Kansas City Today

The Environmental Protection Agency outlawed new lead pipes in 1986. More than 30 years later, the Biden Administration will spend billions removing the pipes. Missouri is expected to get $250 million, while Kansas is expected to get $164 million.

The problem is, some water utilities don’t know where they all are — and the Midwest has a lot of them. The Missouri Independent’s Allison Kite reports for the Midwest Newsroom.

Last Wednesday, 10 Kansas City school districts cancelled their scheduled summer school activities after the Blue Springs Police Department was alerted to a threat of an "unspecific mass shooting." A 19-year-old Blue Springs, Missouri, man was charged with making the threat, but many parents in the metro are still left uneasy.

The incident also follows a spate of mass shooting incidents, including one in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead. Up To Date producer and guest host Danie Alexander spoke with Mayor Quinton Lucas about what's being done in Kansas City.

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, Trevor Grandin, 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

Primary elections in both Kansas and Missouri are just six weeks away.

In Missouri, attention is focused on the U.S. Senate race to succeed the retiring Republican Roy Blunt. With both the Democratic and Republican primaries too close to call, KCUR's Brian Ellison checks in Rudi Keller of the Missouri Independent, who’s covering the race.

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, Trevor Grandin, 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

Along one of Kansas City’s most storied avenues, a new mission is taking shape inside the 140-year-old stone structures near 21st and Vine Streets. That’s where Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant is working to create a new, food-based solution to urban hunger and unemployment. KCUR’s Luke Martin shares her story.

Seventy-five years ago this week, a Kansas City jazz singer by the name of Julia Lee, known for pioneering a specific type of racy blues, recorded her first big hit. But there’s a lot more to her story than just lyrical wordplay and double entendre. Mackenzie Martin of the KCUR Studios podcast A People's History of Kansas City shares the legacy of Julia Lee.

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, Trevor Grandin, 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

FIFA officials announced on Thursday that Kansas City is among the cities selected to host soccer matches in the world’s biggest singular-sports event: the 2026 World Cup tournament.

Midwestern hunters often donate extra game meat, such as venison, to food banks. Even after being processed, this venison could still contain lead. The Midwest Newsroom's Samantha Horton reports how this contaminated meat could harm children.

Bison have a lean meat but the wild animal is hard to raise on a farm. Cattle are tame but produce a meat that's high in fat. Enter, the beefalo. Harvest Public Media’s Jonathan Ahl reports the benefits and difficulties of getting this niche meat onto people's plates.

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

This episode of Kansas City Today is hosted by Laura Ziegler. It is produced by Byron Love, Trevor Grandin, 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

Teenagers and young adults have experienced record-breaking temperatures for much of their lives. The last eight years have been the hottest ever recorded, with searing heat waves across the globe and other extreme weather events. St. Louis Public Radio's Shahla Farzan reports that a lack of action on climate change has spurred young Missouri activists to demand change in their communities.

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, Trevor Grandin, 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 large-scale drought has taken hold in western Kansas, leaving many wheat farmers with around half of their annual yield. As if a drop in U.S. exports wasn't bad enough, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has put a stop to a major world producer of wheat. Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with High Plains Public Radio reporter David Condos and western Kansas farmer Vance Ehmke about the consequences of such a shortage.

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, Trevor Grandin, 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 gives its citizens access to records through something known as its Sunshine Law. But in recent years, many journalists and government accountability groups have run into challenges obtaining what is supposed to be public information. Two cases currently making their way through state courts have some watchdogs concerned that the law's effectiveness may be in peril.

The Missouri Independent's editor in chief, Jason Hancock, has been covering government transparency. He spoke with KCUR's Brian Ellison about the recent cases.

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, Trevor Grandin, 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

Dr. Mark Bedell, Kansas City Public School's longest running superintendent in 50 years, has resigned. After six years in the position, Bedell is headed for Anne Arundel County, Maryland, with the hopes of being closer to family and where he grew up.

Bedell came in as superintendent in 2016, just four years after the district lost its accreditation. Earlier this year, Bedell achieved his major goal of winning back that accreditation, but remains critical of other long-standing problems, like Kansas City's unfair economic development practices. Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with Bedell about the school district's accomplishments during his tenure and the difficulties he wasn't able to tackle.

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

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

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

With the U.S. Supreme Court's set to hand down its decision on Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban any day now, focus is turning to Missouri's "trigger law," which would automatically ban most abortions if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Missouri's 2019 legislation, however, has already allowed the state to shift millions of state dollars to various anti-abortion causes. KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with ProPublica reporter Jeremy Kohler about a little-known pipeline that diverts tax money to "crisis pregnancy centers," which abortion rights activists say mislead women into thinking they provide abortion services.

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

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

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

According to a recent Flatland article, "over 76% of stores in Kansas City are now out of stock of formula." To make sure babies get fed, communities have come together, posting on social media groups about available formula and excess breast milk.

On KCUR's Up To Date, Steve Kraske spoke with Flatland community reporter Vicky Diaz-Camacho and administrative coordinator for the Missouri Bureau of WIC and Nutrition Services Anne Strope about what parents have been going through as the shortage continues.

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

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

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