Kansas City Today

Contract for deed, also known as rent-to-own, is marketed as a way for people who can’t get a conventional mortgage to realize the dream of owning a home. But as Laura Ziegler of KCUR and Steve Vockrodt of the Midwest Newsroom discovered, more often than not, buyers do not end up as homeowners. And most Midwestern states provide little, if any, consumer protection to prevent abuse.

Plus, is Black history white-washed? A growing movement in education suggests that’s exactly the case. And it isn’t just academics and high school teachers saying it — students themselves are speaking up. KCUR's Steve Kraske speaks to David Brox, a student in the Olathe School district, and LaGarrett King, founder and director for the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education at the University of Buffalo.

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 with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

For some disadvantaged kids, attending a rural junior college can be the best chance they have at higher education, and their only opportunity to pursue a dream of playing college ball.

Tiny Highland Community College in northeast Kansas attracts students from all over the country who attend on athletic scholarships. As KCUR’s Frank Morris reports, the school has been sued in recent years for alleged hostility toward its Black student-athletes — then, the college president compared a Black football player to Hitler.

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 with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

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

The race for the open U.S. Senate seat from Missouri is heating up, certainly between U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler and the controversial former Gov. Eric Greitens. "It is not conservative to tie a woman up in your basement and assault her," Hartzler said of Greitens.

The campaign entered a new chapter last week, with most of the candidates showing up in Jefferson City for filing day at the Secretary of State’s office. Brian Ellison talks about the contest with Rudi Keller, deputy editor of the Missouri Independent.

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 with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Missouri, like many states around the nation, is switching to an "endemic strategy" of approaching COVID-19. This will cause a big shift in how the state approaches public health, and how it reports data on the disease.

We spoke with independent science journalist and COVID-19 researcher Betsy Ladyzhets, who helped break this story for the Missouri Independent, about what this will mean for Missouri residents.

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 with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Development in the Historic 18th and Vine district has lagged for decades behind the rest of Kansas City. That appears now to be changing — and fast — raising concerns among longtime residents and business owners about gentrification. KCUR’s Carlos Moreno brings us this story.

Fallout continues in the Derby School District, just outside of Wichita, over a video about racial profiling, white privilege, and discrimination shown to teachers and staff, after the principal was requested to issue an apology. KMUW education reporter Suzanne Perez talks to Up To Date host Steve Kraske about what was happening behind the scenes.

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 with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

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

In August 2021, Tirrell Williams, a 19-year-old lineman at Fort Scott Community College, collapsed during football practice. The school continues to deny any wrongdoing in his passing. Williams' death is eerily similar to that of Braeden Bradforth, who died of exertional heat stroke at Garden City Community College in 2018. KCUR’s Lisa Rodriguez talks to reporter Sam Zeff about what he uncovered in this case.

The federal government offered billions in funds to small towns across the country for pandemic recovery. But communities in Missouri and Kansas collectively turned down more than $5 million. Harvest Public Media’s Elizabeth Rembert reports on why some found the money to be more of a headache than a lifeline.

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 with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

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