Kansas City Today

If Attorney General Derek Schmidt has one giant thing going for him in trying to unseat the Democrat governor, it's that he’s a Republican. Laura Kelly is running for a second term as a Democratic governor in deep-red Kansas.

As Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service reports, Schmidt blames Kelly for inflation and accuses her of shutting parents out of public school decisions, while Kelly argues she’s a moderate politician who brought stability to a teetering ship by balancing the budget and bringing new businesses to the state.

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.

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

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

Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932. Democrat Mark Holland is trying to change that, but he faces an uphill battle against incumbent Republican Jerry Moran, who's seeking a third term after cruising to victory over Democrats in the past. Blaise Mesa of the Kansas News Service reports.

Kansas has one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the U.S., and for Black babies, the picture is especially dire: They’re over 3.5 times more likely to die before their first birthday than white babies. Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service reports on what’s being done to address that.

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

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.

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

A few statewide ballot measures in Missouri have been creating buzz during the lead-up to this year's midterm election on Nov. 8. All of Missouri will vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana, and whether to require Kansas City to increase the proportion of its budget that goes towards police.

Some local topics could get overshadowed, even though they'll affect Kansas City's residents in big ways. KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with Kansas City reporter Lynn Horsley to help break down what's on the ballot.

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.

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

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

The city of Independence, Missouri, spent $2 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funding on the police department, more than it allocated to any other department or project. Among other things, the funds were used to purchase sniper rifles and tactical helmets and to provide retention bonuses, which were labeled as “community violence intervention” in its report to the U.S. Treasury. Anastasia Valeeva, a data fellow at the nonprofit news organization The Marshall Project, explains what the ARPA money was used for and why those spending decisions proved controversial for the Independence City Council.

With a 5-2 record this season, and one win away from the chance to play in a bowl game for the first time since 2008, the University of Kansas football team has already exceeded expectations. But how long will the good times last under the present head coach? Greg Echlin reports for KCUR.

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.

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

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

For years, a contractor for the U.S. Navy improperly disposed of a toxic solvent called trichloroethylene — used to wash circuit boards — that leached into groundwater in Springfield, Missouri, possibly contaminating local wells. Although the plant had closed in 2007, Springfield residents had no clue that their drinking water could be toxic until the state issued an apology in 2019.

The Midwest Newsroom's Eric Schmid and Steve Vockrodt spoke with those affected to understand the extent of this communities contamination.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Trevor Grandin, 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 National Guard answers directly to the state's Department of Public Safety, but voters could change that on Nov. 8. If approved, Amendment 5 would move the Missouri National Guard to its own department under the governor, like many other states. Steve Kraske, host of KCUR's Up To Date, spoke with retired Missouri National Guard Adjutant General Stephen L. Danner about the amendment.

Hundreds of thousands of people depend on the Kansas River for drinking water. But its reservoirs are shrinking. Next year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will try a new way to save Tuttle Creek Lake: Blasting it with Jacuzzi-like jets. Celia Llopis-Jepsen of the Kansas News Service reports.

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

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.

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

Johnson County voters on Nov. 8 will have a chance to pick the next chair of the Johnson County Commission. Roeland Park Mayor Mike Kelly and 3rd District Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara are campaigning to fill that seat.

Kelly and O’Hara share their positions on key issues like economic development, property taxes and climate change with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date.

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.

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

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

The race for U.S. Senate in Kansas hasn’t been as high-profile as some of the other races on the ballot. Maybe that’s because polls say the races for governor and attorney general are neck and neck, while an Emerson College poll last month gives Republican Sen. Jerry Moran a comfortable 12-point edge over Democrat Mark Holland.

Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932, but Holland wants to change that. The Methodist minister and former mayor of the United Government of Wyandotte County and Kansans City, Kansas, spoke with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date about his uphill campaign, and the issues he says rural Kansans are concerned with ahead of the election.

(KCUR has also invited the Republican incumbent Sen. Jerry Moran to an interview; a member of his staff told us they’re working to find a time in the senator’s schedule this week.)

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

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.

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

Kansas City Public Schools says it's facing declining enrollment and the district is proposing closing two high schools and eight elementary schools. KCUR education reporter Jodi Fortino tells Nomin Ujiyediin why officials believe the closures are necessary in order to offer students elective courses and specialized learning.

Mona Cliff is among 19 local artists creating work for the new Kansas City International Airport terminal, scheduled to open next year. For her piece, Cliff has spent months gluing millions of tiny beads to a 17-foot-long piece of raw-edge wood. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports.

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

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.

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

Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed many open records requests to Missouri schools recently. While public schools and universities are compelled to respond to records requests because they’re government institutions, some advocates are concerned that the record requests, which target journalistic fact-checking and social-emotional learning, are an attempt to limit academic freedom.

Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with Tessa Weinberg, reporter for the Missouri Independent, to get some background on why Schmitt, who's also running for U.S. Senate, made those requests.

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.

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

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