News & Issues
Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.
State of the States Focus on Education
Education was a major focus of both Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s respective State of the State addresses. Here are highlights from both speeches. Full transcriptions of Brownback and Nixon’s speeches can be found at respective links. Brownback delivered his speech Jan. 15, 2014. He championed a state plan to fund…
Program curtails visits to emergency rooms
After navigating the brightly lit aisles of the Raytown Wal-Mart, Lance Sharples wheeled a grocery cart to the check-out line one night last week. The clerk made quick work of the items – staples like bananas, hotdogs, frozen pizza, and white bread. “You push, man,” Sharples told his companion as they headed for the door….
The new Rainbow plan
By Dave Ranney—KHI News Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Gov. Sam Brownback today unveiled his administration’s plan for reopening the Rainbow Mental Health Facility. “I think this is a winner,” Brownback said, referring to a Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services plan for privatizing the state hospital’s operations. The plan calls…
Supporting the System — Immigrant Contributions
Part 2, continued: Undocumented and Uninsured – A Health Care Challenge [Editor’s Note: Click this link for an overview of the series and an interview with the author.] Tammy Worth — Special correspondent to The Hale Center for Journalism Immigration policy has become the third rail of politics. During a Congressional address prior to the implementation of…
A Healthy Expense – Who Pays for Care
Part 2: Undocumented and Uninsured — A Health Care Challenge [Editor’s Note: Click this link for an overview of the series and an interview with the author.] Tammy Worth — Special correspondent to The Hale Center for Journalism Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Dale Essmyer has a family practice in downtown Milan, Mo. He says he and other residents…
A Working Class
Part 1, continued: Undocumented and Uninsured – A Health Care Challenge [Editor’s Note: Click this link for an overview of the series and an interview with the author.] Tammy Worth — Special correspondent to The Hale Center for Journalism Anna is a 17-year-old living in Mission, Kan. She is a well-spoken, pretty young woman who seems…
A Portrait of Immigration
Part 1: Undocumented and Uninsured – A Health Care Challenge [Editor’s Note: Click this link for an overview of the series and an interview with the author.] Tammy Worth — Special correspondent to The Hale Center for Journalism In 1990, there were only five Hispanic people living in Milan, Mo. – one family living on a farm on the…
Cerner details $4.3 billion Three Trails expansion
Cerner officially announced its Three Trails development today, which will eventually cover 237 acres and employ up to 15,000 people; the first phase of expansion, which will be constructed over 30 months, will employ around 1,500. Governor Jay Nixon, Mayor Sly James and Cerner executives gathered with legislators and press at Cerner’s Innovation Campus to…
Making KC Hate-Free: "Not In Our Town" Producer Shares Lessons on Stopping Hate Crimes and Bullying
KCPT has aired several documentaries since 1995 from the landmark series Not In Our Town, which looks at communities standing together against hate and bullying. Filmmaker, journalist and executive producer of the series Patrice O’Neill has dedicated her career to creating media that empowers communities to become inclusive and hate-free. The series’ website, NIOT.org, features…
Senior Center Development Plans Rankle Some Neighbors
Mike Sherry – The Hale Center for Journalism David and Beverly Lewis used to trek occasionally to the neighboring Nazarene church with a collection of balls that had flown into their backyard from the playing field just beyond their privacy fence. It was no big deal, and anyway, Beverly liked watching the younger kids play…