Kansas City Today

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt have a few things in common, and not just their similar names. They’re both Republicans running for higher office next year — Schmitt for U.S. Senate, and Schmidt for governor of Kansas — and both have made it clear that they oppose some COVID-19 prevention measures.

The two men have gone to court to oppose mask mandates in schools, and recently signed onto lawsuits against the Biden administration challenging its vaccine requirements for health care workers and federal contractors.

Jim McLean, political correspondent for the Kansas News Service, and Steve Vockrodt, Investigative Editor for NPR's Midwest Newsroom, walk us through what these lawsuits mean and their potential impact on elections next year.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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

It's a tale of two cities: Four decades ago, one town in Kansas and one in Colorado competed for the world’s largest meatpacking plant.

For the winner of the Tyson Foods factory, it meant becoming the epicenter of the region’s beef industry. For the other, it meant a continued economic slide all too familiar to rural America. As David Condos of the Kansas News Service reports, that fateful outcome has forever altered the trajectories of both towns.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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

The trial resumes today in the case of Eric DeValkenaere, a Kansas City police detective charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Cameron Lamb. KCUR's Dan Margolies brings us the latest from the courtroom and what he expects to see as the week comes to a close.

Meanwhile, a judge will soon decide whether to free Kevin Strickland, who has spent 43 years in prison for a triple murder that prosecutors now say he didn’t commit. KCUR's Luke Martin shares his takeaways from the three-day innocence hearing that wrapped up this week.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. This episode was produced by Rachel Bain and edited by CJ Janovy & Lisa Rodriguez

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

For years, staffing problems at Kansas prisons have prompted calls for decisive action. But pay remains low, while conditions have gotten worse. Blaise Mesa of the Kansas News Service reports that workers are dealing with long hours, including mandatory overtime, while inmates are locked down to keep facilities operational.

Kansas City has finally put together a plan for its unhoused population this winter. Mayor Quinton Lucas joined Steve Kraske on Up To Date to talk about the city's efforts to better house and support residents during bad weather.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. This episode was produced by Rachel Bain and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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

Vaccine hesitancy has been one barrier to the United States achieving herd immunity from COVID-19. Now that the COVID vaccine is safe and available for children ages 5-11, the question arises of how many parents will get their kids vaccinated.

Alex Francisco completed his Ph.D. dissertation on vaccine hesitancy in parents, and now works as a statistician with the Kansas City Health Department. He joins to discuss why parents might be more reluctant to get their kids vaccinated, even if they’re vaccinated themselves.

And we'll get you up to speed on two big court cases taking place this week in Kansas City: the innocence hearing of Kevin Strickland and the trial of Kansas City Police detective Eric J. DeValkenaere.

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 edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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

News surfaced in October about a federal investigation into allegations of corruption at the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department. That probe reportedly looks at just one former detective: now-retired detective Roger Golubski, who's been accused of putting an innocent man in jail and terrorizing Black women.

But KCUR learned that the FBI has been looking into police misconduct in Kansas City, Kansas, for decades. One retired agent even said it was unusual to find so many of these allegations, on so many officers, within a small department.

Reporters Peggy Lowe and Steve Vockrodt found FBI documents that show routine misconduct by the department and little political will to correct 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 and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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