Lincoln Prep educator with LINC ties wins 2023 Regional Teacher of the Year award

UPDATED: Video of award from the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation, and Patrick Mahomes. Kayla McClellan, who describes herself as “the ultimate hype woman” for her students, can now call herself a 2023 Missouri Regional Teacher of the Year.

Public forum Dec. 10 to introduce three finalists for Kansas City police chief

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners has named three finalists to be the city’s next chief of police, and is hosting a public forum to meet the candidates Saturday, Dec. 10, at 10 a.m. at the Robert J. Mohart Multipurpose Center, 3200 Wayne Ave.

Make your move: Deadline nearing to sign up for LINC Chess tourney

LINC’s area chess tournament returns to North Kansas City High School Dec. 3, and the deadline to register online for all age groups is Nov. 30 at noon. Register now at kclinc.org/chess.

'It's a special day at Morning Star'

‘Get your energy up!’ See what goes on as the LINC Morning Star Caring Communities team helps hundreds of neighboring families and individuals get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday. Check out the video and photo gallery.

Success stories: How LINC helps courageous youth rise from broken pasts

Teens who grew up in trauma, who drifted from foster home to foster home or came under the state’s care, reach that doorstep to adulthood aching over the same needs as other teens.

These are the spaces where LINC’s team of youth advocates do their work, bringing state resources to bear, acting with great care and creativity to give courageous youth like these hope and confidence — the chance they deserve.

Read some of their stories here.

'I AM a MAN!' New Black Archives photo exhibit stares civil rights movement straight in the eyes

They never age. The images, freshly hung on the walls of Kansas City’s Black Archives of Mid-America, 1722 E 17th Terrace, promise to make the sacrifices of the 1960s real to a new generation that still struggles with civil rights.

Need health insurance? Enrollment open now for Marketplace health plans. Here's how to sign up.

The Marketplace health plans — commonly known as Obamacare — are now open for enrollment for 2023. Open enrollment runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, but you need to enroll by Dec. 15 to have coverage starting Jan. 1. Here’s how to get help signing up.

Fort Osage's Jason Snodgrass named Missouri superintendent of the year

Fort Osage Superintendent Jason Snodgrass was named superintendent of the year by the Missouri Association of School Administrators, but the seventh-year leader sees the award as an honor for the entire district. “This recognition is truly a reflection of all of the good work taking place in our classrooms,” he said.

Watch: A shining Girls on the Run 5k day

The morning’s cold rain turned into a sprinkle and vanished altogether as crisp sunlight broke out over the 2022 Fall Girls on the Run 5K just as hundreds of girls, parents, siblings and coaches crowded to the starting line Saturday. Check out our video and photo gallery.

"A great, great man": LINC remembers "fearless" Calvin Wainright

His shoulders were as broad as a bear, radiating strength through his hands and legs — and yet Calvin Wainright stood even taller in the breach of the resilient Kansas City communities he served. The lives he touched, like the pictures of players, teams and coaches he taped to the walls of his LINC office, spanned beyond the visible horizon like a glassy sea.

Boom! LINC's Lights On Afterschool 2022 events are rocketing, now with video

Our annual Lights On Afterschool celebrations got off to a world-traveling start at Lee A. Tolbert Community Academy, painting and chili-eating at J.A. Rogers Elementary, rocket-fuel explosions at Warford, a fashion show at Faxon . . . and there is so much more throughout LINC’s Caring Communities. Check out our video and photo gallery.

National report finds Missouri student test scores dropped during pandemic

A new report released this week documents the impact of COVID-19 on student performance in Missouri, with test scores for math and reading dropping from pre-pandemic levels.

Public hearings to begin on KCPS school closings

In phase four of the Kansas City Public Schools’ Blueprint 2030 plan for the future of the district this month, the district announced recommendations to close two high schools and eight elementary schools. Now comes the community’s chance to talk about it.

'Historic' decline in child poverty ties to LINC's Caring Communities legacy with FEC

There’s a reason, when President Bill Clinton spoke in Kansas City Sept. 10, 1996, that FEC Director Clyde McQueen sat at the President’s right and LINC President Gayle Hobbs sat at his left. “These people in Kansas City know what they are doing,” the President said. “It’s miraculous what they are doing.”

Volunteers wanted: See how you can help neighbors get free tax preparation

Missouri’s free tax preparation service needs volunteers — and not just from tax preparers — to get trained and help many Kansas City neighbors who otherwise might not be able to file their income tax returns. See how you can help.

Major offices, issues at stake in Nov. 8 election; Vote411.org has your ballot info

Kansas City-area voters will be making decisions on their U.S. Senator, their Jackson County executive, measures to impose state control on the local police budget and other races and issues Nov. 8. Got questions? The website Vote411.org has rounded up answers.

KCPS recommends closing two high schools, eight elementary schools

The Kansas City Public Schools moved into the final — and most emotional — stage of its Blueprint 2030 process Wednesday as it put names to the number of schools the administration is proposing be closed. Welcome to Phase Four.

Healthy families, healthy lives: Lights On Afterschool events to celebrate community strength

As we prepare our annual Lights On Afterschool events for our LINC Caring Communities, national surveys show what parents want — and get — from holistic after-school programs.

'This is our heart': Building schools of character

Character Counts is foundational. Speaking the program’s name invokes the six pillars of moral living that LINC’s team members learn and carry into their Caring Communities. It guides the lessons and meaningful moments they share with children in their classrooms every day.

Watch: Food, fun, football at LINC Family Night in Hickman Mills

Three hundred hot dogs. Six hundred balloons. After a couple years of Covid hiatus, LINC’s Family Night in Hickman Mills returned to Ruskin High School Sept. 30. Check out our video and our photo gallery.