Kansas City Today

In the mid-1990s, the Kansas City Public Library was threatening to close its branch on the Westside. Librarian Irene Ruiz went door to door campaigning for the building to stay. Today, that branch of the library is named after her.

In the 1970s and ‘80s, Kansas City librarian Irene Ruiz conducted nearly 60 interviews on a tape recorder. Her project is one of the only existing oral histories of Mexican immigrants who came to Kansas City. Ruiz is also remembered for creating a more welcoming place for the Mexican immigrants and Latinos who lived on the Westside, and for her fight to keep that branch of the Kansas City Public Library open. The Irene H. Ruiz branch on the Westside opened its doors for the first time 23 years ago this month.

From the KCUR podcast, A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin remembers the extraordinary librarian who gave the building its name.

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Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Over a dozen states that do not share a border with Mexico, including Missouri, have joined a Texas operation to crack down on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Plus: Two years after he was arrested by the FBI, former Kansas City, Kansas, Police detective Roger Golubski is set to face trial soon.

Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska have deployed National Guard troops and law enforcement agents to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of Operation Lone Star. It’s an operation that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched in 2021, saying the Biden administration was not doing enough to keep undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs out of the country. Journalist Kallie Cox has been reporting on this story for the Midwest Newsroom.

Over two years after he was arrested by the FBI, Roger Golubski — the former Kansas City, Kansas police detective accused of sexual assault, kidnapping and other charges — is scheduled for a trial in December. On Up To Date, KCUR's Peggy Lowe tells Steve Kraske how some cases related to Golubski's alleged actions have already played out in court.

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

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

When Tyson closed a chicken processing facility in southeast Missouri, it also ended contracts with nearby chicken farmers. Now, some of those farmers are suing. Plus: Kansas farms are consolidating, pushing people to leave the region and making rural life even lonelier.

Commercial chicken farmers literally bet the farm, spending millions of dollars on land and enormous chicken houses to raise birds they never own, and putting their livelihoods in the hands of a single company that is both their supplier and sole buyer. When Tyson closed a processing plant in southeast Missouri, some farmers facing bankruptcy decided to sue. KCUR's Frank Morris reports for Harvest Public Media.

Kansas farms have consolidated and expanded their operations in recent decades to become bigger than ever. That has economic benefits for the owners, but bigger farms also mean fewer farmers. That has contributed to depopulation in rural parts of the state. Sociologists say it has also taken a toll on farmers' mental health. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports.

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

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

With over 5,000 reported car thefts in Kansas City this year, frustrated residents are demanding elected officials and law enforcement to find solutions. Plus: A $10 million federal grant will be used to improve safety on Prospect Avenue, one of the city's most dangerous roads.

The death of a beloved Kansas City chef after he tried to intervene in an alleged car theft has brought calls for the city to do something about property crimes to a fever pitch. The city has seen a wave of car thefts and break-ins at local businesses this summer. KCUR's Madeline Fox spoke to local government reporter Celisa Calacal about the problem, and what's being done to solve it.

Prospect Avenue is one of Kansas City's 10 most dangerous roads for fatal car crashes. On Up To Date, KCUR's Savannah Hawley-Bates explains to host Steve Kraske how a new federal grant will aim to fund sidewalks, curb extensions, lighting and other safety measures.

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

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

A new Missouri legislative panel investigates crime committed by undocumented immigrants, and is holding hearings around the state. But it's gotten pushback from residents because reports about the extent of immigrant crimes are mostly exaggerated or completely false.

Veteran reporter Mary Sanchez, part of the The Beacon’s pop-up 2024 election team, has been following the committee’s work. KCUR's Brian Ellison talked to Sanchez about what the committee hopes to accomplish, and how it's been going.

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This episode of Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Kansas City has lots of women’s sports fans and soon, they’ll have a dedicated space to watch matches together. The Dub, the first dedicated bar for women's sports in the state of Missouri, plans to open this year around the corner from the Kansas City Public Library downtown.

It will join several other women’s sports bars that have popped up around the country since the first one, the Sports Bra in Portland, opened in 2022. KCUR’s Madeline Fox spoke to Monica Brady and her wife Rachel Glenn, the co-founders of The Dub.

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

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Missouri quietly restricted its policy for transgender residents to change the gender markers on their state IDs. For some people, it was the last straw. Plus: How Children’s Mercy researchers are working to make genetic testing more accessible in rural Kansas.

Last month, the Missouri Department of Revenue quietly made it more difficult for residents to change the gender markers on their state ID. A new rule requires people to present either a court order or proof of “gender reassignment surgery.” As KBIA’s Anna Spidel reports, those new restrictions could create serious problems for transgender, nonbinary and intersex people in Missouri.

Genetic testing can offer answers for people with rare diseases, but there are still barriers to accessing it, especially in rural areas. Experts at Children’s Mercy Kansas City are working to remove those barriers. Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga of the Kansas News Service has this look at families taking part in the program.

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

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled that Amendment 3, the constitutional amendment that could overturn Missouri's abortion ban, will stay on the Nov. 5 ballot. How did such a big decision end up before the state's highest court at the very last minute?

St. Louis Public Radio’s Brian Moline and Jason Rosenbaum discuss how we got here, and how the ruling could impact both abortion rights and the upcoming election in Missouri.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Military members and their families are especially vulnerable to food insecurity, but Kansas City groups are providing a safety net. Plus: Missouri hemp producers are stuck in confusion after the delay of Gov. Mike Parson's ban on hemp-derived edibles.

Many Missouri veterans and military families struggle to access enough food to stay healthy. As KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports, some Kansas City organizations want to make sure they don't have to choose between the expenses of day-to-day life and going hungry.

When Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft blocked Gov. Mike Parson’s emergency rules banning the sale of hemp-derived drugs, he may have delayed the effort by at least six months. As Harshawn Ratanpal reports, the looming ban leaves farmers and businesses in Missouri’s hemp industry holding their breath.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Does agreeing to take part in a political debate make you a man? How gender politics and notions of masculinity are playing out in this year’s presidential election — and in the Missouri showdown between Lucas Kunce and Josh Hawley for the U.S. Senate.

The intersection of gender and politics often features in American elections, and has been accentuated by Donald Trump’s presidential contests against Hillary Clinton in 2016 and now Kamala Harris. “Being a man” is also a recurring undertone of the race in Missouri between incumbent U.S. Senator Josh Hawley and his challenger Lucas Kunce.

As a political correspondent for NPR who often focuses on gender politics, Danielle Kurtzleben has been following this trend from a national perspective. KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with Kurtzleben about the 2024 campaign.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.