National News

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5 percent in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced today.  On average, Social Security retirement benefits will increase by about $50 per month starting in January. Over the last decade the COLA increase has averaged […]

KANSAS CITY – Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), were unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. A 4.5-percent decrease in the energy index was balanced out by a 0.3-percent advance in the index for all items less food and

WASHINGTON – Kenneth R. Hartman Jr., a corn farmer from Waterloo, Ill., began his term this week as president of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). During meetings with the media, Hartman discussed the current economic challenges corn growers face and said he wanted to push for passage of a robust farm bill, expand markets and

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Social Security Administration policy updates that expand access to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) in line with the law go into effect today.  The agency no longer includes food in In-Kind Support and Maintenance (ISM) calculations, has expanded its rental subsidy policy exception, and has expanded the definition of a public assistance household.

LENEXA, KAN. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released resource tools to help protect public health and local water bodies in communities that rely on lagoons for wastewater management.   Lagoon wastewater treatment systems are typically used in communities that are smaller than 3,000 people and can lack the necessary financial and technical resources to

LENEXA, KAN. (SEPT 27, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the latest round of funding from the Clean School Bus Rebate Program with up to $965 million available to school districts. The Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda continues to accelerate the transition of the nearly 500,000 school buses in America to cleaner technologies, helping

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the availability of new guidance and resources to support the rapid retrofitting and weatherization of America’s affordable housing stock. HUD launched a new technical assistance guide to leveraging federal funds to retrofit affordable homes and updated its funding navigator tool to improve the user experience by showcasing how

LENEXA, KAN. – Yesterday, September 25, in commemoration of Climate Week NYC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and AmeriCorps announced the Environmental Justice Climate Corps, a new partnership launched as part of President Biden’s American Climate Corps to open doors for people to serve in careers that benefit disadvantaged and other low-income communities. This partnership will

CLARKSDALE, MISS. – The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has announced funding availability for the Delta Workforce Grant Program (DWP), an initiative supporting workforce training and education programs throughout the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions. Funding for this program is made available, in part, by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden — a