Regional

UM board rejects mask mandates for spring semester

A decision from the UM System Board of Curators has voted down campus mask mandates for students within the UM System. With the start of the new semester, universities such as MU recommend wearing masks indoors but will not require… more

KC economy expands at steady pace ending 2021

Economic activity for the Kansas City district closed out the year displaying growth at a moderate pace, according to the latest Beige Book report, released on Jan. 12 by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Representing the… more

Tuesday marks highest count in new hospitalizations in KC area

In a virtual meeting this week, Kansas City area hospitals said they would be making further moves to accommodate a jump in patient admissions. Hospitals in the Kansas City region, facing the largest outbreak of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic… more

Missouri state employees could see raise in wage

Lawmakers in Missouri could approve a 5.5 percent raise for state employees as early as February. The raise request comes from Gov. Mike Parson. Approval of $91 million has been requested of the House Budget Committee for raises in 2022.… more

Trepp: CMBS Delinquencies Break 17-Month Decline

The rate of delinquencies in U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities increased in December, breaking a 17-month string of declines that began after the worst of the COVID-19 downturn took hold in early 2020. According to the commercial realty analytics firm Trepp,… more

Creative Planning Adds $300M Cincinnati Firm

Well, that didn’t take long: Just weeks after sealing a deal that made it the region’s second-largest wealth-planning firm, Creative Planning has started the new year with another significant acquisition. This time, it has added Berno Financial Management, a Cincinnati… more

IRS Raises Mileage Rates for Business

The Internal Revenue Service has issued its 2022 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The agency issued a news release that said, effective this week,… more

COVID-19 Hospitalizations in Kansas City Reach a Record Ratio in Pandemic Era

Chief medical officers from the biggest hospitals in Kansas sounded a warning over the explosion of COVID-19 case numbers in the state on Wednesday. Even as they were speaking, it turns out, the proportion of hospital beds filled by those… more

Missouri puts pause on orders for at-home COVID testing kits

Following a burst of high demand for COVID-19 testing, the Missouri Department of Health has issued a temporary halt on orders of at-home tests. With limited supplies nationwide, the call was made to prevent backup within the ordering system. The… more

Cases reach new pandemic-era high

Hospitalizations are up in the metro as cases climbed to a new peak, prompting Kansas City area medical officers to call for emergency measures in the face of what they consider to be crisis levels. Lethality of the new wave… more