A pipeline project will divert water out of the Missouri River basin into eastern North Dakota. It has sparked a new fight in a decades-long conflict about how to manage the river’s water in times of drought.
“We heard very clearly from predominantly staff and families … that what we showed you in November was not good enough,” said Shannon Jaax, KCPS officer of bond planning and construction.
Kansas City Public Schools is already completing construction projects funded by the bond and has a tentative schedule to complete all projects by 2030. buff.ly/58GGAK7
Older Missourians have come forward in opposition to income tax elimination, saying a subsequent expansion of the sales tax would only hurt them because their tax burden would grow without any income tax cut benefits.
“I can go back and see how much I paid in income tax every year... I can understand what that looks like pretty accurately. But when it comes to sales tax, like how much did I spend on sales tax last year? I have no idea.”https://buff.ly/qnYfYkI
If everything goes right, new taxes generated by a $1.9 billion Royals ballpark will help pay off a $600 million city loan to help finance the deal. But if it goes wrong, that money could be drained from Kansas City's services.
Missouri has little oversight of how the funds are spent, leaving local governments to make big decisions about how to spend their millions.
Missouri is receiving nearly $900 million in opioid settlement funds over the next 15 years, but local spending varies widely.
Despite steadily declining birthrates in Missouri, Kansas and across the U.S., in the last year Children’s Mercy has announced major expansions in Overland Park, Wichita and Springfield. In 2025, the nonprofit hospital reported over $2 billion in revenue.
“I don’t think there are any states that have completely gone from a system where income tax is the primary source of revenue to eliminating the income tax, at least not in a very, very long time,” Sarah Narkiewicz said.
Missouri is in a unique position compared to other states that have eliminated their income tax.https://buff.ly/dd6b53o
The medication at his pharmacy would have cost $2,300 for six months. But insurance paid $15,300 to the PBM.
Mike Burns, a pharmacist and owner of AuBurn Pharmacy, went to fill his prescription at his pharmacy when his claim was rejected. He was told the medication required a specialty pharmacy — even though his pharmacy had the drug on the shelf. buff.ly/d1yDl8B
On election night, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that none of the city’s earnings tax will be directed toward the Royals — instead it will go toward “basic services” for Kansas City.
When the Jackson County Legislature appointed Phil LeVota as interim county executive, they made him swear that he did not intend to run for election. So why did he file paperwork to appear on the ballot?
Although some advance tax credits were still available to marketplace customers, costs jumped for most looking to shop for a plan.
As Missourians confronted higher health insurance costs for their Affordable Care Act coverage in 2026, tens of thousands chose higher-deductible plans, while many chose to go without insurance altogether. buff.ly/NoaqkD7
Proponents of the loan changes say that limiting how much students can borrow will help cut the federal budget and ultimately force institutions to lower tuition, which they argue shouldn’t be allowed to climb year after year at a rate greater than inflation.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last summer, included provisions to cap at $50,000 each year, or $200,000 over a lifetime, the amount of money students earning professional degrees can borrow through federal loan programs.https://buff.ly/MAuFiQp
The district pays a first-year certified teacher with a bachelor’s degree $48,150. At KCPS, the workforce skews toward early-career educators, and Taylor says many come through a program that places aspiring teachers in classrooms at $25 an hour while they finish their full certification.
“We make too much to be eligible for affordable housing or housing vouchers,” said Carter Taylor, an elementary teacher with Kansas City Public Schools and the legislative chair for the American Federation of Teachers Local 691. “But we are too poor to afford to live in our city.” buff.ly/5kf78Ym
In southwest Missouri’s Barton County, people without health insurance find themselves in the emergency room for everything from routine care to mental health needs, often because there are few other options available.
One of the biggest cuts came from the state’s child care subsidy program, which would see a $51.5 million reduction.
The cuts would eliminate the state’s “enhanced rate” subsidies that pay more than 100% of the market rate to help providers care for children with special needs and foster children.
The Missouri House of Representatives approved its version of the over $50 billion state budget on Thursday, sending the package of bills to the Senate for further debate. buff.ly/9Oal2Ty
For five years, Kansas City has required developers to provide affordable housing if they get a tax break. The City Council is considering slashing the set-aside fee, effectively gutting that requirement.
Kansas City needs to prepare for a public health emergency that could be as challenging as the COVID pandemic for safety-net providers, local health and community leaders warn. buff.ly/QAkeY8L
Supporters of this Kansas bill say it will add treatment that kids need and that Kansas lacks enough preventive services. Opponents say it takes away money from programs that work and gives it to programs that have failed before. buff.ly/CTr9ITD
Cities and water districts were required to test for 29 known forms of the forever chemicals, but experts say more than 16,000 different chemical compounds are circulating in our products, our landfills and our water supply systems.
New EPA data show contamination across the state of Missouri. But removing the forever chemicals could cost millions and take years.https://buff.ly/60HFOgl
