Brandon Azim

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Missouri law enforcement officials will begin issuing tickets to distracted drivers caught using electronic devices while driving.

The Giving Grove, a nonprofit that works with residents of under-resourced communities to grow orchards, announced in December they will translate their educational gardening materials into 12 different languages. Non-English speaking communities face barriers to accessing the free fruit and nuts because information about growing and harvesting has been printed only in English.

Kansas City community kitchens are seeing higher demand as food prices remain high and COVID-19 assistance disappears. The food bank Harvesters is focusing on rescuing food waste as one way to shore up its supplies as demand rises, and donations are down.

In the last few decades, urban schools in Kansas City have not kept up with other schools in their ability to offer high-level courses in computer science and coding. The nonprofit WeCode/KC has been providing primarily minority students access to education in a variety of tech areas for five years, in an effort to address this aspect of the digital divide.

A 2020 Census survey found that 2.4% of potential voters didn’t cast a ballot because they couldn’t get to the polls. To address this problem, a number of local organizations are offering free or discounted rides for this Tuesday’s election.

Extracurricular activities are limited for blind and visually impaired young students. That’s why Beep Kickball, a team sport using balls and bases that make sounds, has grown dramatically in popularity since the game came to Kansas City just over five years ago.

Tenants in Quality Hill Towers and Independence Towers have dealt with deteriorating living conditions that have gone unaddressed for years. With no commitments from their landlords, the two tenant unions voted to begin withholding their rent this month.

As part of its sweeping green infrastructure plan, Kansas City is transitioning to LED streetlights. The new bulbs are more efficient, last longer and reduce carbon emissions. But environmentalists say that the real solution to reducing carbon pollution is to shut down the coal-fired power plant that provides energy to Kansas City.

Law students at UMKC's Expungement Clinic helped nearly 60 people clear their criminal records, giving them better opportunities for jobs and housing. But the clinic's funding ran out in January, leaving some formerly incarcerated people without hope.

Kansas City, Kansas, finished the first 4-mile leg of the bike trail on the Armourdale levee in 2016. Now, it’s extending the trail. The levee trail is part of the county's effort to get more people outside and exercising, but some residents say lack of access has made trailheads difficult to find.