Kansas City conferees tackle language of health care

By | October 27, 2014

As reformers work on making the U.S. health care system more efficient, they’re also looking to improve communication with consumers – whether it’s ensuring they understand the nuances of insurance or grasping instructions from a doctor. The concept is known as “health literacy,” and the notion extends beyond the written or spoken word, Dan Reus,…

Kansas City Week in Review: Eilert, Lightner, Kobach & Chastain

By | October 24, 2014

Who Should lead Johnson County? We debate the issues in Johnson County with Ed Eilert, Johnson County Chair and his opponent, former state lawmaker Patricia Lightner. Also on this edition: Light rail on the ballot and a debate that took place earlier this week between the incumbent Secretary of State for Kansas, Kris Kobach, and his challenger, Jean Kurtis Schodorf.

The business side of blogging: food bloggers gather at Chopped Con

By | October 24, 2014

On World Food Day, bloggers, dietitians and food writers gathered at the River Market Event Place for Chopped Con — the first food blogger conference to be held in Kansas City. Participants learned about social media, advertising strategies and best practices for food writing, all while networking and chatting with the women (and a few men)…

100 years of history at Union Station

By | October 24, 2014

“All of my life I had lived in very small farming communities. Coming into Union Station was entering a shocking, different world. I still remember the great, big doors, the very tall, tall ceilings, and lots of people. I had never seen so many people, enormous numbers of people. And all that huge, large hall…

Egg lawsuit costs Missouri

By | October 24, 2014

Airline flights and legal fees in California; rental cars and hotel rooms in Indiana; $19 at Yogurtland in Los Angeles and expert witness fees of $500 an hour, plus expenses. That’s just part of the $83,711.59 that Missouri taxpayers will pony up for Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster’s brief — and failed — legal foray into…

On-time vaccination rate for Kansas kids tumbles

By | October 24, 2014

TOPEKA — The percentage of Kansas students entering kindergarten in 2012 who had been immunized on the medically recommended schedule tumbled to 61 percent from about 72 percent the previous year. The drop, highlighted in KIDS COUNT data released Tuesday by Topeka nonprofit Kansas Action for Children, puts on-time immunization rates at their lowest in at least five…

National Latina advocate returns home, encourages KCK community to vote

By | October 22, 2014

A packed meeting room buzzed with excitement Tuesday morning at the South Branch library in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. Families and friends huddled together, chatting animatedly. Students from El Centro’s Academy for Children squirmed in their seats. As soon as Irene Caudillo, president and CEO of El Centro, stepped up to the podium,…

Video: First World Series tailgate at Kauffman in 29 years

By | October 21, 2014

Kansas City Royals fans gathered at Kauffman Stadium to celebrate game one of the World Series versus the San Francisco Giants. Here are some sights and sounds from the first World Series tailgate at the K in 29 years. Video produced with assistance from Bridgit Bowden. 

Lenexa man’s exercise obsession underscores eating disorders’ gender neutrality

By | October 21, 2014

At one point when he was in college at Kansas State University, Jon Smith would jog as many as 20 miles a day. “If I wasn’t in the library and not in class,” he said, “I was running.” But Smith was far from healthy. His over-the-top regimen was a manifestation of an eating disorder known…

Blue Cross picket highlights insurance conundrum with eating disorders

By | October 21, 2014

The business day was ticking away as Sarah Wilcher waited on the phone. She was an hour into a desperate protest of an insurance decision about her seriously ill daughter, Piper. By around 5:10 p.m., she realized everybody was gone. “They just left me on hold,” Wilcher recalled recently of that day four years ago.…