The Beacon

05/14/2026

The Kansas City Council is reviewing a redevelopment plan for the Plaza, including architectural design standards as well as increased height allowances on four blocks up to 178 feet tall.

Renovation plans for Kansas City's Country Club Plaza head to the City Council. The plan includes design requirements and height limits.

05/13/2026

As food insecurity grows, the surging cost of fuel has driven up prices across the food supply chain.

The jump in transportation costs is the latest in a string of challenges Harvesters - The Community Food Network has been forced to confront since the Trump administration returned to office.

As food insecurity grows, the surging cost of fuel has driven up prices across the food supply chain.

05/12/2026

After years of economic strain, central Missouri’s Fitzgibbon Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to sell to a private buyer.

Fitzgibbon Hospital will remain open during Chapter 11 proceedings, but years of losses and cuts to services reflect challenges facing rural healthcare providers.

05/11/2026

Here's a summary of the key decisions and discussions that KC Documenters recorded during public meetings this month.

A few highlights:

🟡 The Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations Committee approved an allocation of $85.6 million to KCATA. The expenditure is less than what the KCATA said it needs, likely necessitating service cuts. Bus fares will be reinstated on June 1.

🟡 The CCED Sales Tax Board said the fund collected about $1.1 million in sales tax revenue in March.

🟡 The Mid-America Regional Council contracted with the KC2026 (World Cup) Host Committee to manage $59.5 million in grant funds, including providing fiscal oversight and compliance support services.

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Hosted by The Beacon and originally created by City Bureau in Chicago, is training and paying community members to take notes at public meetings in , , and Kansas City, .

Learn more, and read our notes, here: https://thebeaconnews.org/documenters/

05/11/2026

With hotel bookings lagging and ticket prices topping $1,000, some wonder whether World Cup fans will camp out in the area.

Could World Cup fans camp out in Kansas City? The Beacon explores what's behind the idea, what campgrounds are seeing and how cities plan to respond.

05/08/2026

MOScholars, the private school tuition voucher program, gains $10 million in funding despite outcry over not fully funding the foundation formula.

Conference committee reversed several elements of the House’s plan, but supported a shortfall in public education funding.

05/07/2026

Take a walk through some of Kansas City’s oldest neighborhoods east of Troost Avenue or in the Historic Northeast, and you’ll see evidence of once-dense and vibrant neighborhoods.

A handful of houses are surrounded by a sea of empty lawns or boarded-up buildings. You might see a basement or foundation poking out of overgrown grass, or some rubble left behind by a sloppy demolition. Or even the burned-out shell of a beautiful home.

It’s the result of decades of population decline in Kansas City’s urban core. Within its pre-1945 boundaries, stretching from the Missouri River south to 75th Street, Kansas City has lost more than half of its population over the past 70 years, according to an analysis by economic development researcher Dion Thompson-Davoli. https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026/05/07/kansas-city-neighborhoods-vacant-land/

‘When you have widespread vacancy,’ said Alana Henry, the executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, ‘it’s reflective of a dying community, and that feeling of stagnation or death can be absorbed by the inhabitants.’

05/06/2026

“They’ve called it the modernization program. But it’s not to fix up and refurbish weapons that already exist. It’s to make new weapons.”

The federal government will hold the second of five public hearings in Kansas City May 7. Activists want to know what's at risk here.

05/05/2026

KIPP Kansas City’s charter school sponsor said in its latest annual report that the school overall “does not meet” performance standards.

But the sponsor — the Missouri Charter Public School Commission — invited KIPP KC to apply to renew the five-year charter that gives it permission to operate. The current charter expires in mid-2027.

“An invitation to renew is not a renewal decision,” the commission’s Deputy Director Martha McGeehon said. “It is simply an invitation to continue through the process.”

The commission will decide whether to renew KIPP KC’s contract in the fall or early winter of this year, McGeehon said.

KIPP Kansas City fell short of its charter school sponsor’s expectations, but it was invited to apply for another five-year contract to operate.

05/04/2026

In Hermann, Missouri, only 24 beds are available at the city’s critical access hospital.

The hospital has been forced to whittle away at services over the years in order to stay financially viable. Like many of Missouri’s rural hospitals, the situation is dire, Hermann Area District Hospital CEO Bill Hellebusch said.

To help keep the doors open, the hospital has an operating agreement with MU Health Care to staff and operate the building in Hermann. MU Health also places medical students in the Hermann facilities to help them get hands-on experience in rural settings.

Now, Hellebusch is supporting a bill brought forward in Jefferson City that would grant antitrust immunity to MU Health Care and the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators to acquire or run hospitals, medical clinics or other healthcare facilities in a 25-county area throughout central Missouri.

Proposed legislation would give MU Health Care broad freedom to expand across 25 mid-Missouri counties. Experts warn it may not be needed for rural hospital acquisitions and could harm competition.

05/01/2026

An influx of visitors from countries where tipping isn’t a cultural norm could mean a pay cut for some Kansas City workers during what’s expected to be a busy stretch.

KC restaurants are split on adding automatic tips during the World Cup. For tipped workers the stakes are real — and the safety net is thin.