Kansas City’s bus service is slow and rapidly declining. Advocates want the region to step up its funding. But in the meantime, more routes may get cut, and Kansas City could miss out on major economic growth. What will it take to fix the bus system? Also, Missouri content creators breathed a sigh of relief when President Donald Trump paused the federal ban on TikTok, but people who make their livelihoods off the video sharing app aren’t sure its future is secure.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has struggled for years to provide fast and frequent service to the metro. Kansas City and its suburbs have cut funding, which means fewer routes. As KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates reports, money is the solution, but that will be a long and contentious battle.

TikTok is available to download on app stores again, about a month after President Donald Trump paused the legislation that banned it in January. But content creators and digital marketing strategists are still adjusting to the uncertain future of an app that 170 million Americans use every day — and that helps thousands of people earn a living. Katelynn McIlwain has more about how Missourians whose careers depend, at least somewhat, on TikTok’s survival are making do.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Madeline Fox.

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

More than a month into its session, the Kansas legislature has passed a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth and been unable to reach an agreement on tax reform. We'll have a mid-session update on what’s happening in Topeka.

Kansas homeowners are complaining about skyrocketing property-tax bills. But will lawmakers actually do anything about it this year? And what will come of an effort to change how Supreme Court justices? Plus, Kansas Republicans are trying to match President Trump's push towards a more efficient government by eliminating money for some state jobs. Kansas News Service reporters Zane Irwin and Daniel Caudill catch up with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date.

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

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

Kansas City’s fencing scene boasts elite coaches and athletes from around the world — a community that traces back to school desegregation efforts. Plus, how a Wichita book collector is keeping the state’s ‘firsthand history’ alive.

The sport of fencing is surging in popularity in the United States. Kansas City’s fencing scene has drawn high-profile coaches from around the world and athletes showcasing top-tier swordsmanship. As KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports, that excellence dates back to a world-renowned coach at a local high school.

The rarest books can sometimes command hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. Still, collecting and selling rare books isn’t exactly a stable business, and the vast spread of the internet hasn’t helped. But Philip McComish of Wichita, Kansas, is determined to keep the lost art of rare book collecting alive. For 40 years, the owner of Watermark West Rare Books has adapted his business to a changing market. For “The Range” at member station KMUW in Wichita, Celia Hack reports.

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

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

Southwest Kansas communities are feeling the effects of intensifying anti-immigrant rhetoric in politics. Promises of mass deportations have caused anxiety to spike throughout the region, where immigrants make up a large part of the population.

Widespread misinformation on social media about Immigration Customs Enforcement raids is fueling fear in the region. As Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports, the resulting mental exhaustion has already hindered the daily lives of these Kansans.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

After the sudden closure of a Kansas City, Kansas, health clinic that mostly served unhoused and uninsured patients, staffers at Care Beyond the Boulevard mobile health clinic ramped up operations to help fill the gap.

Last summer, staff at the Duchesne clinic in Kansas City, Kansas, got some devastating news: The clinic, which mostly served uninsured, unhoused and non-English speaking patients, would close in six weeks. KCUR’s Josh Marvine reports how Duchesne’s former employees have worked to help mobile health clinic Care Beyond the Boulevard meet their community’s needs.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Homeownership is a path to generational wealth, but many Black families have struggled to own their own homes. Habitat for Humanity Kansas City found a way to help. Plus: In Missouri and across the country, plant libraries that could help fight climate change are in danger of funding cuts.

Less than half of Black Kansas Citians own their own homes. That’s about 30% fewer than white homeowners. KCUR’s Brandon Azim explains what some of the barriers are for prospective Black buyers, and one nonprofit’s effort to bridge the gap.

At institutions around the world there are special libraries that contain millions of plants, called herbaria. As scientists work to understand and adapt to climate change, these plant collections have become even more important. But in some places, their future is in question. Harvest Public Media’s Kate Grumke reports on why scientists want you to care about herbaria.

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

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

New Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is facing a $300 million showdown over education spending in Jefferson City. His budget proposal didn't include enough money to fund schools to the level that the state's formula demands, and some legislators are pushing back.

Education funding makes up about a third of the state's budget. And while Kehoe's proposed hundreds of millions in increased aid for transportation, teacher salaries and more, it's still not fully funding schools according to the law.

On KCUR's Up To Date, Steve Kraske invited Dr. Kari Monsees, deputy commission in the Division of Financial and Administrative Services, to break down how education funding works.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison.. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The head of the U.S. Postal Service is stepping down, but rural communities in Missouri and the Midwest are worried about service already in decline. Plus: A Kansas congressional delegation is working hard to revive a gutted foreign aid program that farmers say they can’t live without.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy had backed a plan for the USPS to consolidate operations, especially in rural areas. That plan has faced a lot of opposition but it’s unclear what will happen once DeJoy steps down. Harvest Public Media’s Héctor Alejandro Arzate reports.

Elon Musk’s government cost cutting spree has at least temporarily hobbled a 70-year-old foreign aid program that feeds hungry people and helps to keep Kansas farmers in business. As KCUR’s Frank Morris reports, Kansas Republicans are rushing to resurrect the Food for Peace initiative.

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

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

Planned Parenthood clinics in Missouri have resumed elective abortions for the first time since Amendment 3 passed in November — years after the state banned the practice following the end of Roe v. Wade. But some Republican lawmakers are vowing to get abortion back on the ballot.

KCUR's Steve Kraske spoke with The Missouri Independent’s Anna Spoerre to get the latest on abortion care in the state. They discuss whether abortion access could face more court challenges, and how Planned Parenthood plans to expand.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Wyandotte County is experiencing one of the largest outbreaks of tuberculosis in recent U.S. history. But emails obtained by the Kanas News Service show tension between the state and county health department officials that may have made the response more difficult.

The outbreak appears to be winding down, but the head of the Wyandotte County Public Health Department parted with the county last week. Kansas News Service reporter Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga and editor Stephen Koranda give us a behind-the-scenes look at whether this fighting hindered outbreak response.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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