News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
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…
Founder of Stowers Institute, Jim Stowers, dies
Jim Stowers, founder American Century Investments and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, died Monday at the age of 90, according to a release issued jointly by the two institutions. Dave Chao, President and CEO of the Stowers Institute, released a statement regarding the death of his institute’s founder. “The Stowers Institute has been incredibly…
Educator Profile: Hannah Lofthus, Kauffman School CEO
Growing up, Hannah Lofthus changed schools every year depending on if she was living with her mother or father, who both are educators. “I’ve went everywhere from the city district school to suburban schools to rural schools,” said Lofthus, who, for the past three years, has served as the principal at the Ewing Marion Kauffman School…
UMKC wins $7 million HIV grant
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism The University of Missouri-Kansas City said Monday that its School of Nursing and Health Studies has received its largest grant ever, a $7 million federal award to establish a national HIV-prevention resource center. The five-year grant comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center…
Community College makes National Debate Tournament history
The Kansas City Kansas Community College debate team became the first ever community college to qualify for the National Debate Tournament three years in a row this month. Since NDT began in 1947, only nine community colleges have qualified in a competition that is traditionally dominated by four-year colleges including Northwestern, Harvard and Dartmouth. “I…
Consumers, advocates rushing toward health-reform deadline
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism As an uninsured agriculture worker, Salvador Lopez said he’d welcome health coverage so he could afford diabetes medication. Health insurance would also help his wife, said the Excelsior Springs, Mo., resident. Not feeling well on Saturday, she actually had her blood pressure checked at the health fair…
KC high school students reflect on race, education with ‘American Promise’
Broadcast students at the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts took part in an advance screening of the documentary “American Promise,” which follows two African American boys from preschool to high school graduation. At age five, best friends Seun and Idris are accepted at Dalton, one of the most prestigious private schools in the…
KC health commission expands anti-violence effort
For several years, the Kansas City, Mo., Health Commission has delved into the city’s violent crime problem by trying to stop the spread as if it’s a communicable disease. The commission’s main vehicle for this approach has been the Aim4Peace program, which (among other things) sends trained “interrupters” into the streets to help curb the…