A fiery train crash earlier this year sparked a bipartisan drive to make freight trains safer, particularly for the communities they roll through. That’s a major issue in Kansas City, the country’s second busiest rail hub. But the reform effort tapered off over the course of the year, and as KCUR’s Frank Morris reports, the Railway Safety Act of 2023 may have run off the tracks.

The forward pass became part of college football in 1906. It was an attempt to spread teams out and make the notoriously rough game safer. Wichita State University claims to have thrown the first forward pass in college football history. But as Tom Shine of KMUW in Wichita explains, it’s a bit more complicated than that.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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