After years of unreliable service, more than 70,000 households across Kansas could finally gain access to high speed internet. The access will come from 67 public and private projects funded by nearly $50 million in federal coronavirus relief grants, Gov. Laura Kelly announced at a news conference Thursday. An additional $85 million will be spent over the next 10 years on improving statewide internet access through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Eisenhower Legacy program, Kelly said. Source: KC Star Local News

Limited inventory and skyrocketing demand have pushed up home prices across the Kansas City metro area. But Johnson County is approaching a new milestone: In August, the average sales price of new and existing homes reached nearly $400,000, according to the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors. While the booming market is good news for sellers, it does underscore longstanding concerns that Johnson County homes are becoming increasingly out of reach for many working- and middle-class families. Source: KC Star Local News

A national nonprofit is suing Johnson County leaders for allegedly withholding mail, some of which contained information on the new coronavirus, from jail detainees. The Human Rights Defense Center filed a lawsuit Friday against the Johnson County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Calvin Hayden, accusing them of censorship and of violating free speech rights. Since July, staff at the Johnson County New Century Adult Detention Center have “refused” to deliver at least 58 pieces of mail from the nonprofit, including magazines, handbooks and brochures informing inmates of their legal and civil rights, the lawsuit said. Source: KC Star Local News

A couple of days into the fall semester, the Shawnee Mission school board will hold a special meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss its reopening plan and whether to allow fall sports. The other two largest districts in Johnson County, Olathe and Blue Valley, decided last week to allow high school sports and activities to resume. Shawnee Mission is the only district in the county that continues to suspend sports. Four high school golfers sued Shawnee Mission over that decision. The school board will meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday, with an agenda of two discussion items: a remote learning update, and activities and athletics. Source: [...]

One of Ron Lackey’s earliest memories is of the KKK burning a cross in his yard. Lackey, a worship leader at Legacy Christian Church, shared the story during the “I Am George Floyd” DocuSeries Live Interactive Panel Discussion held by the Advocacy and Awareness Group of Johnson County. Six panelists discussed fighting systemic racism and being Black men in Johnson County during a Tuesday night event. During the panel, they took on topics including racism, police accountability, their personal interactions with police and what has changed after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police [...]

Just two years ago, the Country Club Plaza seemed poised for a bright future under new owners. Kansas City’s iconic outdoor shopping center enticed Nordstrom to leave rival Oak Park Mall and open a new store anchoring the Plaza’s west side in 2021. They also signed New York-based cult favorite Shake Shack for a prominent corner. But the COVID-19 crisis has upended the retail landscape. Source: KC Star Local News

The Hard Rock Hotel project in Edwardsville, a development worth more than $70 million for which leaders of this western Wyandotte County town had high hopes, faces an uncertain future after its lender abruptly failed to come up with money for a construction loan. ... Now construction has stalled and the development is tied up in three different lawsuits in three different states, putting brakes on a project that city leaders hoped would put Edwardsville on the map as a destination among the various attractions already built in western Wyandotte County. ... “I’ve felt ever since the early ’90s it was [...]

If any city were immune to the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, you might think it would be Overland Park. The city proudly noted in its 2020 budget document that Money magazine in 2018 named it one of the Best Places to Live, “based on great schools, low crime, shopping and restaurant options, healthcare access and a strong job market.” In 2018, the city boasted $800 million in public and private investments, a record, and 2019 wasn’t far behind. (Read more: KC Star Local News)

Erase the thin blue line. Dissolve local police forces and create something new to enforce the laws and help people in a more humane, cost-effective and less violent way. That’s the demand from some across the country in the wake of the Memorial Day police killing of George Floyd. The Minneapolis City Council plans on doing just that. The death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, not only sparked worldwide protests of police brutality, but also rekindled a movement that’s been smoldering since racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, six years ago stirred calls for radical reform of law enforcement. (Read more: [...]

Prairie Village could become the latest city in the Kansas City metro to let residents keep backyard chickens. “In the current environment that we find ourselves in right now, there’s a growing feel for people wanting to be more self-sufficient,” said Councilwoman Inga Selders, who proposed the idea, she said, after receiving about 100 messages from residents wanting their own chickens. “This year, we’ve seen a renaissance of people planting their victory gardens, keeping bees, composting their food waste and wanting the ability to raise hens for fresh eggs.” (Read more: KC Star Local News)