Manufacturers Out of Step with Customers on Repairs

By | April 17, 2025
One goal of right-to-repair legislation, including measures considered in Missouri and Kansas, is to make it easier for farmers to fix their own equipment.

Would you want your livelihood to depend on your daughter’s choice of dance escorts? Don’t laugh. Nathan Proctor has heard anecdotes to that effect in his role with PIRG, a Denver-based federation of state-based public interest research groups. Proctor is the senior director of PIRG’s right-to-repair campaign, which aims to break down the barriers that…

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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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The Bison that Protect One of Missouri’s Last Prairies

By | November 27, 2024
A photo of a bison herd standing atop a brown and green grass landscape. There are seven bison in the foreground, They are brown and large, with fur and horns. The sky behind them is bright blue.

Before European settlement, the place that we call Missouri was home to millions of acres of tallgrass prairie, a grassland biome home to a diverse array of plant and animal species, like bison. Today, less than one percent of it remains. Bison once roamed North America with numbers in the millions. After government-sanctioned mass slaughter…

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K-State Professor Designs Biodegradable Garments for Sustainable Deathcare

By | November 1, 2024
A photo of a museum exhibition. At the left of the photo, a mannequin stands with a light yellow gown and a white veil over its head. The veil is peppered with light brown floral prints. On top of the mannequins head is a crown of prairie grass. To the right of the mannequin with the gown, and in the center of the photo is a coffin cover. The cover depicts an angel in a blue gown with white wings. She is depicted standing in the prairie, covered in prairie flowers. Off to the right side of the photograph is a mannequin lying flat, covered in a blue burial garment.

A professor at Kansas State University aims to tackle that question in a new exhibition on green burial practices. Sherry Haar, fashion studies professor, designed several garments and textiles for burial made from natural fibers and dyes. Haar said she hopes to start a conversation about green burial practices. The exhibition is available to view…

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