Kansas City Today

Kansas City recently passed a $2.6 billion spending plan that keeps expenses relatively flat. But, some departments like police are still seeing growth, despite some opposition. We'll break down the city's spending and why you should care about it.

Kansas City has passed its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins May 1. It includes more money for police and transit, but overall spending will remain mostly flat because of a projected budget deficit. KCUR’s local government reporter, Savannah Hawley-Bates, spoke to news editor Emily Younker about this.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Peggy Lowe. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

The World Cup comes to Kansas City this summer, and many fans will want to stay up late watching and partying. Kansas is close to approving longer hours for serving alcohol during the event, after Missouri passed its own law, so bars and restaurants don't lose business across the state line.

Kansas law allows bars to serve alcohol from 6 a.m. until 2 a.m. daily, but that could be changing this summer. A bill approved by lawmakers and headed to the governor’s desk would extend alcohol service to 23-hours a day during the World Cup, as a way to compete with Missouri. Zach Boblitt reports for the Kansas News Service from Lawrence.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Peggy Lowe. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

The Hickman Mills School District is trying to help fill its budget shortfall by asking voters to approve a $20 million bond and free up more money for operating expenses like teacher pay, staff benefits and more.

The stakes are high for the Hickman Mills School District in the April 7 election as it faces a multi-million-dollar budget deficit, and a full state audit of its finances. KCUR education reporter Jodi Fortino sat down with host Zane Irwin to tell us more about how voters will be asked to approve a general obligation bond for building debt and maintenance needs.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Peggy Lowe. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

Voters in Kansas City, Missouri, will soon decide whether to renew the city's earnings tax on wages, salaries and profits. If the measure fails, Missouri law forbids the tax from being revived, so Kansas City will need to find another source for hundreds of millions of dollars.

KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with Josh Merchant, local government reporter at The Beacon, about the 63-year-old earnings tax and what's at stake in April's election.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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

Captain Ahab’s preoccupation with a white whale is set to music in a new Kansas City world premiere. It’s Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick,” told in authentic, 19th-century sea shanties.

Authentic 19th-century sea shanties help drive the tale of a man’s obsession with a great white whale in the world premiere of a new production in Kansas City. KCUR’s Julie Denesha takes us behind the scenes of “Moby Dick: A Sea Shanty."

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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

Rural communities across Kansas are losing their grocery stores, and small towns are coming up with new ways to revive them. But some of those solutions have not panned out.

Many people in rural Kansas towns will tell you keeping their grocery store is as important as maintaining a school or hospital. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports on different options being considered in Western Kansas for small towns trying to keep their grocery stores open.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

Independence, Missouri, residents will vote on April 7 for their next mayor and to fill two at-large city council seats. Recent debates over tax incentives for a massive data center could factor into the races.

KCUR's Savannah Hawley-Bates walks Nomin Ujiyediin through the background of the candidates and their positions on the billions in tax breaks given to Nebius, the company behind the data center in eastern Independence.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

Health conditions like concussions and tinnitus don’t usually present externally, and patients can often feel incredibly isolated. But one University of Kansas professor is researching how music can offer relief.

If you’ve ever had a health issue that isn't clearly physical, you know how frustrating it can be to describe the symptoms only to be dismissed by friends, or have doctors tell you there’s not much they can do. KCUR’s Noah Taborda sat down with a researcher at the University of Kansas Medical Center who is validating those feelings, and hoping to provide a little relief.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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

Missouri lawmakers are returning from a break at the midway point of this year’s legislative session. Among the biggest issues are a Republican proposal to end the state income tax and expand sales taxes, a criminal justice overhaul, and a bipartisan bill to crack down on "date rape" drugs.

Missouri Independent political correspondent Jason Hancock gives Up To Date's Steve Kraske the rundown of what's happening at the capitol.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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

A dispute over a mural outside a hamburger restaurant in Salina, Kansas, could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus: Three massive bronze bison sculpted by a Missouri artist are joining the collection at the largest natural history museum in the world.

A mural depicting hamburger-like UFOs in Salina, Kansas, is at the center of a dispute that could end up going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. At issue: Is the mural a work of art protected by the First Amendment? Or is it an advertisement subject to the city’s sign code? As Kansas Public Radio’s Matthew Algeo reports, the outcome of the case could affect cities and towns across the country.

A Missouri sculptor has created three larger-than-life bison for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports the project is a part of the country's 250th birthday celebration.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

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