Kansas City Community News: Teachable Moments & Meteors

Just a quick check-in for late night lurkers.

In this post we share important community-focused stories that parents and local leaders might want to look over before busier parts of the day. Also, this is the post where we take a bit of time for nicer KC stories.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

City Union Mission prepares for increased demand during cold weather

With temperatures tumbling into the twenties and teens overnight, more people are seeking help from shelters. KMBC 9 found out how City Union Mission is prepared to handle the increased demand and how they're also addressing rising food insecurity. More than 300 boxed thanksgiving dinners will bring comfort to families in need.

Hickman Mills elementary school helping dozens of families battling homelessness

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Hickman Mills elementary school is dealing with an unprecedented number of students battling homelessness as new data shows students who are homeless in the United States are underreported.

Respiratory illnesses creating strain on Kansas City hospitals

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is warning of respiratory viruses spreading.The strain of flu, RSV, and COVID-19 have created a strain on the health care system.It is to the point that kids are being treated in the emergency room because all the regular beds are taken.

Garfield Elementary students get new winter coats from FedEx's Operation Warm

A Kansas City business is passing out free winter coats to elementary school students."If it's snowing outside, you won't be cold," said Angelina Khadka, a third-grader at Garfield Elementary.The 8-year-old gets it. She said she has a lot of friends who don't have winter coats.

Is this Jackson County district neglecting its mandate to help homeless students stay in school?

School districts are required by law to help homeless children stay in school. Most Kansas City-area districts take that role seriously, but the Blue Springs School District may be undercounting its unhoused kids - and failing to provide them critical services.

Hickman Mills approves salary increase for teachers

The Hickman Mills School District approved a salary increase for teachers.The district said it will make them the top-paid teachers in the Kansas City area on the Missouri side of the state line.The new starting salary will be $46,500.

J.C. Harmon HS to cancel classes Friday due to electrical outage

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Classes at J.C. Harmon High School in Kansas City, Kansas, won't be held Friday due to an electrical outage. The Kansas City, Kansas, Public School District said Thursday night that crews from the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities were working the outage, but it wasn't clear when things would be restored.

Seventeen-year-old honored for saving an Excelsior Springs police officer's life

The Excelsior Springs Police Department and the Clay County Sheriff's Office honored 17-year-old Ava Donegan for saving an officer's life at a ceremony on Thursday. In early October, Donegan put a tourniquet on an ESPD officer after he had been shot in the shoulder and the wrist.

Skies held another round of reservations for holiday bar. They sold out in 90 seconds.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Maybe it's the nostalgia. Or the view of the promo video. Or the menu. Perhaps all of them. Regardless, the remaining availabilities for people wanting to spend a December evening at the newly-decorated Skies Restaurant holiday bar sold out - in 90 seconds.

Meteor shower to appear above Kansas, Missouri: here's when

TOPEKA, Kan. - Nocturnal Kansans and Missourians willing to withstand the cold will have the opportunity to see a meteor shower on Thursday night and Friday morning. Appearing annually, the Leonid Meteor shower is so named because the meteors seem to come from a single point, called the radiant, originating in the constellation Leo.

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