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Power surge: KC won’t penalize energy use violators
Johnson County is recruiting gardeners to help prevent flooding in Kansas City
Kansas City sits at the intersection of many rivers — the Missouri River separating downtown from the Northland, the Kansas River in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, and Turkey Creek, the Blue River, Mill Creek and Brush Creek forming a spider web across the bistate area.
And this is no accident, said Heather Schmidt, the stormwater program…
After a rushed charter review, commission members are calling for reform
Every 10 years, the mayor of Kansas City is required to form a commission to review the city’s charter and recommend changes to be placed on the ballot. The 2023 Charter Review Commission met for the final time on May 16, rejecting calls from some members of the public to extend their timeline.
Where does KC’s new recycling program leave apartment residents?
This month, Kansas City began rolling out its new recycling program by delivering carts with lids and wheels to houses across the city.
But in the fine print, the city’s recycling website says that apartment buildings with seven or more units will not be receiving a recycling cart.
City Council votes to make KC a safe haven for trans health care
For the past year, transgender people in Missouri and their families have been shuttling back and forth to the capitol in Jefferson City to testify against legislation aimed at banning gender-affirming health care. But for the first time on Wednesday, trans Kansas Citians will flock to City Hall to support a measure that could protect…
Trans women of color and the KCPD’s rocky, violent history
Four years ago, a viral video showed two Kansas City police officers slamming a Black transgender woman, Brianna BB Hill, onto the sidewalk, kneeling on her in the face, torso and ribs and forcing her cuffed hands above her head. In the time since, the officers pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. And Hill was shot…
KC’s fast-moving charter review considers drastic changes to elections
Without much fanfare, Kansas City’s nine-member Charter Review Commission has been discussing changes that could make it harder to recall officials, challenge City Council votes and propose citizen initiatives.
Before May 18, the commission must decide which measures to recommend to the Kansas City Council for a vote. A radical change in the governance of…
These five people control Kansas City’s $280 million police budget
A week after Kansas City residents gathered outside Kansas City Police Department headquarters to protest the department’s response to the April 13 shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager, state politicians in Jefferson City are preparing to confirm a nominee to one of KCPD’s most powerful positions.
In early April, Gov. Mike Parson nominated…
When pet owners have to choose between their dog and their home
Staff and volunteers at KC Pet Project understand that every day can bring in new business. On Monday, it was a litter of eight puppies, brought to the shelter by deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department after their owner was evicted from an apartment.
Staffers at the nonprofit, which contracts with the Kansas City…
Why Jackson County prosecutors won’t initially look at race when deciding whether to file cases
In part because of community concerns surrounding missing Black women in Kansas City, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has announced it will mask the race of both suspects and victims on documents that prosecutors review to decide whether to file charges. “Bias occurs everywhere. It doesn’t go just in one direction,” county Prosecutor Jean Peters…
Jackson County anticipates a 30% increase in property values this year
For three weeks, staffers in the Jackson County assessment department have been on a tour. Their venues: packed rooms in public libraries and community centers. Their audience: homeowners with lots of questions about their property taxes.
With notices of property value assessments expected any time, anxiety among residential property owners is rising. For at least…
Jackson County’s three-month scramble to ban conversion therapy
After three months of maneuvering, three failed votes and four different versions of the same legislation, the Jackson County Legislature on Monday voted unanimously to become the first county government in Missouri to ban anti-LGBT conversion therapy.
The ordinance, effective immediately, prohibits any practice or treatment that seeks to change a minor’s sexual orientation or…
All about Kansas City’s new airport terminal
Nearly one month has passed since the opening of the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport, and visitors still seem dazzled as they browse in shops and admire the art in the airy shopping nodes, with the aromas of barbecue and Brazilian dishes drifting from the many restaurants situated around the two concourses.
Since…
Inside the legal standoff over Kansas City police funding
Although the minimum funding level is enshrined in the state Constitution, the mathematics behind calculating that number is more complicated.
‘It’s insulting’: Critics accuse RideKC of bypassing the city development process
Update: After more than an hour of testimony on Feb. 22, much of it from midtown residents, the board of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority voted to deny a developer’s request for tax subsidies to construct an apartment building at Main Street and Armour Boulevard. This long-controversial project had originally been rejected for city…
KCK kicks off 2023 with a raucous hearing, a rule change and a public feud
At the end of its last meeting of 2022, the Board of Commissioners of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas voted in favor of a rule change that, while seemingly innocuous, has rocked the county government. The change, which was approved 9 to 1, requires that all items passed by the…
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