Noah Taborda

1 month ago | kcur.org | Noah Taborda

When Maria Loconsolo didn’t get an email terminating her employment on Valentine’s Day, she regained a smidge of hope that she would avoid the mass firings of federal employees occurring nationwide. But since President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, she’d heeded reports that federal employees would be quickly locked out of the system.

2 months ago | kcur.org | Noah Taborda

In fencing, a loud beep signals when someone’s been hit. At Heartland Fencing Academy on a Wednesday night, the open practice space is filled with a cacophony of those beeps and the clash of swords. A dozen fencers decked out in protective gear are engaged in mock bouts, each person executing a series of incredibly deliberate, thought-out movements made in the blink of an eye. Academy head coach Emilia Ivanova says fencing is like a physical game of speed chess.

2 months ago | kcur.org | Noah Taborda

People buying food or eating out in Clay County, Missouri, can have confidence vendors are meeting the highest standard of food safety. Clay County Public Health Center is one of nine nationwide to receive the Food and Drug Administration’s certification for upholding standards that include a comprehensive training program, consistency with national inspection criteria, community relations and emergency response, among others. Overall, the goal is to reduce factors that lead to foodborne illness.

2 months ago | kcur.org | Noah Taborda

People who need abortions in Missouri have had to seek care outside of the state, even after voters enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution in November. That’s because a licensing requirement that applies to abortion facilities throughout the state remains in effect, even while other laws — including the near-total abortion ban — are temporarily on pause. Planned Parenthood representatives say they can’t begin offering the procedure unless the licensing requirement is blocked.

2 months ago | johnsoncountypost.com | Noah Taborda

By Noah TabordaMore people are calling Johnson County’s mental health crisis hotline when they are struggling, according to new data from the county. While that doesn’t always correlate directly with a decrease in suicides, county health experts said it can often be an indicator. The most recent data available, released last week, shows early signs of improvement. In 2023, 93 people died by suicide, down from 122 the year before.