Three states show how abortion, schools and taxes are at stake in legislature...
New legislatures could overhaul school vouchers in Arizona, give the Democratic governor more clout in Kansas, and counter a progressive trend in Minnesota.
View ArticleLesser prairie chicken are disappearing from Kansas. Can conservation credits...
Conservationists and cattle ranchers are working together to restore grassland for the lesser prairie chicken. The bird used to roam Kansas, but has lost most of its habitat to crop production.
View ArticleA vote to support at-risk kids in Platte County
Platte County voters will decide in November on a sales tax proposal that would help support mental health care for at-risk kids. Why is it needed, and what could it mean for the county if it passes?
View ArticleHere’s what Midwest voters say about abortion, climate change, and other key...
A new survey from The Midwest Newsroom and Emerson College Polling Center asked registered voters in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska about measures on Nov. 5 ballots as well as a variety of...
View ArticleCars stolen from around Kansas City are showing up in illegal street races...
Police have connected sideshows and street racing with the theft of some high-end Stellantis and GM vehicles like Jeeps, Chargers and Camaros.
View ArticleFarmers are making less money this year, which could have larger economic...
Crop prices have returned to more normal levels this year — down from record highs. As farmers expect less income this year, that's likely to send ripples through the larger agricultural economy.
View ArticleFreed from 34 years of injustice by Missouri, Chris Dunn says he 'deserved to...
At the age of 18, Chris Dunn was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit. It would take two key witnesses recanting and a new state law to free him — even as the Missouri...
View ArticleCould Jackson County's urban core vote Republican this year?
Derron Black is running as a Republican for the first time for a Missouri Senate district in Kansas City's urban core. He says local Democratic leadership has failed to get his community what it needs,...
View ArticleFormer Kansas police chief who led newspaper raid returns to face criminal...
Special prosecutors charged former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with one count of interference with the judicial process, a low-level felony, for asking a restauranteur to delete text messages after...
View ArticleIt's warmer and drier than usual in the Midwest this fall. Here's what that...
Fall is typically a drier time of the year for the Great Plains and Midwest. But drought is once again rearing its head in much of the region, and experts are not seeing relief anytime soon.
View ArticleMissouri counties make their case to 'stack' marijuana sales tax on top of...
A circuit court in May ruled that both a county and a local municipality can impose a 3% sales tax at dispensaries in their jurisdictions. That's led to marijuana sales tax rates of nearly 18% in some...
View ArticleAlrededor de Kansas City, los autos robados están apareciendo en carreras...
La policía ha vinculado los espectáculos secundarios y carreras callejeras con el robo de algunos vehículos Stellantis y GM de alta gama, como Jeeps, Chargers y Camaros.
View ArticleSandra Hemme finally won her freedom. Missouri’s attorney general is trying...
The Missouri Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Wednesday in the innocence case of Sandra Hemme, who served 43 years in prison — more time than any other wrongly convicted woman in the U.S.
View ArticleA Republican supermajority at stake in Kansas
Kansas Democrats are optimistic that next month's general election will result in an end to the GOP's veto-proof supermajority. How likely is such an outcome, and what would it mean for state politics...
View ArticleShould Kansas City and St. Louis control their own police? Missouri voters...
An NPR’s Midwest Newsroom poll conducted by Emerson College Polling showed local control of police is still divisive, even though the Kansas City Police Department is managed by a state board and St....
View ArticleKansas City transit drivers want to unionize over pay and safety. Their CEO...
Contract drivers for IRIS operate Kansas City’s low-cost, city-subsidized rideshare app. They want the right to unionize and negotiate higher pay, benefits and safety measures on the job.
View Article'Beep kickball' in Kansas City
A special Kansas City kickball tournament offers a chance for blind and visually impaired students to play — using beeping balls and bases. Plus: A former Hallmark artist has a new graphic novel that...
View ArticleA KitchenAid repair shop in Kansas found a global following by ‘fighting that...
Zach Dinicola's approach to repairing, not replacing, KitchenAid mixers has earned him more than 600,000 followers on TikTok. He operated a five-person repair business out of Augusta, Kansas, since 2020.
View ArticleKCAI students transform Historic Northeast with visions of ballerinas and...
Illustration students from the Kansas City Art Institute are inviting artists of all ages to help them complete colorful murals that are turning a neglected alleyway into a communal space for neighbors...
View Article'That’s a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests
A federal program kills hundreds of thousands of wild animals a year — like cowbirds in Missouri and prairie dogs in Kansas. Documents obtained by NPR show that many of those animals were killed in...
View Article