporter.  

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Health Profile: Nathan Jackson, Executive Director, Hope Family Care Center

Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism Hope Family Care Center provides primary care to three medically underserved, low-income ZIP codes in the urban core of Kansas City, Mo. The faith-based clinic at 3027 Prospect Ave. opened five years ago as an initiative of The Hope Center, a Christian community development organization that has…

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Community gathers at JCC for service of unity and hope

After the shootings that killed three people and are being investigated as a hate crime, over one thousand people gathered for an interfaith service Thursday, April 17 in Overland Park, Kan. at the Jewish Community Center where some of the violence took place. People of many faiths from across the community filled the White Theater…

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Trauma start classroom

Preschool Trauma Program In Kansas City Getting National Attention

By Alex Smith – KCUR Every parent knows that young children have meltdowns now and then – at home, at school, in the grocery store – but sometimes a tantrum can be more than a bad day. It can be the sign of traumatic stress. A program started in Kansas City, Kan., offers teachers and…

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Brownback signs law expanding autism coverage

By Dave Ranney KHI News Service Bryan Thompson Kansas Public Radio OVERLAND PARK — Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law Wednesday a measure that is expected to make insurance coverage for autism services available to about 750 children over the next two to three years. House Bill 2744 was a compromise measure that gained eventual support from…

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Close up photo of candle

Read and share messages of support for the victims of hate in Kansas City

The hateful acts of one person have taken the lives of three of our community members, and wounded many more. So far we’ve collected several messages of support and we’ll continue to add more as they are submitted. Read what others from across the country have written and add your message below. “An evil act….

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Photo of lit candles on the table with cards.

JCC to host interfaith service of unity, hope

  An interfaith unity service to honor the victims of Sunday’s shootings will be held 10 a.m. Thursday at the Jewish Community Campus’ White Theatre. Clergy from different faith communities across the metro will lead the 45-minute service. Three community members were killed Sunday afternoon in shootings at two locations: Overland Park’s Jewish Community Center…

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