Kansas News Service

The six-part series highlights University of Kansas faculty members exploring Taylor Swift's music, lyrics, business strategy and more. It precedes a full-blown course on Swift that could launch at KU next fall.

Wichita voice coach Amy Menas helps children chase their dreams of performing in musical theater. Her students have starred in local productions and have even made it to Broadway.

Missouri voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in November. If they do, accessing abortion could be easier in Kansas, health providers say.

Sedgwick County struggled with staffing levels, especially in public safety departments, after the pandemic. In response, the county poured millions of dollars into increased compensation.

Dominic Miller will go to trial in January 2026. The two other adults who face weapons and murder charges in the same shooting are slated for trial next year.

Robert Benecke captured 19th-century western Kansas landscapes before massive European migrations to the area transformed them. In the intervening years, the dust bowl, mass extinction of bison, and expansion of mechanized agriculture have all led to a profusion of trees, ponds and lakes across the Sunflower State.

Rare diseases are hard to diagnose and often require costly genetic testing and visits to specialists. The testing can be hard to access, especially for people who live in rural areas. Researchers at the Genomic Medicine Center at Children’s Mercy Kansas City are trying to close the gap.

Voters in the Wichita school district will decide on the bond proposal in February. The plan would build several new schools and close about a dozen aging buildings.

The Kansas Chamber, a top lobbying group, invited candidates to speak to its members and other voters.

Supporters have raised about three-fourths of the $9.5 million needed to restore the historic Orpheum Theatre. Plans call for new flooring, seats and other upgrades as part of a year-long renovation project that will start next summer.