Kansas City Missouri (KCMO)

Crews of volunteers are digging into the ruins of a 168-year-old mansion in Lecompton, Kansas, that belonged to a territorial governor. The work is done through the Kansas Historical Society's annual archaeological field school. Plus: Children’s author Derrick Barnes from Kansas City is known for books that are all about making Black kids feel seen.

Local artists can have a hand in creating public art to accompany a planned skate park between River Market and the West Bottoms. Riders in the area hope the site becomes a hub for the local skateboarding community.

Most Kansas City suburbs have stopped their transit funding in recent years, ending many of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s suburban bus routes. Experts say that’s put the area into a transit death spiral.

A Jackson County Circuit Court judge blocked enforcement last week of nearly all Missouri laws that restrict abortion, ruling the 2024 passage of Amendment 3 enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution. Missouri has already started and stopped abortion services several times this year as legal battles continue.

Immigrants, including unaccompanied children, have little legal options once they're targeted for deportation — and no universal right to a government-appointed attorney. Kansas City's immigration court currently has a backlog of more than 52,000 cases.

The multi-genre vocalist and musician was known for her expansive vocal range, and was a longtime presence in the Kansas City music scene. Keller performed with the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, the Kansas City Civic Opera, newEar and The James Ward Band.

Kansas City will be the smallest city in North America to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But it may not have embraced the sport at all, if not for the efforts of immigrants who fought for the beautiful game — before there were even soccer fields to play on.

Months after area arts and culture nonprofits saw a loss of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Gov. Mike Kehoe has vetoed millions more in state support.

Illegal dumping has been a problem in Kansas City for decades. Now, a year after the city instituted tougher penalties on offenders, Council member Crispin Rea says things are moving in the right direction.

Officials with KC Water say heavy rainfall around Omaha, Nebraska, is the reason people in the Kansas City area have noticed a strange taste and odor to their water in the last couple of days. The water is safe to drink, officials insist, and the treated water is slowly moving south, so everyone's water should taste the way it always has by Wednesday.

The Mid America Regional Council has a new agreement with Guadalupe Centers to operate a Head Start program near Swope Park. The council also approved an amendment for Kansas City Public Schools to take on more kids in the Columbus Park area.

The COVID-19 pandemic paused many HIV prevention efforts, which helped fuel last year's rise in new infections. President Donald Trump's federal funding cuts threaten to further hamper those efforts.