News

Jackie Dougan Jackson keeps a pretty thorough log of her life. The 85-year-old retired college professor lives in Springfield, Ill., and has lived there for more than 40 years. However, she has devoted a lot of time to her first 22 years, when she lived on a family farm near Beloit, Wisc.

Members of Missouri's Congressional delegation are weighing in on the U.S. House version of the Farm Bill, which could be voted on before week's end.

Democrats, including St. Louis Congressman William Lacy Clay, say the GOP-backed bill goes too far.

Clay calls the cuts "outrageous."

"The savings achieved are small when compared to the great human suffering this change would cause," Clay says. "This is targeting the least among us."

Clay says ending subsidies on sugar, corn and other crops would be a better way to save money on agriculture costs.

A Kansas City man is tied to a New York bomb plot as part of government surveillance program.  Missouri Congressmen speak out about the House version of the Farm Bill. 

Kansas City Man Tied to New York Bomb Plot

The FBI alleges that a Kansas City man was involved in a fledgling plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. The case came up as an example of effective the government surveillance programs have been at foiling some 50 terrorist plots.

There are some artists, like musicians and dancers, whose contracts are for roughly 40 weeks a year. So, how do they spend the rest of their time?

We asked Kansas City Symphony musicians, on contract for a 42-week season, to share stories about their plans for the off-season.

Miles Maner, associate principal, bassoonist and contrabassoonist

On learning to love the bassoon

The FBI alleges that a Kansas City man was involved in a fledgling plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. The case came up as an example of effective the government surveillance programs have been at foiling some 50 terrorist plots.

A new campaign vows to cut the number of families living in poverty by half in the next 10 years.

On Wednesday's Up to Date, Erik Stegman, manager of American Progess' Half in Ten,  tells how this new plan is not only possible, but necessary.

Valorie Carson, community planning director of United Community Services of Johnson County, joins the discussion. 

Kansas City’s airport advisory panel met in Union Station Tuesday morning.  Kansas City is looking at moving from its current three terminal layout to a new, single terminal.  Supporters of the new design say it’s a needed update to the 40-year-old structure because of security concerns. Opponents of the single terminal say the current system works well for travelers. 

The panel's co-chair, Bob Berkebile, says he learned a couple of things from what the group was calling airport school, and he notes getting informed is an important first step.

The first Kansas City charter passed more than 90 years ago. Now, it might be time to change the rules.

More than 1,000 United Mine Workers of America members were back in St. Louis Monday, the latest in a series of protests against Peabody Coal and its handling of their retirement and health care benefits.

St. Louis-based Peabody Coal spun off Patriot in 2007, and made it financially responsible for most retiree benefits. The rally is the first since a bankruptcy judge ruled last month that Patriot can impose sharp cuts in those benefits to get the company profitable again.

A medical procedure that goes back thousands of years is enjoying a resurgence: leeching. The segmented worms are used primarily in microsurgeries like limb reattachments and plastic surgery.

At the Mercy Springfield pharmacy in Springfield, MO leeches are kept in a jar in a refrigerator.

Leeches are classified as medical devices by the US Food and Drug Administration and about 20 medical grade leeches that are kept in case they’re needed, which is usually once or twice a year.

The University of Kansas is wrestling with how to cut $13.5 million from its budget over the next two years, but the funding reduction will not prompt the closing of the KU School of Medicine's campus in Salina

The KU Medical Center, which operates the school, will have to absorb more than $8 million in cuts. KU spokesman Jack Martin says closing the Salina campus, and scaling back operations in Wichita are no longer on the table.

The Heart Of America Shakespeare Festival celebrates its 21st season in Southmoreland Park with the comedy "As You Like It."  This year, the production is set in 1967 and the costumes and music hearken back to the Summer of Love.

Act Three, Scene Two, In The Forest of Arden

In this scene, Rosalind, played by Carla Noack, is banished from her uncle's court. She takes refuge in the Forest of Arden disguised as the boy, Ganymede. There she meets Orlando, played by Todd Carlton Lanker.