Kansas City Today

It’s obvious if you drive through northeast Kansas City, Kansas, a primarily Black community, that there’s more concrete, less green space and more vacant homes than elsewhere in Wyandotte County. KCUR's Laura Ziegler reports that activists are working with Kansas residents to understand the connection between the history of housing and discrimination — and how it affects climate change.

In 2020, Missouri created a $2 million fund dedicated to the state's new witness protection program. But so far, less than 1% of that money has been used. Missouri Independent deputy editor Rudi Keller explains why the fund has been so under-utilized.

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

Tenants in Kansas City eviction courts are now guaranteed free legal representation, paid for by the city, months after the ordinance overwhelmingly passed Kansas City Council. This makes Kansas City the 13th city in the country with such a program. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with KCUR's local government reporter Celisa Calacal about what this means for renters in Kansas City.

Kris Kobach, the controversial Kansas politician, is running for attorney general. The Republican primary in August will test whether a state senator backed by the party’s conservative establishment or a former federal prosecutor, can beat the Kobach brand. Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service explains what’s at stake.

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

Prairie Roots is a new grassroots organization in Kansas that has taken on the goal of flipping the Kansas legislature to a progressive majority by 2026. Inspired by the strategies employed by Georgia's progressive organizations, Prairie Roots hopes to get non-voters to the polls through "deep canvassing." KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with executive director Peyton Browning on Up To Date.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, Trevor Grandin and KCUR Studios and today's episode was edited by CJ Janovy.

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

House Bill 1606, passed at the end of the Missouri General Assembly's 2022 session, would ban camping on state-owned land. Modeled after legislation popping up around the country, this bill has rural and urban communities concerned about how it will hurt unhoused residents — and questioning if they will have to enforce it.

KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with Missouri Independent reporter Rebecca Rivas about the bill and what might happen if Gov. Mike Parson signs it into law.

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.

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

More than half the counties in Kansas have fewer than 10 licensed foster families. That means that losing just one foster parent can have big effects, and many children are unlikely to be placed near home. Blaise Mesa of the Kansas News Service reports on the unique difficulties of the foster system in rural Kansas.

The small community of Louisiana, Missouri has become a hub for an unusual commodity: used wind turbine blades. With the wind energy industry growing at a record pace, parts are bound to need replacing. St. Louis Public Radio's Shahla Farzan reports what happens to these giant blades when they can't be used anymore.

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

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

Most people consider the Stonewall uprising the start of the American gay rights movement. But gay rights groups had already been around for two decades by the time New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn in June 1969 — including here in Kansas City. Powered by a group of determined volunteers and a donated printing press, Kansas City activist Drew Shafer helped create a crucial gay rights network in 1966. KCUR's Mackenzie Martin tells us the story of Kansas City's part in gay liberation from A People's History of Kansas City.

For decades, the lead industry characterized lead poisoning as a problem of poor people and minorities to protect its sales during the 20th century. In the meantime, Americans continued to be exposed to the health threat. The Midwest Newsroom’s Niara Savage spoke with John Jay College historian and professor Gerald Markowitz about how the lead industry used racial bias to divert the public's attention away from the risks of the toxin.

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

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

The Salvation Choir, a Congolese Rumba choir made up of Tanzanian refugees, first started performing traditional gospel music at their church in Independence, Missouri, but soon expanded both their repertoire and their reach. Now, they're playing shows across the Midwest. KCUR’s Laura Spencer stopped by a recent Saturday rehearsal.

Bass virtuoso Xavier Foley asked his friends and colleagues where to go next after his New Jersey apartment was destroyed by Hurricane Ida. After a short search, Kansas City won out. Brooke Knoll of 91.9 Classical KC brings us Foley's story.

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

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

Stephanie Byers of the Kansas House of Representatives built her campaign platform on protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community. Now the Wichita Democrat is serving her second year as the state's first openly transgender lawmaker, confronting head-on as GOP legislators pass numerous bills targeting LGBTQ topics in schools and attempt to ban transgender students from girls' and women's sports team.

The challenges have been personal, too: Byers has been on the receiving end of discriminatory comments from the public and, recently, from a Kansas Republican lawmaker, who publicly said she didn't want to share a bathroom with a transgender colleague.

"That's been the shoe that I've been waiting to hear it dropped for the last two years," Byers says. "I didn't run with the idea that this would insulate me from things like that."

Byers speaks with host Nomin Ujiyediin about this "emotionally charged" legislative session, and what's kept her going throughout.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Brian Ellison. 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

High temperatures continue to break records and weather events strengthen every year. This has prompted schools and universities to incorporate more environmentally centered courses into their curriculums. KCUR's Barb Shelley explains how Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, is teaching its students about environmental justice while trying to lead by example.

Much of the news coverage about Kansas City is, naturally, about the big stuff: police, schools, health care. But the actual city operation is about lots of smaller things that loom large for residents. On KCUR's Up To Date, host Steve Kraske spoke with Brian Platt, the city manager of Kansas City, leading off with drivers' biggest headache: potholes.

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

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

Missouri is one of many states with a trigger ban set in place for the possibility that Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. With a complete ban on abortion looming over the horizon, reproductive rights advocates in Missouri are afraid that certain forms of contraceptive, like the "morning after pill" and IUDs, may be under attack next.

Although there is no current Missouri law that restricts access to these contraceptives, a vote took place last year in the Missouri Senate that would ban them from being payed for by Medicaid. KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with journalist Tessa Weinberg about why reproductive rights advocates are worried.

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

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