Behind The Beacon: One reporter’s commitment to contextual COVID reporting
At The Beacon, we believe that a strong community is an informed one. Since our launch in early 2020, we’ve worked especially hard to inform our readers about how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the Kansas City area.
For the past three months, there’s been one reporter at the center of it all: Madison Hopkins. Madison joined the Beacon in October as our health care accountability reporter, focused on the intersection of health policy and people. And, as you can imagine, she’s had plenty to report on.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
As The Beacon’s health care accountability reporter, how are you covering the COVID-19 pandemic?
Because The Kansas City Beacon is not a daily operation, I’m free to focus on some of the less-obvious aspects of the pandemic. While we still track the important daily metrics — case counts, deaths, hospitalizations and more — I try to take the time to put those numbers into a broader context of how the pandemic is unfurling in our area.
For example, one of my first stories for The Beacon looked at how Kansas City’s case rate changed from the time the last mask mandate was enacted, to its expiration and the following weeks. I found that, despite statements from Mayor Lucas that he based all his public health decisions on the scientific guidance of the CDC, he ignored that same guidance when the city allowed the mandate to expire. What’s more, even as the city’s case rate skyrocketed in the last few weeks of the year — well past the mark Lucas previously said indicated the need for a mask mandate — no new restrictions were put in place.
Throughout 2022, I plan to continue to take deeper looks behind the numbers we see everyday.
You’ve been keeping track of local COVID data. What makes Kansas City’s pandemic story different from the rest of the state?
Kansas City is in a unique position when it comes to tracking the pandemic — and I mean that literally. Four different counties stretch into the city’s limits, and the broader metro area is a mismatch of tons of different units of government. Because of that, it can be difficult to track COVID statistics in a comprehensive way. It also means that COVID restriction can vary significantly from one area to the next, confusing residents about when they need to wear masks or follow other public health rules.
As a Kansas City reporter, it’s my job to try to make sense of the information on a macro level for the whole area, but also to provide enough information that a resident in Johnson County can understand their particular situation as well as someone across the state border in Jackson County. That means it takes a lot more work than normal to report out a local Kansas City COVID story, but the result is a significant resource for the community.
The pandemic will be an ongoing story in 2022. What else do you expect to cover?
One of the topics I’ve already started digging into is the operation of sheltered workshops in the state. Sheltered workshops are places where people with significant mental or physical disabilities can work and receive additional support. The workplaces also have special waivers from the federal government that allows them to pay the employees less than minimum wage — sometimes as little as pennies per hour. While this arrangement is nothing new (the law authorizing sheltered workshops was enacted in the 1930s), recent advocacy efforts have been building pressure to ban the practice nationwide. This is particularly interesting in Missouri because it recently became the first state to enact its own law authorizing the practice as a sort of fail-safe in case the federal rule is repealed. I plan on closely following this topic as we move into 2022 to continue to track how Missouri’s moves affect national trends.
Finally, you’re new to Kansas City. What have been your favorite places to explore so far?
My husband and I just checked out the First Fridays vintage market in West Bottoms for the first time and loved it! It was awesome to get to walk through the old buildings and check out some really unique vintage finds.
We’ve also loved trying out all the local food options. So far, one of our favorites is Stroud’s fried chicken — we even ate it for Thanksgiving dinner!
Madison’s work is possible thanks to support from readers like you. Thank you for being a member of The Beacon. If you’d like, make a tax-deductible donation here.
