Kansas City transit meetings held amid potential route cuts
Service reductions may be necessary due to growing expenses and a lack of funding. KCUR first reported about the possible cuts and financial challenges on Wednesday, citing documents it obtained.
Transit leaders discuss World Cup transportation plans
According to the president of KCATA, despite financial difficulties, the organization's mission is still to support and organize transportation for regular bus passengers.
The KCATA operates as many as 78 bus routes in seven counties on both sides of the state line. However, 150 union workers and up to 15 of those routes might be included in some upcoming budget cuts.
The KCATA president claims that the organization is experiencing financial difficulties during this transitional period. The proposed service cuts that will be discussed at their public meetings are the consequence of rising public transportation costs in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic and the exhaustion of federal pandemic insurance.
Local nonprofit still waiting for answers on federal grant money
The Cares Act provided funding for the few years that bus service was free for passengers, but that funding is beginning to run out.
The in-person meeting is Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the East Village Transit Center. If you can't make the in-person meeting, there is a virtual meeting on Friday from noon to 1 p.m.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
42 minutes ago
- Forbes
Delaying Innovation Comes At A Cost: Why AI Readiness Shouldn't Wait
Periods of uncertainty often push companies toward caution, shelving innovation in favor of preserving stability. Yet the past five years have been an era of unrelenting upheaval — from the pandemic's seismic disruptions to economic and geopolitical instability. The lesson is clear: Innovation can't be paused indefinitely. Technology executives must strike a bold balance, continuing to invest in forward-looking capabilities — particularly in AI — to emerge stronger and ahead of competitors. AI will soon permeate every core business system, as well as the custom solutions that give your business a competitive edge. Though tariffs may slow down AI advancement, AI-led transformation is inevitable. CIOs must stay laser-focused on AI readiness, using this period of economic volatility to shore up their AI foundations. Focus On The Fundamentals For many companies, now isn't the time to chase the biggest or flashiest AI applications. Particularly if your company is in low-growth or cost-cutting mode, you're better off prioritizing what will scale. Taking stock of your current AI readiness and bolstering these foundational pillars now will pay off by giving you the flexibility to pivot to pursue future growth opportunities: A Necessary Mindset Shift For tech leaders who have been pursuing ambitious AI projects, a back-to-basics focus may be an adjustment. We've heard from companies in consumer packaged goods, transportation, and other industries that are temporarily scaling back aggressive plans for robotics in favor of simpler (and faster-to-deploy) automation. Abrupt changes in direction can be hard to digest, particularly when they mean postponing the 'exciting' work. But they also present an opportunity. As businesses adapt to the economic climate, tech leaders can redefine how they add value. By shifting your IT style to one that emphasizes operational excellence, efficiency, and resilience, tech organizations can give the business what it needs while paving the way for AI readiness. This entails the messy but necessary work of (finally) consolidating and rationalizing your tech portfolio to weed out duplicative or unneeded systems and applications. It also means revisiting contracts and consolidating or negotiating where possible. Lastly, but critically, it means doubling down on security. Security hygiene is always critical — and even more so at a time of widespread layoffs and increased insider risk. A Good Foundation Won't Crumble Shoring up your AI readiness now will give you speed and flexibility later. We learned this lesson during the COVID-19 pandemic — the companies that had been strengthening their foundations all along were the ones that were able to pivot to remote work and stand up new omnichannel capabilities most easily. We'll see a similar story with AI once the current volatility subsides. Companies that have continually made the investments will be positioned to jump out ahead. This post was written by VP, Group Director Stephanie Balaouras, the blog originally featured here.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Target names longtime insider Michael Fiddelke its next CEO as retailer tries to break sales and stock slump
Target on Wednesday said that company veteran Michael Fiddelke will become its next CEO at a critical point in its effort to break out of a sales slump and win back Wall Street's favor. Fiddelke, the company's 49-year-old chief operating officer and former chief financial officer, will succeed Brian Cornell effective Feb. 1. Cornell, who took the helm of the cheap chic retailer in 2014, will transition to the role of executive chair on Target's board of directors. The Minneapolis-based retailer made the announcement on the same day it reported fiscal second-quarter results. It topped Wall Street's quarterly sales and earnings expectations, but stuck by a full-year outlook that forecasts another annual sales decline. Target shares dropped about 10% in premarket trading after the company made the CEO announcement and released results. Before Target announced its choice, Wall Street appeared to favor an outsider for the top job. Fiddelke steps into Target's top role as the big-box retailer tries to find its footing and get back to growth. Target's annual sales have been roughly flat for the past four years after the company's sales soared during the Covid pandemic. On a call with reporters, Fiddelke said he is 'stepping in with urgency to rebuild momentum and return to profitable growth.' He laid out three priorities: Reestablishing Target's reputation as a retailer with stylish and unique items, providing a more consistent customer experience and using technology more effectively to operate an efficient business. 'We've built a solid foundation, and we're proud of the many ways that Target is unique in American retail,' he said. 'We also have real work in front of us.' Fiddelke is a 20-year Target veteran. During his decades with the company, he has held leadership roles across merchandising, finance, operations and human resources. He became Target's chief financial officer in late 2019 and stepped into the role of chief operating officer in early 2024. In May, he was tapped to oversee a new effort, the Enterprise Acceleration Office, created to turn around Target's results. Target cut its full-year outlook in May and reiterated that guidance on Wednesday, saying that it expects a low-single-digit percentage point decline in sales this fiscal year. Target's performance has shaken Wall Street's confidence. Shares of the company have tumbled about 60% since their all-time high in 2021. Target's stock had dropped 22% in 2025 alone as of Tuesday's close. Customers, former employees and suppliers told CNBC that the company's best-known traits of eye-catching merchandise, tidy stores and friendly employees have become weaker. The retailer also is facing stiffer competition from rivals including Walmart, contending with cost pressures because of tariffs and dealing with backlash to its reversal of key diversity, equity and inclusion policies. And last week, Ulta Beauty and Target announced they are ending a deal that opened mini beauty shops in nearly a third of Target's stores. The partnership will end in August 2026. Wall Street had favored an outsider for the CEO job, according to a June survey of 51 investors by Mizuho Securities, an equity research firm. About 96% of investors polled favored an external hire for Target's next CEO. Christine Leahy, lead independent director of Target's board of directors, said in a news release that the board chose Fiddelke after 'an extensive external search and assessment of many strong candidates' over several years. 'Michael's tenure gives him unmatched enterprise insight and a base of strong team trust,' she said. 'But what sets him apart is how he combines those strengths with a 'fresh eyes' mindset, challenging the status quo to evolve how the business operates, differentiates and delivers long-term value.' On a call with reporters, Cornell and Fiddelke were asked what they would say to investors who had hoped for Target to hire an outsider who would bring fresh ideas. Fiddelke answered the question. 'I understand this business,' he said. 'I understand what makes Target distinctly unique. And I've seen us at our best, and I've seen us when we're not at our best, and that informs my candid assessment today of where we have work to do as well.' 'But I'll go back to some of what I started with: My number one goal is to get us back to growth.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Volusia Schools' administrative costs rise, bucking a trend, while enrollment stagnates
Volusia County faced stagnant enrollment in 2024, but reported an increase in administrative costs, according to data required by the Educational Accountability Act and distributed by the Florida Department of Education. The administrative spending increase bucks a trend. Over a nine-year trend, costs peaked at 33% in 2020, the year that the COVID-19 epidemic hit, and dropped to 10% in 2023. The number for 2024 was 15%, according to the data. Over the long haul, from 2015 to 2024, the Volusia County School District has seen a $6.5 million increase in administrative costs, when adjusting for inflation, while the number of full-time students dropped by more than 1,800. Schools administrative costs slightly above state average The administrative cost increases were slightly above the state average over nine years, with Volusia ranking 23rd-highest out of 65 counties, compared to the rest of the state. (Gadsden and Jefferson counties were removed due to faulty data.) In the data released by the education department, the number of students enrolled is categorized as "unweighted full-time-equivalent students," which excludes students in charter schools or students who receive vouchers under the Family Empowerment Scholarship and/or McKay Scholarship. So, while Volusia's administrative costs have been growing and outpacing Florida's average, Volusia is only slightly above average in its administrative to instructional spending ratio (31st out of 65 counties), according to an analysis by The News-Journal. For reference, Polk County, which spends the lowest percent on administrative costs relative to instructional costs, spends only about 4.7% of its budget on administration. Franklin County spends the highest percentage on administrative costs relative to instructional costs, spending about 19.2%. Volusia is at about 8.27% Enrollment lagging at Volusia schools Stagnating enrollment isn't unique to Volusia. Statewide, the number of students in Florida's public education system has been static, thanks largely to the expansion of school choice initiatives. In 2001, the Florida Legislature established the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC) to give lower-income families more educational opportunities. Initially, the program required income verification, but Gov. Ron DeSantis removed the financial eligibility requirements in the 2023-2024 school year. Personalized Education Program (PEP) and Family Empowerment Scholarships also led to expanded options for parents. In essence, the programs and other incentives create incentives for parents to seek schooling options outside of public schools. 'Over the course of the years, the legislature has increased the amount of scholarships available to parents in the state, when at its inception it had income verifications,' John Cash, chief of staff for Volusia County Schools, said. 'But then those income verifications are no longer in place, and they have continued to increase the PEP scholarships every year." Cash said that means that as enrollment in the program increases, fewer parents will send their children to public schools, meaning less money will flow into the district's education system. And the census data backs it up. From 2015 to 2023, the school-age population (5 to 17-year-olds) has increased by about 4,500 or 9%, according to the American Community Survey five-year data. Meanwhile, the number of full-time students enrolled in the district decreased by 1.3%. The lower number of enrolled students has already affected the district's budget. 'When it materialized and there was a bigger growth in the scholarship program,' said Todd Seis, the chief financial officer for Volusia County Schools, in a June 24 workshop meeting with the school board. 'We planned for that reduction in we just gave it back to the Department of Education.' So why have costs been increasing when enrollment hasn't? Federal and state laws have forced districts to evolve and, as a result, spend more money. For example, Alyssa's law, which was named after a 14-year-old who died during the Parkland school shooting, forced districts to have panic alert systems. Drills and training for staff also increased costs, according to Seis. Another example is having an internal auditor for districts with over $500 million in annual revenues. Volusia outsources the job to an external firm, but it also led to increased costs. 'The additional requirements established in 2018 have created the need for coordinated support across multiple departments,' Seis wrote in an email to The News-Journal, "including fiscal services, to ensure that internal auditors receive the information they need to complete their reports." This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia schools' admin costs rise despite stagnant enrollment Solve the daily Crossword
