Kansas City Today

People expect a lower cost of living in the middle of the country. But when it comes to health care, not even choosing a cheaper place to live can shield you from high prices.

Kansas and Missouri count among the five states where people with work-based insurance face average premiums and deductibles topping $9,000 a year. Kansas News Service editor Stephen Koranda and health reporter Celia Llopis-Jepsen discuss why the cost of care is going up the Midwest

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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

If you're facing charges in Missouri and found to be indigent, you might qualify for representation from a public defender. But defendants had to wait weeks, months or even a year for those services — sometimes while stuck in jail — after being placed on Missouri's "waitlist." Nearly a year ago, a court said the waitlist was likely unconstitutional, and after months of work, it was finally eliminated in November 2021.

Missouri Public Defender director Mary Fox shared with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date how the public defender’s office went from a waitlist of thousands to zero in one year’s time.

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

Kansas and Missouri lawmakers have a lot to consider during the 2022 legislative sessions. Both states are voting on budgets, congressional redistricting maps, police reform and how to best deal with the seemingly never-ending pandemic.

Missouri Senate Democratic Leader John Rizzo speaks to KCUR's Brian Ellison about Republican Gov. Mike Parson's spending proposal and the state's plans to address violent crime.

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

State and federal investigators say it took years to put together the case against Wandale J. Fulton. Now the alleged crime ring leader will plead guilty in a Kansas City federal court on charges of identity theft, auto-title fraud and arson for profit. KCUR's Lisa Rodriguez speaks to morning host Sam Zeff, who broke this story.

As a new surge in the pandemic disrupts life, people between the ages of 18 and 29 are weary of virtual school, lost jobs and isolation. KCUR’s Laura Ziegler took a weekend walk around midtown Kansas City and found that 20-somethings are paying attention to the science while trying to go on about their lives.

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

Last week, the Jackson County Health Department released a letter to the community about COVID-19, saying “the situation we are in is dire.” With many hospitals at capacity and school districts forced to close, the department asked people to get vaccinated and boosted, wear masks in public, socially distance when possible and stay home when sick. But this week, the Jackson County Legislature withdrew a proposal to require masks in all public schools.

Acting Jackson County health director Ray Dlugolecki joins the show to explain why the department issued its warning and how the continued trajectory of the omicron variant may affect critical infrastructure.

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 Kansas City, Kansas Police Department has been the center of a few recent controversies, including the long tenure of Roger Golubski, a former detective accused of abusing Black women and falsifying evidence. KCUR's Peggy Lowe and Midwest Newsroom reporter Steve Vockrodt have discovered that a federal grand jury investigating Golubski has demanded records about other staff and incidents.

The number of coyotes in Kansas has nearly tripled since the 1980s, but around ranches, farms and homes, they’re largely unwelcome. One response? Hunting them, sometimes competitively. As David Condos of the Kansas News Service reports, the resilient canine keeps finding ways to survive, no matter what humans throw at it.

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