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Drone no-fly zone issued over Keystone oil spill site in Kansas
TC Energy has established a no-fly zone over the Kansas site where its Keystone pipeline spilled 14,000 barrels of oil following drone footage of the disaster. The Canadian company said in a statement that it did so for safety reasons. But drone footage of the spill — the largest in the pipeline’s history — was among the only means of seeing […]
Keystone Pipeline has history of spills, warnings and fines. Kansas spill is largest yet
Federal regulators have issued warnings repeatedly over the life of the Keystone Pipeline that operators aren’t doing enough to prevent corrosion and don’t follow proper construction procedures. But despite a history of warnings and large spills, the Keystone Pipeline failed again last week, dumping 14,000 barrels — or 588,000 gallons — of oil in northern […]
Bipartisan group of lawmakers push to restrict foreign ownership of Missouri farmland
Citing concerns about the environment, food security and the fate of family farmers, Missouri legislators have filed several bills that would restrict foreign ownership of agricultural land. Both Democratic and Republican senators have pre-filed bills ahead of the January start of the 2023 Missouri General Assembly session to halt foreign purchases of Missouri farmland. “Just […]
Sulfur dioxide pollution in the Bootheel breaks EPA rules. Regulators look to fix it
A coal-fired power plant must cut emissions and an aluminum smelter must spend millions to rid a community in Missouri’s Bootheel of sulfur dioxide pollution by 2026 under a deal with state environmental regulators. Part of New Madrid County is out of compliance with Environmental Protection Agency standards for having triple the limit of sulfur […]
Kansas, western Missouri at low risk for insufficient electrical supply this winter
The electrical grid that covers Kansas and western Missouri is expected to have plenty of power to keep up with demand this winter. But in the event of severe weather, the St. Louis area could be at risk. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation released its winter outlook Thursday assessing potential vulnerabilities to the grid. […]
Spire Missouri’s proposed rate hike draws ire of Kansas City officials, residents
Environmental and consumer advocate groups, individuals and even the city of Kansas City are pushing back against a proposed double-digit rate hike by Missouri’s largest natural gas utility. Spire, which serves almost 1.2 million customers in Missouri, hopes to boost its natural gas rates to bring in $152 million. It needs approval from the Missouri […]
Officials plan to truck 6,000 gallons of water from Missouri River across Kansas
An agency charged with conserving groundwater in arid western Kansas plans to truck thousands of gallons of water from the Missouri River nearly 400 miles almost to the Colorado border. Half of the 6,000 gallons drawn from the river will be poured onto a property in Wichita County. The other half will be taken into Colorado. Groundwater […]
Severe drought triggers assistance in nearly all of Kansas, half of Missouri
Almost all of Kansas and nearly half of Missouri are in severe enough drought to activate a federal program meant to help ranchers who have lost grazing acres for their herds, triggering millions of dollars in assistance. Eighty-five of Kansas’ 105 counties have been eligible for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s livestock forage program, which […]
Environmental group gives Kansas, Missouri utilities low marks for clean energy transition
Kansas and Missouri’s largest utilities earned nearly failing grades for their progress transitioning to renewable sources of energy, according to a new report from a national environmental group. The Sierra Club’s “Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges” report gave Evergy an 18% for its investments in clean energy and moves to retire coal plants. Ameren […]
Missouri agriculture groups renew criticism of Grain Belt Express over new extension
A years-long fight over the Grain Belt Express high-voltage transmission line appeared to end earlier this year when lawmakers signed off on compromise legislation requiring future transmission lines to bring more benefit to Missouri. It also required electrical transmission line developers to pay farmers more for easements to build future projects on their land. Grain […]
Longhorned tick that can cause illness to cattle found in northern Missouri
A species of tick known to cause severe weight loss in cattle has been discovered in northern Missouri, researchers from the University of Missouri reported this week. The longhorned tick was found in southern Missouri last year, according to a press release from the university. But Rosalie Ierardi, an anatomic pathologist at the MU College […]
Kansas and Missouri women politicians celebrate history ahead of tough election
Sipping “pink pussyhat punch” and “empowerment” cocktails, women leaders from Kansas and Missouri gathered Thursday in downtown Kansas City vowing to “smash the patriarchy” by encouraging more women to run for office. Hundreds of politicians and activists turned out for the 50th anniversary of the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus, where a parade of candidates […]