Hundreds of Kansans Lost Their Apartment Due to Landlord Neglect. One Change in Law Could Help

By | December 17, 2025
Candice Montgomery stands outside the closed Aspen Place apartment complex in Gardner, Kansas. She is one of hundreds of former residents who were kicked out of their homes when Gardner officials condemned the property. (Dylan Lysen | Kansas News Service

GARDNER, Kansas — When the city of Gardner in eastern Kansas ordered Aspen Place apartments closed for unsafe living conditions last May, Candice Montgomery came home to a frantic neighborhood. She and other residents of the Gardner housing complex only had 48 hours to leave their homes. “It was total chaos,” Montgomery said. “My neighbors are everywhere, people…

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Bodhi Home Reopens to Homeless Clients After Renovation

By | January 22, 2025
The nameplate on the newly renovated home in Midtown Kansas City operated by Artists Helping the Homeless. (Haines Eason | Flatland)

It has been nearly two decades since Kar Woo, a sculptor and gallery owner, established Artists Helping the Homeless (AHH) in Kansas City, Missouri. And Woo recently returned to his roots by renovating the first home opened by the nonprofit. AHH refreshed the Midtown home with about $60,000 in new paint, fixtures, appliances, and furniture.…

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Renters: How to Weatherize Your Home to Reduce Energy Costs

By | January 10, 2025
Two stacks of pamphlets on a table. The table is brown. The pamphlets to the left of the screen advertise a weatherization assistance program. These pamphlets have a house with a red roof on them wrapped in a blue scarf. The text is bold and red. The pamphlets on the right advertise the healthy homes program. On these pamphlets, a young girl holds her nose. The text on these pamphlets is black and bold.

Energy burden is defined as the percentage of gross household income that is spent on energy costs. In some areas of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, residents experience an elevated energy burden. However, some energy costs can be reduced through weatherization. While it may be challenging to tackle as a renter, there are options to…

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Watch: Mapping and Managing Energy Burden in Kansas City

By | January 9, 2025
Natural gas meter.

Energy burden is defined as the percentage of gross household income that is spent on energy costs. In some areas of the Kansas City Metropolitan area, residents experience an elevated energy burden. We caught up with experts to learn more about how energy burden impacts residents and potential solutions for mitigating the problem.

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College Students Grapple with Housing Troubles as Costs Soar

By | August 14, 2024 |
A photo of a dormitory hall. At the foreground of the photo is a green lawn with a curved sidewalk path cutting through it on the left side of the photo. The dormitory is a red color and stretches horizontally across the photo. A large tree partially covers the right side of the building.

Sydney Johnson did everything right. Still, water poured from her ceiling.  The now-graduated University of Missouri student spent winter break taking classes and staying at her off-campus apartment. A few weeks earlier, property management sent instructions for how to avoid pipe bursts during cold months, which Johnson followed.  But her upstairs neighbors were not so…

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