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The Beacon Kansas City cultivates engaged and informed communities through accessible reporting and active community engagement on crucial local subjects, anchored by a sustainable nonprofit model.

Nearly half of Planned Parenthood patients use Medicaid, the organization said, and the group said it spent more than $4...
01/09/2026

Nearly half of Planned Parenthood patients use Medicaid, the organization said, and the group said it spent more than $45 million nationwide in September to cover the loss of funding for those patients.

Coupled with funding debates over Title X — the federal family planning program that includes some Planned Parenthood clinics — the organization is facing an uphill battle when it comes to funding.

From January to November 2025, nearly 50 Planned Parenthood clinics have been forced to close their doors. Since July, when H.R. 1 was signed into law, 20 centers have closed, Planned Parenthood said. https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026/01/09/missouri-planned-parenthood-rolla-clinic-telehealth-closed/

The Rolla clinic is keeping its staff and shifting most of its care to telehealth appointments. Patients who need in-person care are now being referred to other providers in the area or Planned Parenthood clinics in Springfield and St. Louis.

68 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, including 30 at immediate risk, according to The Center for Healthcare Qual...
01/08/2026

68 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, including 30 at immediate risk, according to The Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform.

Nationwide, the analysis found that 756 hospitals — one-third of all rural hospitals — could be in jeopardy, including 323 that are at immediate risk of closure. Hospitals that are losing money on patient services and don’t have enough reserves to offset those losses for more than six or seven years are considered to be at immediate risk.

A new study of rural hospitals finds that Kansas has more on the brink of shutting down than every other state. Revenue isn’t keeping up with cost.

‘Deplorable conditions’The urgency to move comes after city inspections found what officials call “significant habitabil...
01/08/2026

‘Deplorable conditions’

The urgency to move comes after city inspections found what officials call “significant habitability and safety issues” and HUD cut off federal subsidies to the property owner Dec. 1, 2025. Though the complex has not been formally condemned, the city has told the remaining families to relocate.

HUD on Jan. 7 activated an emergency relocation program for Olive Park Village residents. All remaining residents will receive hotel placement if needed, moving services and storage assistance.

The need to vacate came after neighbors and residents had made dozens of complaints to the 311 call center in recent years that have escalated as the large out-of-state property management company has been unable or unwilling to resolve numerous code violations.

Residents of the complex at Ninth and Olive streets in Kansas City’s Independence Plaza neighborhood say they have endured flooding, ceiling collapses, mold, mice and rodent infestations. Neighbors took notice of break-ins at unsecure and vacant units that have led to illegal activity, theft and fires.

Residents describe fires, floods, infestation and deterioration while living in apartments controlled by a Cleveland-based housing management company. With the city citing unsafe conditions, remaining families now have to scramble for new homes.

Kansas Republicans don’t have the votes to gerrymander the state’s congressional maps in 2026, GOP leadership said.
01/07/2026

Kansas Republicans don’t have the votes to gerrymander the state’s congressional maps in 2026, GOP leadership said.

Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said he is about 20 votes short of overriding a veto.

Missouri lawmakers have pre-filed thousands of bills ahead of the start of the 2026 legislative session. More than 80 of...
01/06/2026

Missouri lawmakers have pre-filed thousands of bills ahead of the start of the 2026 legislative session.

More than 80 of them are proposed constitutional amendments, changes that lawmakers want voters to approve and enshrine in the supreme law of the state.

Lawmakers’ proposed constitutional changes span topics from separating Kansas City from Jackson County to raising school districts’ debt limits and repealing abortion rights.

Through proposed constitutional amendments on issues like property taxes and initiative petitions, lawmakers outline their vision for Missouri’s long-term future.

Three months after one mother’s property tax bill went up, she received a notice of foreclosure from her mortgage compan...
01/05/2026

Three months after one mother’s property tax bill went up, she received a notice of foreclosure from her mortgage company.

As property owners contend with rapidly rising assessments and higher tax bills, state lawmakers say they want to change the system and provide some property tax relief.

Nearly half of Missouri children under 5 live in areas considered “child care deserts.” One bill could help.
01/02/2026

Nearly half of Missouri children under 5 live in areas considered “child care deserts.” One bill could help.

Kansas City has a list of 52 legislative priorities during the Missouri General Assembly in 2026. Here's a look at some of the key issues.

Today marks the expiration of premium tax credits that subsidized Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance.It could com...
12/31/2025

Today marks the expiration of premium tax credits that subsidized Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance.

It could compel another 5 million people to drop insurance.

The resulting decline in revenue combined with the financial burden of caring for more patients who can’t afford to pay — and are probably sicker as a consequence — sets up a difficult situation for safety-net providers in 2026. And the toll on people’s health will reverberate across Kansas City’s nonprofit health care ecosystem.

Nonprofits turned to private donations to make ends meet after federal funding cuts left major budget gaps. But those dollars won’t be enough.

Fitzgibbon Hospital has announced it will be shuttering some services on Dec. 31, citing mounting financial pressures.
12/30/2025

Fitzgibbon Hospital has announced it will be shuttering some services on Dec. 31, citing mounting financial pressures.

Hospital cites staffing costs, inflation and reimbursement gaps from the federal government as reasons for the closures.

With more expensive health plans or no coverage at all, many people will delay treatment for their health conditions.
12/29/2025

With more expensive health plans or no coverage at all, many people will delay treatment for their health conditions.

The Trump administration’s budget bill included about $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid. As part of an effort to offset those costs, Congress created the Rural Health Transformation Fund, a $50 billion bucket of money that goes to states.

The Urban Institute's affordability tracker says that nationally, the average monthly grocery bill is up 32% while wages...
12/26/2025

The Urban Institute's affordability tracker says that nationally, the average monthly grocery bill is up 32% while wages have only gone up 29% since 2019.

While workers produce more than ever, rising costs for food, housing, child care, and health care outpace wage growth, forcing Kansas City families into tough choices.

When the second Trump administration came into office a year ago, it abruptly canceled or froze thousands of federal gra...
12/24/2025

When the second Trump administration came into office a year ago, it abruptly canceled or froze thousands of federal grants.

Research across the country was disrupted, including 383 ongoing clinical trials, which affected more than 74,000 patients.

According to Grant Witness, a scientist-run project tracking the fate of research grants, 5,484 NIH grants have been affected at some point. The same is true for 1,996 grants issued by the National Science Foundation.

Sometimes funding was delayed because language didn’t comply with political dictates and flagged words had to be scrubbed before funding was awarded. That happened to the KU Cancer Center.

In other cases, the topic of research was determined to be incongruous with the Trump administration’s priorities, so funding was canceled.

A change in how the federal government funds research means fewer projects are moving forward. Scientists said the result will be fewer medical advances.

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Locally controlled, nonprofit journalism in Kansas City

The Beacon, which is slated to launch in 2020, is an online news outlet based in Kansas City focused on local, in-depth journalism in the public interest. Coverage is geared toward reporting that is revelatory, contextual, data-driven and solutions-driven.

Local journalism empowers the people

Information is power. If people are informed, they have the power to make changes in their community through everything from voting to constructive community dialogue to attending protests.

At The Beacon, we’re betting on the relationships that we (journalists) can build with communities through membership, events and collaboration — a sustainable, nonprofit (or rather, “for purpose”) model that puts the interest of the public first.