The Trump administration's clampdown on student visas means that colleges and universities have gotten a lot fewer students from abroad this year. That could spell trouble for higher education and the U.S. as a whole.

The Strategic Traffic Operations and Rapid Mobilization, or STORM, team has been active since Sept. 1 and has been deployed on a smaller scale across the state, according to a press release. (@kbianews.bsky.social)

Last week's letter from UM System President Choi did not represent any changes to MU policy, but was a reminder to faculty and staff that, because they are employed by a public entity, their right to free speech has certain limits. (@kbianews.bsky.social)

Leaves typically start to peak in the Kansas City region by early October, but projecting peak foliage isn't an exact science. Here are some things you can do to get the most out of fall's colors. (@npr.org)

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), often called forever chemicals, are showing up in everything from cosmetics to nonstick pans. UMKC engineering professor Dr. Megan Hart said understanding what they are and how to avoid them can help protect your health.

Detainees in a Cottonwood Falls jail describe sleeping on the floor in over-capacity cells. Amid a national deportation surge, this jail is one of the region’s primary immigration detention centers.

The murder of Shaun Brady would cost Kansas City far more than the incalculable loss of a husband and father to his adoring family. The incident also speaks to the lingering economic toll gun violence takes on businesses and taxpayers. (@thebeacon.bsky.social)

A Cole County judge ordered Secretary of State Hoskins to rewrite the ballot summary proposal since it "fails to adequately alert voters that the proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate [the 2024 abortion rights amendment]." (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

Despite video evidence of an attack clearly showing Philip March fighting for control with a man in the driver's seat of his car, Hazelwood's police and prosecuting attorney focused their attention on March. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

The Warwick has been home to the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre for more than a decade. The company was preparing to mount the play “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” when a multi-alarm fire broke out in the early hours of the morning, damaging three floors all the way to the roof.

Its executive director, Aaron Schekorra, said he was on the phone and opening up the center Monday morning, and when he opened the door, he noticed something gold on the ground. As he looked closer, he noticed it was two bullets.

Election Day is just over a week away, and absentee voting is already underway, in the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. We'll explain the backstory of this unusual special election, and what it means if you vote yes or no.

Popcorn festivals and even "popcorn capitals of the world" dot the middle of the country. Yet this ubiquitous snack is grown on fewer than 1,000 farms in the U.S. today.

Beshear told a crowd on Saturday at the Missouri Democratic Party Truman Dinner that winning on tough terrain requires sticking with convictions, using plain and understandable language and being laser-focused on economic issues. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

Francis Howell Families, the PAC that has organized in recent years to elect conservative leaning members to the school board, posted the announcement to its website on Saturday. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

The ICE 287(g) program is expanding in the Midwest, and immigration advocates say there’s not enough oversight. This month, the Department of Homeland Security announced new financial incentives that could boost local involvement even further.

The good news is catalytic converter thefts are way down. The bad news is they have been replaced by copper thefts. “Copper is becoming more of a necessity. And it continues to increase in its value,” Derek Tolliver, Lead Investigator for AT&T told KCUR.

A truce between Kansas and Missouri to stop competing with hefty tax incentives to lure companies from one side of the state line to the other has ended, with the Kansas City City Council voting unanimously to repeal it on Thursday.

A Wyandotte County sheriff's deputy accused of killing a man by kneeling on his back was not arrested after being charged with second-degree murder. Instead, he was issued a summons to appear in court.

Redistricting opponents argue that the Missouri Constitution doesn't authorize mid-decade redistricting. But defenders of the gerrymandered map say it isn't explicitly prohibited either, a defense similar to the 1990s movie "Air Bud." (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

Missouri's system often takes years to resolve a misconduct allegation, in some cases allowing officers to move to a new department. Former KCPD detective Eric DeValkeneare took five years to surrender his license after his conviction. (@themarshallproject.org)

A coroner's report found that 50-year-old Charles Adair died by "mechanical asphyxia" at the Wyandotte County Detention Center after a deputy kneeled on his back and restrained him. A similar tactic caused the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In a new three-part investigative series from The Kansas City Star, reporter David Hudnall uncovers how the drug has become so popular — and explains how the Kansas City business American Shaman is contributing to 7-OH's meteoric rise.

Taste of Brazil Express, a quick-serve kiosk with a limited menu, plans a late September opening in the food court of Oak Park Mall. It will serve fan-favorite snacks like coxinhas, acai bowls and cheese bread. https://loom.ly/tv3San0

Tuttle Creek Lake is disappearing into mud. That’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Kansas Water Office will start a first-of-its-kind pilot test to try to clear it out.

At 84 years old, Willa Robinson is retiring and closing Willa’s Books and Vinyl, the store where she’s spent years selling works by Black artists. She’s placing the beloved space in the hands of @kcdefender.bsky.social, which will preserve her vast archive.

Thousands of students in third-grade classrooms across the country participated in this year’s Constitution Day mock trial to learn about civics, but the event got its start in Olathe.

Raquel Reyes’ family owns a paleteria in Kansas City, though her family lineage traces back to another famous American Girl doll. Her author, Angela Cervantes, is a Kansas City resident herself.

The fall is a great time to get into skateboarding. And Kansas City is filled with skate parks to explore, each with their own vibe and identity.

“Not only does the Court’s decision help vindicate our rights after we were unjustly targeted and denied last year, but it’s a big win for the Palestinian movement across the country,” Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine said after the ruling.

Employees at the General Services Administration are scrambling to lease offices to accommodate a rapid increase of ICE officers carrying out widespread raids across the country. Kansas City is one of the places where federally-owned or leased property might be used.

Surveillance footage shows Philip March being pummeled and robbed of his car keys in 2022. Yet, three years later, the city is prosecuting March for property damage — while the man who attacked him wasn't charged. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

In the bill text detailing Missouri's new congressional maps, one Kansas City precinct appears to be included in both the 4th and 5th districts. That would mean those voters would get to vote for two representatives in Congress.

Lawrence, Kansas-based filmmaker Kevin Willmott says that the 2004 Sundance Film Festival changed the trajectory of his career. The festival has long been known as an incubator for filmmakers’ careers. It was founded by Robert Redford who died on Tuesday at the age of 89.

KCUR put together this guide to Kansas City’s favorite fall festivals and arts fairs, autumn activities and Día de los Muertos events of 2025. With a little bit of planning and determination, you can attend a fall-themed festival each weekend from now ‘til November.

As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, it's important to remember Latino advocates like Irene Ruiz, a Kansas City librarian who captured the evolving history of the Westside and made the library a more welcoming place for the Kansas City's Mexican immigrants.

Today and tomorrow, the popular English soccer league is bringing its 11th Fan Fest to Kansas City's Power & Light District, and fans can attend for free.

At the Kansas City Renaissance Fair and beyond, you can explore historic arts and heritage crafts — including blacksmithing, armor and chainmail making, basket weaving and more — with local artisans, classes, and clubs.

The killing of beloved Kansas City chef Shaun Brady triggered at least $1.5 million in measurable costs, revealing the often-ignored economic burden that gun violence places on neighborhoods and taxpayers. (@thebeacon.bsky.social)

GOP lawmakers placed a constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would repeal Missouri's recent abortion rights measure. Except the summary did not say that it would ban abortion — so a judge ruled it must be rewritten. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)

You might know him as the former face of the Washington Post's TikTok, making the news funny (and less scary). What you might not know is that @davejorgenson.bsky.social is a Kansas Cititian, who recently launched his own company called Local News International.

UM System President Choi said “speech that causes significant disruption can be a basis for discipline or termination, even when it occurs off-duty." It comes as colleges take action to control faculty discourse over Charlie Kirk's death. (@kbianews.bsky.social)

BREAKING: A pro-Palestinian student group at the University of Missouri in Columbia can participate in the school’s Homecoming parade next weekend, after a federal judge ruled the university cannot exclude the group because of its viewpoints.

Kansas City, Kansas, artist Harold Smith’s new series of paintings puts a personal spin on iconic works from art history by adding in his friends and neighbors. You can see these "Around the Way Folk, Saints in Uncommon Places" now at the Mulvane Art Museum in Topeka.

Choi was ordered by the court Wednesday to file a document listing all of the organizations that had been approved for parade participation and the ones that had been denied. The document did not provide a reason for any of the denials. (@kbianews.bsky.social)

“Anyone on the river knows the extreme changes between flooding and drought can have some serious impacts on just about everybody in the region,” said Stacy Kinder, the mayor of Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Drug-soaked paper was smuggled into at least one Kansas prison, according to state officials, who cited the ordeal as the reason for changing print newspaper subscription policies. (@kansasreflector.com)

Kansas Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab did not provide the full data the Justice Department wanted. Instead, he said he was “initially” giving its lawyers only publicly available voter information. (@johnsoncountypost.bsky.social)

In Missouri, police aren't required to report misconduct in a certain amount of time and face no consequences for not doing so. It also isn't a state that automatically revokes a police license when an officer is convicted of a crime. (@themarshallproject.org)

Missouri state Rep. Jeremy Dean of Springfield sent the text message on Sept. 4 to Republican state Rep. Cecelie Williams of Dittmer, during debates over a bill making it harder for voters to amend the state constitution. (@stlpublicradio.bsky.social)