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How Kansas directed COVID funds to expand broadband across the state
About 6% of the Kansas population lacks any wired broadband services at home, and internet access is particularly a problem in rural parts of the state. On the national level, about 14.5 million people living in rural parts of the U.S. lack access to broadband.
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Coronavirus in Kansas and Missouri
COVID-19’s fall surge cut a deadly swath through rural Kansas
By the end of the year, rural Kansas counties had actually suffered more deaths proportionally in 2020 than their more densely populated counterparts.
Economics
Pandemic unemployment assistance is ending, leaving millions without help
Millions of Americans who have lost their jobs in the last nine months have relied on pandemic unemployment programs. But those unemployment programs are now expiring.
Struggling to survive in a pandemic, Kansas City’s restaurants are closing down
Faced with a pandemic that has lasted for most of 2020, dozens of independent restaurants in Kansas City have closed their doors.
After losing their jobs in a pandemic, Kansans face delays in receiving unemployment payments.
Without a job, Kansans have relied on state and federal support to get by — to pay rent, bills, utilities and food. But nine months since unemployment claims began skyrocketing in the spring, Kansans are experiencing delays in receiving their payments.
Environment
Fate of monarch butterfly up in the air
Citing finite resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to work on higher priority species before evaluating whether monarch butterflies should be listed as endangered or threatened.
Fish Fight: Invasive Asian carp threaten Kansas and Missouri waterways
There’s a war being fought amid the vast Mississippi River system. At stake are populations of native fish and a multibillion-dollar fishing and boating industry.
Local scientists seek solutions for Kansas lakes battling harmful blue-green algae
Blue-green algae blooms have always been a natural, and safe, part of Kansas lakes. But within the past decade, algal amounts have increased, causing health and economic woes.
Education
How universities in Kansas and Missouri were impacted by enrollment and budget shortfalls
The pandemic has presented a two-sided coin to the four big public universities in Kansas and Missouri. On one side, the dire enrollment predictions of the summer have turned out better — in one case, much better — than expected.
‘Community members are concerned’: COVID-19 cases return to college towns along with students
With the fall semester in full swing, colleges in Kansas and Missouri are scrambling to handle case spikes on their campuses.
With school taking place online, Kansas City families are still struggling to get connected
As students begin the new school year with varying degrees of remote or online learning, the digital divide has become a bigger issue for Kansas City families during the pandemic.
More Stories
Eviction hearings in Kansas City are taking place over video. Not everyone has internet.
What would normally be an in-person appearance at the 16th Circuit Courthouse downtown has transitioned onto virtual platforms.
Feeling a lack of protections against COVID-19, workers file complaints with OSHA
At a time when going to work carries possible exposure to a contagious, novel virus — and when many COVID-19 outbreaks have been linked to workplaces themselves — the complaints provide a window into the risks facing workers.
The COVID-19 positivity test rate is up. More Kansas Citians should get tested, officials say
Despite an increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the Kansas City area over the last few weeks, officials say fewer people are using free community testing sites run by health departments. “It’s definitely concerning,” Frank Thompson, deputy director of the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department, said of the decrease in people getting tested. […]
Older adults in Kansas City are facing increased anxiety, depression during the pandemic
Local organizations that serve seniors are trying to adapt.
Complete census counts in Kansas, Missouri marred by COVID-19 and changing deadlines
For six days a week throughout August and September, Cindy Hoedel went door-to-door across mostly rural Kansas counties — sometimes covering over 200 miles in a day — to find out how many people lived in a given address on April 1. But as a Census worker, Hoedel’s biggest challenge wasn’t in the rural areas […]
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