Regional

Jobless claims show modest decline from previous week

Jobless insurance claims continue to drop, but only slightly, recording between 800,000 and 900,000 for over a month. Advance figure claims totaled 840,000 last week, a 9,000 drop from the previous week, according to a Thursday news release from the… more

Over $133 million in restricted funding is released in Missouri

Today, Governor Mike Parson announced over $133 million in funding to support critical services in several areas, including nearly $95 million in CARES Act funding and $40 million in general revenue. Nearly $100 million of these funds will support K-12… more

Coping with COVID: Change in case count method causes positivity rate to drop in Johnson County

A shift in the way the positivity rate is being calculated in Johnson County, Kan. has resulted in a notable dip in the positivity rate. This week, the COVID-19 positivity rate fell by nearly half, decreasing from 11.3 percent to… more

Children’s Mercy scores millions for pediatric research

Kansas City-based Children’s Mercy announced on Wednesday a donation worth celebrating for its Genomic Answers for Kids research initiative. Donations brought in $16 million for the program which serves as the flagship initiative for the highly anticipated Children’s Mercy Research… more

Construction resumes at Clay County annex site following permit battle

Tension surrounding a new Clay County annex building escalated in September after a Kansas City, Mo. inspector issued a stop work order for the site. Now, construction is back on track for the $20 million project located at Missouri 152… more

Department of Veterans Affairs considers making move to Cerner patient portal

A major change could soon occur at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA considering making an EHR portal change. Discussion is underway for the department regarding possibly retiring its current EHR patient portal and making a switch to Cerner’s… more

KU Cancer Center hopes to achieve National Cancer Institute ‘comprehensive’ status

In the hopes of renewing its National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, The University of Kansas Cancer Center announced Oct. 1 that it plans to submit an application to NCI next year to attain "comprehensive" status. This status is the NCI’s highest… more

Q&A with Jenny Housley

Q: Blue KC has announced that it’s getting back into the ACA marketplace for the coming enrollment period. What has changed in the broader insurance market that makes this the right move? A: Over the past couple of years, we… more

New Short Line Rail Fund program in Kansas funds 13 projects

A new program in Kansas through the Kansas Department of Transportation has brought funding to 13 selected projects. Called the Short Line Rail Fund program, recipients were announced Tuesday by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly along with Transportation Secretary Julie Lorenz,… more

Coping with Covid: Statistical update

As the human toll attributed to COVID-19 in the U.S. has surpassed 200,000, the “grim milestone” references in daily news reports have overlooked one positive indicator: As of Tuesday, the nation had gone 13 consecutive days with fewer than 1,000… more