News & Issues

Stories from around the Kansas City Metro area on a variety of topics.

Augochlora pura, the Pure Golden Green Sweat Bee, rests on a yellow coneflower in the MU Extension Garden at Burr Oak Woods Conservation Area outside of Kansas City on July 23, 2025. The pure golden green bee can be seen pollinating flowers from April to October. (Abigail Landwehr | Flatland)

Hundreds of Bee Species Face Decline in Missouri and Kansas

To Tom Schroeder, every bee is a work of art.  His own words, backed up with hundreds of photos in his camera roll from the prairies and woods of Kansas City WildLands. With more than two decades of volunteering with the group, he’s become a bee enthusiast– but not an expert, he’ll clarify. “We’re the…

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Voter suppression in the U.S. "is a story as old as the country itself," says Micah Kubic, ACLU of Kansas executive director. "At every step of the way, every little bit that we go further and expand access, there is somebody standing on the other side trying to chip away at that and undo it." (Solomon Shields | Flatland)

Convicted Felons and the Right to Vote in Kansas

It is true that in some states, mainly in the South, a felony conviction bars a person from voting. But the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas wants Kansans to know that felons who have served their time are eligible to vote in the Sunflower State. Anyone who says otherwise is peddling misinformation, said Micah…

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Twila Foley (left) and her son, Christopher Foley. Twila was Christopher's guardian from when he turned 18 to when he was 30, when his father became his guardian. (Photo courtesy of Twila Foley)

Blocked from seeing her son, a Missouri mother fights to change the state’s guardianship law to help others like him

When Twila Foley brought a Christmas gift for her son, Christopher, to his nursing facility in Plattsburg, Missouri, she was not allowed to enter the building’s lobby. Instead, she watched him open his gift — a pillow with a picture of his dog, Oakley, printed on it — through a glass door. Christopher asked the…

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Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, also known as The Queen of Haunts, poses on the steps of The Beast haunted house.

Nick’s Picks | Gerrymandering, Brewing, Haunting and More …

Final Redistricting Vote Missouri lawmakers are expected to sign off this week on a new congressional map that could force out Kansas City Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. The full House is expected to vote on the measure today. If approved, some dramatic changes are on the way. Downtown Kansas City, the Plaza, and Brookside would all…

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University of Kansas football fans will get their first look at the school's renovated stadium when the team takes on Fresno State on Saturday. Phase 1 overhauled the southwest, west and north sides of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. KU will complete a second phase at a later date. (KU rendering)

Nick’s Picks | Redistricting, Heat, Football and More …

Back to School Week Kansas students returned to the classroom last week, now it’s Back to School week for Missouri kids. Mayor Quinton Lucas was scheduled to greet students on the first day of class in the Kansas City school district today. In addition to the pain of getting up early, Missouri students will be…

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