Kevin Hardy

Kevin Hardy

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Kevin Hardy covers business, labor and rural issues for Stateline from the Midwest. Before joining Stateline, he covered business and the economy for The Kansas City Star. At The Star, Hardy was part of an award-winning team that uncovered the biggest land grab on Kansas City’s poor East Side since the creation of the suburbs and part of a team that investigated the safety shortcomings of American freight railroads after a deadly train crash in rural Missouri. Previously, he worked at the Des Moines Register and the Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press. Hardy has covered everything from snake-handling churches in the South to presidential campaigning ahead of the Iowa caucuses. His work has won numerous local and national journalism awards, including a National Headliner Award for best political coverage and the Gerald A. Renner Award for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting from the Religion News Association.

State AGs expand consumer work as prices rise and Trump guts federal protections
Stateline

State AGs expand consumer work as prices rise and Trump guts federal protections

5:00am ET
Kevin Hardy
Since President Donald Trump has gutted much of the federal government’s consumer protection work, state attorneys general are increasingly left to fight high prices and investigate businesses themselves. Consumer protection work, long a growing focus of state AGs from both...
Citing a hunger ‘crisis,’ U.S. mayors call for end to federal SNAP cuts
Stateline

Citing a hunger ‘crisis,’ US mayors call for end to federal SNAP cuts

Jul 22, 2026
Kevin Hardy
More than 200 American mayors are calling on the federal government to reverse changes that will cost states billions and push millions of people off the food stamp program. This week, the United States Conference of Mayors asked the U.S...
Democrats have a shot at flipping state legislatures across the country
Stateline

Democrats have a shot at flipping state legislatures across the country

Jul 16, 2026
Kevin Hardy
Following a string of special election victories, Democrats have a path to flip several Republican-held legislative chambers and break GOP supermajorities in states across the country this November. H igh prices and overall voter dissatisfaction with Washington have put control...
Relief from energy bills unlikely as utilities request billions in rate hikes
Stateline

Relief from energy bills unlikely as utilities request billions in rate hikes

Jul 14, 2026
Kevin Hardy
Consumers are unlikely to see any relief in gas and electric bills as utilities proposed more than $18 billion in rate hikes across the country over the first half of the year. The consumer advocacy group PowerLines reported that utilities...
Climate change could double household water costs in some cities, study finds
Stateline

Climate change could double household water costs in some cities, study finds

Jul 09, 2026
Kevin Hardy
Household water costs could nearly double in some American cities, new research suggests, as climate change further stresses municipal water systems. Researchers at Stanford University and other institutions studied how a hotter, drier climate is poised to spike water bills...
Food stamp changes will cost states billions, raising fears about SNAP’s future
Stateline

Food stamp changes will cost states billions, raising fears about SNAP’s future

Jul 09, 2026
Kevin Hardy
Upcoming funding shifts in the federal food stamp program are poised to cost states billions of dollars, heightening fears that more Americans will lose access to the nation’s largest food assistance program. Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act made...
States will shape America’s future as nation confronts a pivotal choice
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States will shape America’s future as nation confronts a pivotal choice

Jul 07, 2026
Jonathan Shorman Kevin Hardy
A quarter millennium after its founding, the United States faces a stark choice that will define its future. In the years ahead, the country can continue to follow the path blazed by President Donald Trump, who is attempting to bring...
Democrats, Republicans alike focus on states’ rights as a way out of America’s political woes
Stateline

Democrats, Republicans alike focus on states’ rights as a way out of America’s political woes

Jul 02, 2026
Kevin Hardy Jonathan Shorman
Democrats are seizing the mantle of states’ rights to oppose the agenda of President Donald Trump, who has sought to reset Washington’s relationship with the states. While the party out of federal power has always pushed its agenda in statehouses...
Minimum wages will rise in more than 20 cities, states in July
Stateline

Minimum wages will rise in more than 20 cities, states in July

Jun 24, 2026
Kevin Hardy
Workers in more than 20 cities and states will see the minimum wage increase next month as local governments continue to raise the wage floor amid federal inaction. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour has not increased since...
More Americans are hungry in the face of federal cuts, rising grocery prices
Stateline

More Americans are hungry in the face of federal cuts, rising grocery prices

Jun 17, 2026
Kevin Hardy
The days of ground beef and chicken legs are long gone at the Ritenour Co-Care Food Pantry just outside of St. Louis. The nonprofit has swapped out those staple proteins for cheaper ground chicken and hot dogs as it faces...
What you need to know about the flesh-eating New World screwworm
Stateline

What you need to know about the flesh-eating New World screwworm

Jun 11, 2026
Kevin Hardy
The New World screwworm has arrived in the United States. For years, ranchers across Southern states have prepared for a potential invasion of the flesh-eating parasite that can wreak havoc on livestock, pets and even humans. Though the United States...
Trump administration proposes new rules for prediction markets
Stateline

Trump administration proposes new rules for prediction markets

Jun 10, 2026
Kevin Hardy
The Trump administration Wednesday proposed new regulations for online prediction markets that would ban bets on war, assassination and other extreme events, but still allow many sports bets to operate on the growing platforms. Critics say the proposed rules don’t...