In the News
For the last couple of years, a Kansas City, Kansas, man has been trying to replace the medals he had earned for his military service.
Frank Parra is a Vietnam War veteran. He was decorated several times for heroism under fire. But over the years, he lost track of those medals.
He never lost track of what happened. One incident made the news.
As a helicopter crew chief, his pilot saw a civilian bus hit a land mine. They landed. Parra was the first one out.
Frank Parra accepted a shadowbox filled with service accommodations Friday afternoon with a roar of excitement from his family, who crammed into a small congressional office in Overland Park.
"Some of these I didn't even know existed," Parra said, as Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids handed over the black box with colorful medals inside.
Parra said he tried for about a year-and-a-half to recover his missing medals, but eventually called the representative's office for help.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., took several actions recently to curb the growing threat of fentanyl, the number one cause of overdose death in the United States.
In August, Rep. Davids held a summit with local, state, and federal law enforcement on the challenges they face handling the fentanyl epidemic. The actions announced this week are a direct response to what she learned during that conversation.
Action in Washington, D.C. could help address the fentanyl crisis here in the Kansas City metro. KMBC 9 looked at the steps being taken and how one local police chief says it would help his department save lives.
"You put it in your nasal and punch it. Very simple to use," said Kansas City, Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman as he held a small cartridge wrapped in plastic.
Inside was naloxone, or Narcan, an opioid antidote. It's a simple tool to address a complex crisis.
"I've talked to too many fathers and mothers who have lost good kids," Oakman said.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids joined Xochitl Torres Small, U.S. Department of Agriculture under secretary for rural development, to announce USDA has awarded up to $45 million to Dairy Farmers of America.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas, DFA will use this funding to implement a new, climate-smart initiative to help Kansas farmers and consumers reduce emissions and access sustainably produced dairy products.
Kansas will receive an additional $4.5 million to help modernize its outdated unemployment benefits system. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan and will bolster a $48 million plan to upgrade the system over the next couple years.
Rep. Mary Peltola's election to the U.S. House of Representativesmade history in several ways.
On September 13, tribal and Congressional leaders from across the country came together virtually to support the launch of "7 Weeks of Action for 7 Seven Generations," a national campaign led by the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS). For over a decade, NABS has worked to understand and address the ongoing trauma created by the U.S. Indian Board School Policy. Today's announcement is a critical step to building upon this movement and compelling the federal government to take accountability for the federal Indian boarding school policy era.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., said allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug costs will help put money back in residents' pockets.
Rep. Davids recently held a roundtable discussion on new provisions to lower the cost of prescription drugs in Kansas. Davids also joined Glenda DuBoise, state director of AARP Kansas for a virtual town hall to speak directly to Kansas seniors about these new cost-saving measures.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (WIBW) - U.S. Representative Sharice Davids highlighted women-owned businesses in Kansas during her tour of The Culinary Center of Kansas City.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, U.S. Congresswoman Sharice Davids (D-KS) says she toured the Culinary Center of Kansas City - a local woman-owned business and client of the Kansas City Women's Business Center.