News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
KC youth poetry slams fuel creativity and community
Washington High School English teachers Paul Richardson and Miles Azzeh went to Chicago last year to experience the annual youth poetry slam Louder Than a Bomb. Tomorrow they’ll watch four local high schools compete in the first-ever Louder Than a Bomb KC final poetry slam. “Louder Than a Bomb is the largest youth poetry slam…
KC Week in Review: "Go big or go home" – Dissecting KC Mayor’s State of the City. Plus, rest of the week’s news…
Kansas City Mayor Sly James delivers his State of the City address. But with a twist. He made his annual speech at Park Hill High School, north of the river, in front of an audience of mostly high school students. Also on Kansas City Week in Review Friday, March 28th 2014 at 7:30 pm…
Latest health rankings include wide variation in local counties
Jim McLean — KHI News Service The Kansas side of the metropolitan area continues to be a tale of two cities, so to speak, in terms of population health. In this year’s state-by-state county health rankings, released Wednesday, Wyandotte County continued to rank near the bottom (96th out of the 98 ranked) while neighboring Johnson…
St. Aubyn named as CEO of Research Psychiatric Center
HCA Midwest Health System has named a new administrator to head up psychiatric services at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. The health system announced Tuesday that Lisa J. St. Aubyn will take over as chief executive officer of Research Psychiatric Center, which is a campus of the medical center. She succeeds Richard Failla,…
Kansas City groups pursuing mental health crisis center
By Kansas City, Mo., would be home to a regional facility aimed largely at diverting substance abusers from jail and hospital emergency rooms under a plan that has garnered support from law enforcement officials, political leaders and health care providers. The vision actually represents dual efforts that began independently, but which might coalesce as a…
Mayor James fields questions from high school students at annual address
After his State of the City address, Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sly James answered questions from a constituency that he wants to hear more from: students. “It’s because the progress we make as a city not only impacts the residents of today, but for generations to come,” said Mayor James towards the beginning of his…
KC Public Library to launch mobile digital lab next month
Beginning in April, children and teenagers living in the inner-city will have access to a slew of digital tools, including cameras, laptops and a 3-D printer, as well as a group adult mentors eager to share what they know. Andrea Ellis is the Digital Youth Engagement Manager for the Kansas City Public Library and is…
Medicaid expansion advocates rally at Statehouse
By Jim McLean KHI News Service TOPEKA — Medicaid expansion is nowhere to be found on Gov. Sam Brownback’s list of priorities and those of Republican legislative leaders as they work through a legislative session now dominated by school finance issues. But that didn’t stop nearly 200 expansion supporters from crowding into a wing of the Statehouse…
Missouri politicians hopeful of Medicaid expansion compromise
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism Missouri policy makers might be inching toward middle ground that would expand Medicaid eligibility while reforming the safety-net program to encourage recipients to work, two key participants in the talks said Monday. The comments came from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, and state Rep. Noel Torpey,…
KCK mayor pushes plan for ‘healthy campus’ downtown
By The southern vista from Big Eleven Lake — situated along one of the busiest streets in Kansas City, Kan. — features the crescent roof of a self-service car wash and the clutter of an auto body shop wedged onto a tiny corner lot. On Tuesday, the litter along the lake’s muddy bank included an…