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DIY Democracy: How to follow the 2024 Missouri General Assembly
Members of the 2024 Missouri General Assembly begin their spring legislative session in January. Much of the work happens behind closed doors, but floor debates, bill hearings and other legislative happenings are easy to tune into online. Lawmakers meet from January to May, with an occasional extra session if the governor decides a topic is […] The post DIY Democracy: How to follow the 2024 Missouri General Assembly appeared first on The Beacon.
Kansas City pedestrians push for safer roads
Takeaways: This story originally stated the wrong year that the Kansas City Council approved the Vision Zero plan; it also misstated the role that BikeWalkKC plays, it’s an advocate for street changes; it listed the wrong title for Amy Scrivner; and it confused the number of traffic deaths, the city had 82 accidents that each […] The post Kansas City pedestrians push for safer roads appeared first on The Beacon.
Narcan saves lives — if you can find it in Kansas City
Takeaways: Casey Johnson stepped into the bathroom of a Westport bar recently and immediately sensed something was off. She saw two still legs and hair grazing the floor in a neighboring stall. Johnson knocked on the stall door. She yelled. But when Johnson got no response, she grabbed the naloxone she always carries, crawled under […] The post Narcan saves lives — if you can find it in Kansas City appeared first on The Beacon.
Kansas City physicians ditch rules treating white people’s kidney disease more seriously
Takeaways: If you drive around Kansas City with an eye to dialysis locations, something becomes clear. They’re clustered near the neighborhoods of people of color. Black people and, to a lesser degree, Hispanics, experience significantly higher rates of kidney failure than the white majority. Black people make up about 13% of the U.S. population, yet […] The post Kansas City physicians ditch rules treating white people’s kidney disease more seriously appeared first on The Beacon.
The outlook for 10 things Kansas City wants from the Missouri legislature in 2024
Kansas City’s Statehouse lobbying team holds big ambitions, and likely even bigger obstacles, for the Missouri legislative session that starts next month. Here’s a list of some of Kansas City’s priorities this year, ranked by likelihood. The post The outlook for 10 things Kansas City wants from the Missouri legislature in 2024 appeared first on The Beacon.
COVID in Kansas City: Local experts answer your questions going into the new year
Holiday gatherings this year face the prospect of a very unwelcome guest – JN.1, the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant driving this year’s winter surge. To help Kansas Citians stay healthy during the busiest travel season of the year, The Beacon compiled information from local hospitals and health departments on the current best practices on vaccinations, avoiding infection and staying safe while traveling. The post COVID in Kansas City: Local experts answer your questions going into the new year appeared first on The Beacon.
Constitutional amendments, shielding records from the public: Bills to watch in Missouri 2024
Takeaways: In a state where fees topping four figures effectively put public records out of reach, lawmakers want to put their written discussions about legislation completely out of view. Missouri lawmakers have looked to use the legislature for years to limit access to various democratic processes. They put limits on access to public records, rolled […] The post Constitutional amendments, shielding records from the public: Bills to watch in Missouri 2024 appeared first on The Beacon.
Here’s some ideas Kansas lawmakers have for drumming up more child care
Takeaways: Tory Marie Blew first got on a waiting list for infant care when she got married. She waited over three years before a spot finally opened. Thankfully for Blew, a Republican state representative from Great Bend, Kansas, she wasn’t pregnant when she first signed up. She is now, and the recently-available opening will come […] The post Here’s some ideas Kansas lawmakers have for drumming up more child care appeared first on The Beacon.
Does Christian music belong in Kansas public schools? It depends
Two specific songs,“Praise His Holy Name” and “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” — and concerns about how the teacher presented them to students — sit at the center of a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The post Does Christian music belong in Kansas public schools? It depends appeared first on The Beacon.
More Kansas teens feel sad or hopeless, but a school program is helping thousands
Takeaways: Anxiety and depression. Eating disorders. Suicide. Among kids. More than one-third of high school students in Kansas reported feeling sad or hopeless for a two-week run or longer in 2021 — slightly below the national average, but at nearly double the rate recorded a dozen years before the pandemic. Kansas spotted the growing youth […] The post More Kansas teens feel sad or hopeless, but a school program is helping thousands appeared first on The Beacon.
Fare-free buses might be good for Kansas Citians’ health
Takeaways: Almost four years after Kansas City became the first major American city to completely abandon bus fares, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority may go back to making riders pay. But researchers studying the public health effects of free-to-ride buses suggest considering a bigger picture before hitting up riders for money. Public health researchers […] The post Fare-free buses might be good for Kansas Citians’ health appeared first on The Beacon.
Kansas students will need more than coursework to earn a diploma
New requirements approved by the Kansas State Board of Education insist that students complete two “postsecondary assets” — achievements or experiences that prepare them for higher education or the workforce — before they can walk across the stage. The post Kansas students will need more than coursework to earn a diploma appeared first on The Beacon.
Deaf Kansans struggle getting legal help. The state is trying to change that
Takeaways: A deaf Kansas woman going through a divorce signed a separation agreement thinking she would receive $500 a month in alimony. But that alimony had never been agreed to. “By the time (an attorney) reviewed the matter, it was well past the time to file an appeal,” said Leonard Hall, a lawyer at Hall […] The post Deaf Kansans struggle getting legal help. The state is trying to change that appeared first on The Beacon.
Uber-style rides seen as a tool for public transit in rural and urban Missouri
Takeaways: For about as long as passengers have stepped onto buses, public transportation in most of Missouri has meant fixed routes and schedules. The idea of on-demand, point-to-point service as a public amenity was unheard of. Today, those rides are being offered in Kansas City and St. Louis. Smaller Missouri cities are mulling whether microtransit […] The post Uber-style rides seen as a tool for public transit in rural and urban Missouri appeared first on The Beacon.
Kansas City health providers see ‘little to no interest’ in latest COVID vaccine
Alexandria Thompson’s job is to convince the most vulnerable people in her community to get vaccinated for the flu and COVID-19. She can offer education, transportation and up to $50 in gift cards to entice people to get the shots. But, she says, often that is not enough. “I just tend to lead with the […] The post Kansas City health providers see ‘little to no interest’ in latest COVID vaccine appeared first on The Beacon.
No, Wyandotte County is not going bankrupt.
At a press conference in October, Unified Government Mayor Tyrone Garner issued a dire warning. The government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, he said, was on a “pathway to financial ruin.” Bankruptcy, he warned, sat just around the corner. But the bond markets tell a different story. The post No, Wyandotte County is not going bankrupt. appeared first on The Beacon.
Kansas foster kids need mental health care, but trying to add more is expensive
Takeaways: Kansas foster kids get too little behavioral and mental health treatment, audits find, but expanding those services can prove so costly that it slows expansion of those programs. Foster kids got mental and behavioral health treatment just 70% of the time in 2022, a lawsuit settlement found. That’s well below the 85% court-mandated requirement. […] The post Kansas foster kids need mental health care, but trying to add more is expensive appeared first on The Beacon.
As Wyandotte County winter shelters gear up, homeless people want a permanent fix
Starting in late December, people with no place to escape the cold can expect blankets, a hot meal, sleeping mats and a little privacy in tents pitched indoors near Sixth Street and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. This emergency cold-weather shelter — a project led by Cross-Lines Community Outreach for those nights when the […] The post As Wyandotte County winter shelters gear up, homeless people want a permanent fix appeared first on The Beacon.
A 15-year-old’s suicide while in Kansas foster care came amid a shortfall in mental health care
Takeaways: A 15-year-old took his own life in October while in the care of a private Kansas foster care agency. That agency, KVC Kansas, fell short of court-mandated benchmarks for getting mental health treatment for children in its care. Yet KVC actually comes closer to hitting the mark than other agencies hired by the state […] The post A 15-year-old’s suicide while in Kansas foster care came amid a shortfall in mental health care appeared first on The Beacon.
Kansas regulators give Evergy a smaller electrical rate hike than it asked for
Takeaways: Kansas regulators dialed back electric rate hikes that Evergy wanted to impose on its customers. Electric rates will now go up slightly for former Westar customers in the central part of Kansas and tick down for customers who used to get their kilowatts from Kansas City Power & Light. Evergy says, on average, its […] The post Kansas regulators give Evergy a smaller electrical rate hike than it asked for appeared first on The Beacon.
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