News

KCK schools resume in-person indoor sports practice today

Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools will begin allowing student athletes to practice for indoor sports on Monday. It includes basketball, swimming and bowling.  Last year, the school board voted to postpone fall sports due to increasing reports of covid cases… more

Ranking and review site notes top school districts in KC area

On both sides of the state line, online ranking and review website Niche noted the top school districts in the Kansas City area and in Kansas and Missouri. The Blue Valley and Blue Springs school districts were the area’s highest-rated… more

New year marks minimum wage raise in Missouri

Beginning New Year's Day, Missouri's minimum wage increased to $10.30 per hour, a rise of 85 cents. According to the Missouri Department of Labor, the 85 cent raise only applies to employees working for a private business and there's an additional… more

U.S. stocks finish year with record gain over 16 percent

U.S. stocks finished 2020 with a gain of more than 16 percent after a technology sector-led rally pulled Wall Street back from a brief bear market to set a record high in defiance of pandemic, recession and political upheaval. The… more

AMC to sell 50 million more shares, avoid bankruptcy filing

Leawood-based AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. plans to sell up to 50 million more shares as it tries to prevent a bankruptcy filing. The movie theater chain said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to offer… more

Missouri-based Centene acquires healthcare company for $2.2B

Centene will buy Magellan for $95 per share in a cash deal that values the Phoenix-based behavioral health provider at $2.2 billion.  The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. It will make Centene one… more

Coping with COVID: FDA to potentially begin delivering half-doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

The FDA is meeting this week to consider giving half-doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine to people ages 18 to 55. The head of Operation Warp Speed says clinical data shows the vaccine can be just as effective at half-doses in… more

Kansas to increase testing, detect COVID-19 strains

The state of Kansas plans to increase genetic testing of COVID-19 positive patients to identify strains of the virus. Kansas currently tests around 1 percent of COVID-19 patients with genetic testing, according to Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health… more

Main Street Lending Program expiration extended

The Main Street Lending Program - utilized by small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. – has granted an extension on its expiration date. The termination date on its facilities was pushed back, a decision made by the Board of… more

Blue KC makes investment, takes minority stake in Connecticut performance management company

Nearly a year after announcing their partnership, Blue KC has taken a minority stake in Connecticut health care performance management company, Cedar Gate Technologies. The partnership announcement revealed in January 2020 was made to increase the insurer’s analytical capabilities and its… more