For years, the Missouri Department of Corrections was not actually keeping track of the people who died in state prisons — with partial counts, missing names and flat-out wrong information being standard procedure. That is, until a Marshall Project reporter started asking questions.

Since purchasing the Country Club Plaza more than a year ago, the Gillion Property group has increased its security and made cosmetic repairs. Now, the company plans major construction that contrasts with the Plaza’s storybook atmosphere, and asking a Kansas City agency for $1.4 billion in tax breaks.

In rural Medicine Lodge, Kansas, Sarrah and Kyle Miller were sued last month by their local medical clinic for $230 in unpaid medical expenses. Their story is part of a new pattern. Kansas hospitals have filed thousands of lawsuits against their rural patients in recent years, including many for less than $500.

Kansas City officials are waging a war against graffiti, scrubbing surfaces clean only to see them tagged again the next day. Businesses and hotels are fighting back to send the message that downtown is a welcoming, thriving and safe place.

A longtime resident of Columbia, Missouri, remains imprisoned in Texas more than a month after he was detained by federal officers. Owen Ramsingh is a green-card holder who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, but he’s now facing deportation due to a drug conviction from when he was a teen.

Now that the government shutdown is over, tens of thousands of furloughed civil servants are back to work in Kansas City. But that doesn’t mean all is well. KCUR spoke with a Social Security employee who answers the 1-800 line about her experiences working without pay.

An Independence museum for artwork made out of human hair recently closed its doors for good. Hear the story of the final days of Leila’s Hair Museum. Plus: Missouri families have to navigate tough food decisions after getting alpha-gal syndrome from ticks.

The tickborne illness alpha-gal syndrome affects what you can eat. For those who contract it, mealtime becomes a minefield. Plus: American agriculture depends on foreign workers, but President Donald Trump’s immigration clampdown is shrinking a farm workforce that many say was already too small.

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be near an end. But weeks without paychecks and cuts to SNAP benefits put many Kansas Citians in desperate situations — and turning to local support systems like food pantries, mental health services and utility assistance programs.

A Kansas City historian is preserving the stories of Mexican Americans who served during Vietnam. The new oral history project is titled "In Their Own Words: Mexican American Vietnam Era Veterans."

As the government shutdown drags on, what’s the experience like for federal workers — not just the thousands who have been furloughed, but those left behind to carry on the work without pay? KCUR spoke with an IRS customer service agent about her experiences working through the shutdown, and her worries for the future.

A Kansas City therapist started a walking group in a disadvantaged neighborhood that aims to make sure everyone can keep up. We'll take a Friday stroll with the “Marlborough Unstoppables." Plus, a 1962 plane crash heading to Kansas City killed eight crew members and 37 passengers — in what turned out to be the country's first jet bombing.

A major breach of the KCKPD has revealed a list of alleged officer misconduct for the first time, including allegations of sexual harassment, excessive force, false arrests and more. Even still, some accusations of misconduct by known corrupt cops, such as disgraced former detective Roger Golubski, did not make the list.

Voters in Kansas and Missouri went to the polls yesterday to decide on a range of issues, including how many days kids should be in school and whether they should abandon their current form of government. Today, we bring you election results from across the metro.

Missouri Republicans are facing the sobering reality that the new congressional map they passed in September isn’t a done deal. A voter-led referendum could derail the GOP’s plans for more favorable congressional lines.

The Independence board of education first approved a four-day school week in December 2022 to help recruit and retain teachers amid a chronic shortage across the state. Whether the district can keep its shortened week, though, will be decided by voters on Tuesday.

Kansas City has been in the national news a lot lately, including one surprising place: stories about the New York City mayoral election. Many national news outlets, most of them conservative-leaning, have zeroed in on candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposals for free bus fare and government-run grocery stores, and they’re using Kansas City as a negative example of both.

Students at Ruskin High School in south Kansas City have the newest Teacher of the Year in Missouri — and they’re not surprised. Hear from them about why their teacher came out on top. Plus: The number of people experiencing homelessness in Kansas fell this year, but President Donald Trump recently ended federal funding for programs that provide permanent housing with no strings attached.

A Kansas City car salesman has opened a business hosting legal car sideshows. He hopes the space will make city streets safer, after years of complaints from businesses and residents about crowds and violence.

A Kansas college cross-country runner ended up "on the verge of death" from exertional heat stroke during a blistering hot practice in August. Former athletes and trainers say this doesn't surprise them.