Missouri
Comcast expands rural broadband access across Missouri and Kansas
KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Community leaders in rural Miami County, Kansas cut a ribbon Monday to celebrate Comcast’s completion of its two-year broadband infrastructure project.
“Most people would agree that internet is no longer just a luxury,” Jennifer Dameron, Comcast director of external affairs for the Midwest division told KSHB 41.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
The project, fully funded by Comcast, began in 2023.
Comcast expands rural broadband access across Missouri and Kansas
4,000 homes and businesses in rural Paola and Hillsdale, Kansas, are now offered Xfinity internet and television services.
Miami County Economic Development Director Janet McRae told KSHB 41 the county previously had one internet provider, but they didn’t offer additional services.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
“It really helps connect our unincorporated areas of our community with a consistent provider,” she explained.
In early December 2024, KSHB 41 reported on a ‘Tiny Home’ development at My Father’s House, a local shelter.
RELATED | Paola, Kansas, expands affordable housing options with tiny home village
“It used to be that electricty and water were the necessary utilities, and if you had those, you were good enough,” said My Father’s House Co-Founder, Beth Waddle.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
Waddle says the COVID-19 pandemic exposed rural America’s lack of internet access.
“You could only access social security services online, or you could only access doctors appointments online,” she said. “We saw that there were so many people, especially in these more rural communities, that just didn’t have appropriate internet access. They couldn’t access their necessary services.”
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
My Father’s House, in tandem with it’s ‘Tiny Home’ project, is helping people get back on their feet.
RELATED | Paola, Kansas, expands affordable housing options with tiny home village
It offers educational and resource tools to apply for jobs online.
Comcast’s expansion to rural Miami County will offer people served at My Father’s House a better opportunity at a second chance.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
“Internet is an important component of anybody’s journey back onto their greater journey towards independence,” added Waddle.
In March, Comcast announced it is connecting more than 11,000 homes and business in six Missouri communities: Concordia, Harrisonville, Higginsville, Lexington, Napoleon and Wellington.
It will span more than 300 miles and is expected to be completed by 2027.
Comcast
In May, Comcast broke ground on its project in Harrisonville, Missouri. The company’s total investment in rural Missouri over the past three years is $100 million.
“We’re really excited to be expanding and doubling our footprint in Missouri,” added Dameron.
RELATED | Rural Kansas counties begin preparations for 2026 World Cup’s economic boost
The FIFA World Cup is less than a year away in Kansas City and rural communities are looking for ways to attract visitors.
KSHB 41
“With the higher-speed internet comes a lot of economic opportunities,” said McRae. “With World Cup coming next year, our businesses are going to be able to reach that world market in a way that they previously couldn’t do. With some online shopping opportunities, but they may not have been able to have the connectivity and the reliability that they needed to be able to do that.”
McRae went on to add some small businesses have reached out to her office looking for ways to offer themselves remote work.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
Connectivity, is what Dameron told KSHB 41 could drive population growth in the area from the Kansas City metro.
“It gives you also the opportunity to live in Paola if you want to, but work in Kansas City,” Dameron said. “Why wouldn’t you want to live here?”
Dameron presented My Father’s House with a $2,500 check on Monday afternoon.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
It’s a gift that shows the corporation’s investment in its rural partners.
“There’s no strings attached with that check. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work in partnership with Comcast,” added Waddle. “I’m thankful for a community that embraces that kind of growth.”
Missouri
Four years after Dobbs, Missouri abortion fight continues in court, ballotbox
JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. (KFVS) – Four years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Missouri became the first state to ban abortion, Planned Parenthood is once again offering abortions.
Medication abortions are returning, too, after a Jackson County Circuit Court ruling. However, the state’s legal battle continues with court cases and a new ballot measure.
The past four years
Four years ago, Missouri politicians used a 2019 trigger law to ban abortion within 20 minutes of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the limited federal abortion protections of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Abortion was put on the ballot in 2024 by an initiative petition that collected more than 380,000 signatures. Missouri became the first state to end an abortion ban by a vote of the people in 2024 and established the Right to Reproductive Freedom in the state constitution.
Another vote this year
This year will mark the second time Missourians vote on abortion. In November, Missourians will once again vote on abortion on the new Amendment Three. A “yes” vote is to ban abortions.
The new ballot measure has limited exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies, only if performed before the 12-week gestational period. It’s set to be on the statewide ballot for the November 2026 midterm election.
Bonnie Lee with 40 Days for Life said she hopes Missourians vote in favor of new restrictions in November.
“Missouri is waking up, and we will make a difference in November,” Lee said.
Missourians will see this question on their ballot:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
Repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability;
Allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve-weeks’ gestation), emergencies, and fetal anomalies;
Allow legislation regulating abortion;
Ensure parental consent for minors’ abortions;
Prohibit gender transition procedures for minors?”
A “yes” vote would essentially repeal the Amendment Three passed in November 2024. But this language may not be final. If lawyers appeal again, it can go to the Missouri Supreme Court.”
“I think voters are now seeing they didn’t know what they were voting on [in 2024]. There was a lot of misinformation, a lot of hidden information, a lot of legalese,” Lee said.
Maggie Olivia with Abortion Action Missouri said she wants the opposite outcome at the ballot box.
“I feel all the more invigorated having seen the consequences of abortion bans to do whatever it takes to stop this new abortion ban,” Olivia said.
Olivia called the new Amendment Three an overreach by Missouri politicians.
“There are some politicians in Jefferson City who don’t like the decision we just made in 2024, so they think they can muddy the waters, change the rules,” Olivia said.
Ongoing lawsuit
This month, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge issued a permanent injunction striking down several state abortion restrictions.
Planned Parenthood said the decision also clears the way for medication abortion to be available in Missouri for the first time since 2018 and allows Planned Parenthood to resume providing it.
“For too long, politicians forced patients to leave the state for an evidence-based and trusted form of abortion care. Now that care is coming home,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway criticized the ruling and said she plans to appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court.
“This radical decision gives abortion providers a free pass to police themselves,” Hanaway said in a statement. “My office will expeditiously appeal this dangerous decision to the Missouri Supreme Court.”
Copyright 2026 KFVS. All rights reserved.
Missouri
Missouri ice cream shop named best in the state. Here’s why.
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Think you know the best ice cream shop in Missouri? Ask ten people, and you’ll likely get ten different answers.
Cheapism, a website focused on budget living, is weighing in on the debate with its recently released list of the best ice cream shops in every state. Here’s what it selected as Missouri’s best ice cream spot:
What’s the best ice cream shop in Missouri, according to Cheapism?
The media outlet selected the winners by scouring through Reddit threads, Yelp reviews, Google ratings and local favorites to find the best ice cream shop in every state.
Factoring all of that in, the honor of Missouri’s best ice cream shop goes to Clementine’s Ice Cream in St. Louis.
Clementine’s is a locally owned artisanal ice cream shop founded in 2015, known for its “naughty” (alcohol-infused) and “nice” (nonalcoholic) offerings, as well as non-dairy options.
The company has expanded from its beginnings as a single shop to multiple locations, boasting 11 shops across the Midwest, with three more on the way.
What’s Clementine’s best ice cream flavor?
Clementine’s also landed on Food & Wine’s list of essential ice cream flavors for all 50 states with its gooey butter cake ice cream.
The magazine praised the “super creamy” texture of the cream cheese ice cream and appreciated the large chunks of Clementine’s homemade gooey butter cake mixed throughout.
What is gooey butter cake?
For those not in the know, gooey butter cake is one of the Show Me State’s best-kept secrets, with its origins tracing back to St. Louis in the 1930s.
The cake allegedly came about when a baker accidentally reversed the butter-to-flour ratio while making a batch of coffee cake, resulting in a gooey, custard-like filling. Given it was the Great Depression, the bakery decided to sell the resulting cake rather than waste it, making it a hit with locals in the process.
It became so popular, in fact, that other bakeries in the city soon began making their own versions, and an iconic Missouri treat was born.
How to find a Clementine’s near you
Clementine’s has more than a dozen locations, mostly centered around St. Louis. It also has locations in Kansas City and Bentonville, Arkansas.
A Clementine’s is scheduled to open in Columbia this summer.
Check out this map to find the nearest Clementine’s location near you:
You can also get Clementine’s shipped directly to your front door via Goldbelly.
Missouri
Missouri lawmaker pushes for more transparency from data center developments
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KFVS) – As more data centers are announced across Missouri, one state lawmaker wants to get rid of non-disclosure agreements.
Republican State Rep. Tricia Byrnes from St. Charles County organized a public hearing for Sept. 16 at the Missouri Capitol for lawmakers to discuss data center regulations. Any legislation that comes out of the hearing will have to wait until January to be introduced in the General Assembly. Byrnes said she hopes local communities take action before January.
The effort comes after Amazon and Google announced multibillion-dollar data center projects in Montgomery County, which Byrnes represents.
Montgomery County farmer Harry Cope said residents have concerns about how the projects have been handled.
“The transparency that’s gone on with all of this stuff in our county has been about like looking through muddy water,” Cope said.
Byrnes said Missourians are looking for state leaders to respond.
“Missourians should never take a bad deal. And right now, folks are waiting for Jefferson City to stand up and pay attention,” Byrnes said.
Byrnes is not proposing a complete statewide stop to data center projects. She said she wants to get rid of nondisclosure agreements for data center projects and create specific noise standards and water permits. She said she wants the process to happen in public.
Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, has said he supports more data centers in Missouri, saying they are better for the economy.
“It’s about opportunity, good-paying jobs, investment in our community, better efficiency. And it’s about making sure Missouri remains on the forefront of next-generation technology,” Kehoe said.
Byrnes did not directly comment on whether Kehoe will support her legislation. She addressed a comment the governor made last week, when he implied foreign adversaries such as China are spreading misinformation about data centers.
“We have extremely intelligent people all across Missouri, and what I’m hearing now is this spin that they’re hearing stuff from China. I can tell you, no one from China asked me to have you here today,” Byrnes said.
Missouri House Democratic Leader Ashley Aune said there is an opportunity for lawmakers to craft legislation based on what Missourians want.
“I don’t have a proposal top of mind about what regulation would, should, can look like across the state. But what I will say is that we have a real opportunity to work with our voters,” Aune said.
Copyright 2026 KFVS. All rights reserved.
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