Renters of houses were being told what their share of a utility bill would be without proof of the actual charges. Bills weren’t in the renter’s name, but in the name of a landlord who often lived out of town. People didn’t have formal leases. They relied on verbal agreements.

🗳️ As voters cast ballots in the special Sept. 30 election to recall Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr., a question that’s rarely been openly discussed lingers: If White is removed from office, who will be selected to replace him?

“Our fellow Kansans are being drugged out, soaked for every dollar they have. … We have to take that seriously,” said Rep. Francis Awerkamp, a St. Marys Republican. “The data is being used to find ways to keep squeezing money out of these people.” buff.ly/1T0PH0Q

The federal government is trying to withhold funds from Kansas. But there is a way the state can keep the money. buff.ly/cnOtrxo

As Republican lawmakers move to make it harder to amend the Missouri constitution, another coalition is pushing to make it harder for lawmakers to amend or repeal voters’ decisions.

“Shaun Brady was more than just a friend to me — he was family,” wrote chef Jasper Mirabile in the recently published Shaun & Seamus Brady Cookbook, produced as part of ongoing community efforts to support the Brady family.

In 2020, people aged 65+ comprised 16.8% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau... compared with 9.2% in 1960. In raw numbers, the population of seniors had risen during that period from 16.6 million to 55.8 million. buff.ly/WKmITPN

UPDATE: The federal government has asked Kansas for the personal data for people on food assistance. Kansas hasn't turned over the information, and Republicans warned the state would lose $10.4M today. The money hasn't been clawed back & a state judge said didn't force KS to comply w/ the deadline.

Health insurance premiums are expected to jump in 2026, and many businesses say they’ll be forced to pass some of the increase on to employees.

The federal government asked for Social Security numbers, addresses and other personal information from food assistance recipients in Kansas. Gov. Laura Kelly won’t hand it over.

“What we’ve seen is, of course, Democrats drew lines that tended to favor Democrats and Republicans drew lines that favored Republicans,” said Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

“I fear for Kansas City a year from now,” said Jenn Tosatto. “We’ve worked really hard to show that we aren’t just a flyover city and that we have things to offer in our food and beverage scene. But we’re not at our strongest right now.”

Some of the deep geothermal wells from the Raytown schools’ heating and cooling system allowed methane to accumulate below a parking lot. And while students are back at school, they’ll have natural gas detectors in their buildings. buff.ly/BJAifQh

59% of republicans say they will "definitely not get" the COVID-19 vaccine this fall

Under the map proposed by Gov. Mike Kehoe and carried by Rep. Dirk Deaton, Jackson County voters would be split between districts stretching into eastern, southern and northern #Missouri.

Christopher, a 35-year-old with cerebral palsy, died Aug. 19, 2025, from cardiac arrest in the nursing facility where he lived the last several years of his life. He weighed 94 pounds. The Beacon spoke with Twila on Aug. 6, before Christopher’s death. buff.ly/eOrXtaQ

“If my kids had any other disease,” an anonymous parent said in the report looking at substance use disorder in #Kansas, “there would have been prayer chains and meals brought in and people doing fundraisers for us … But because we had addiction, we were the throwaways.”

Latrice Thomas was removed from her position on the Raytown Board of Aldermen after an investigation into her taxes. Two months later, the city still has not publicly addressed her removal.

Since #Trump moved back into the White House, he has stopped new refugees coming into the country, delayed and eliminated funding to #refugee resettlement agencies and made cracking down on #immigration a keystone of his agenda.

The average student loan borrower on SAVE can expect monthly increases of $210 to $370 a month in Kansas and $270 to $380 a month in Missouri, according to @americanprogress.bsky.social.

An audit of KC’s comms practices found that leadership “buried stories or sat on stories it did not find favorable” and in some cases, the Assistant City Manager “called journalists who had written unfavorable stories and threatened to deny them further access to City officials.” @kcur.org

One foster child would arrive at a new home between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., wake up around 7 a.m. and get driven over two and a half hours to their old school in their former county.

Shortly after the museum staff left Kansas City, the Latino museum found itself in the White House crosshairs on Aug. 21, flagged several times in a listing of Smithsonian exhibits and messaging criticized as woke or anti-American.

In #Missouri, nearly 42% of counties are defined as maternity care deserts, higher than the nationwide average. Rural families face fewer options and greater distances to get OB-GYN care.

In #Missouri, only 58% of the population is fully vaccinated for #COVID (typically two initial shots), while only 26% percent had received additional doses as of fall 2022. In #Kansas, 64% of the population is fully vaccinated and 30% had received an additional shot in the same timeframe.

Janet Murguía understands that Latinos and other allies are angry about reports of federal officials arresting people at workplaces, in their homes and even when they go, as directed, to immigration court. “But that outrage needs to be targeted in the right ways,” said Murguía.

A state audit of the Independence School District found the board had discussed the four-day school week and other topics during closed meetings, violating the #Missouri Sunshine Law.

If you are one of the 617,000 people in Missouri or Kansas buying health insurance on healthcare.gov, expect sticker shock when next year’s premiums are announced.

“Some of your best candidates, I can look you in the eyes and tell you, aren’t looking for jobs,” said one of the presenters working with the superintendent search firm. “It’s going to take a phone call and convincing them to look at Independence.”

Missouri’s current congressional map gives no unfair advantage to either major political party. But that might soon change, making #Missouri another front in a larger gerrymandering “war” that has broken out across the country.

Brandon Calloway will lead a 10-mile walk Aug. 15 to showcase 24 Black-owned businesses along Troost Avenue, challenging decades-old stigmas about Kansas City’s former racial dividing line. buff.ly/YBIZnCX

A ballooning population of older Americans has brought new interest to a 50-year-old model of care that helps seniors stay at home as they age. PACE KC started accepting patients just over a year ago, but enrollment on Aug. 1 was only 42.

Even if you have commercial insurance, the impact on hospitals could still affect your health care. As people delay treatment for their health conditions due to a lack of insurance, they’ll start relying more on the emergency room as their primary form of health care, experts say. buff.ly/sxFLvzj

According to an announcement on Johnson County Community College’s English language learning page, adult education students are required to submit proof of citizenship or their most recent immigration documents in order to register.

A recent AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey found that 53% of adults say grocery prices are a major source of stress. buff.ly/1TOVktJ

“The fact that we’ve still helped 140 students enroll with what’s going on politically, just lets us know that we’re doing our job, having them feel safe,” said a Lee’s Summit, #Missouri R-7 School District Coordinator.

Latinos contribute more than $3.7 trillion annually to the economy, more than the gross domestic product of all but four countries in the world. The vast majority, eight out of 10, are U.S. citizens. But acknowledgement of those facts is lacking, studies show.

Kansas Citians shopping at their local marijuana dispensary still pay nearly 19% in sales taxes, or $19 on an $100 purchase.

In Missouri, almost 10% of the state’s 1.1 million residents 65 years old or older live below the poverty level and 22% receive food assistance. In Kansas, 8.5% of the state’s 510,000 seniors live below the poverty level.

The Beacon reached out to all six candidates for mayor in #Wyandotte County to help you understand what’s at stake on Aug. 5. All but one responded.

Starting Aug. 1, there’s an opportunity to get a discount on many purchases. During the annual 3-day tax holiday, school supplies, clothing and computers bought within #Missouri for personal use won’t be subject to state sales tax of 4.225% or to local sales tax.

Kansas City, #Kansas, Public Schools had a kindergarten #measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate of about 67% percent in 2023-24, though less than 2% of students had medical or religious exemptions.

The Trump administration’s new budget bill shifts more costs of #SNAP from the federal government to the states. How much a state pays depends on its error rate — which is when someone’s benefits are overpaid or underpaid. #Kansas has a 9.98% error rate.

#Missouri has long struggled with slow #Medicaid processing, and new work rules in 2026 could add more administrative strain.

Some of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 4,600 Washington, D.C.-based employees will soon be moving to the Kansas City area. bit.ly/3TZCMvp

The license for Carla’s Youth Residential Center in #Wichita was suspended in 2018 after suspected cases of sexual and physical abuse of foster kids. Jump forward to 2025 and issues at group homes still exist today. buff.ly/kLv9uDH

A professor emerita in SCSU’s special education department said there’s still a myth that #dyslexia involves seeing letters backwards. It’s actually a language-based disorder that can’t be fixed with vision training. buff.ly/IFTS2oG

Trump administration’s budget bill authorizes $45 billion for more detention centers like the one CoreCivic plans in Leavenworth.

A new federal law that narrowly passed Congress will cut $1 trillion from Medicaid and leave almost 12 million Americans without health coverage. buff.ly/MhlWPSM

According to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration, there are 256 mental health professional shortage areas across #Missouri. buff.ly/FW78ioE